Subtlety is not the house style: Dubai's rooftops compete on altitude, infinity pools and unobstructed Burj Khalifa views, and everybody wins except your bank balance. Licensing keeps the bars inside hotels, which at least guarantees air-conditioned lifts. Book a terrace facing Downtown for the fountain show, which fires every thirty minutes from 6pm, and come between November and March — in August the 'golden hour' is a 42-degree furnace and half the terraces sensibly close.
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