The case for InterContinental Dubai Marina is the combination of four strong, different courses and a location where the evenings look after themselves. The courses do not repeat each other. Arabian Ranches is true desert golf, where a missed fairway means playing off sand. Dubai Hills is parkland in style, with the city skyline as its backdrop. The Montgomerie has a links feel, with large, contoured greens and plenty of water in play. The Els Club, on the seven-night package, is the most strategic of the four, with its short grass around the greens asking for imagination with a wedge or putter. Playing three or four of them in a week gives a fair picture of what Dubai golf offers. Golfers staying here tend to like having the marina on the doorstep, with the promenade, the beach at JBR and a long list of restaurants all walkable after a round, which is not true of every Dubai golf hotel. The tram and the short taxi ride to the Palm widen the options further. There are trade-offs. This is not a golf resort, so every round involves a transfer, and there is no practice ground to wander down to before breakfast. The hotel does not sit directly on the sand, so beach time means a short walk, and the marina is a busy, built-up district, so anyone after peace and quiet may prefer a resort further out. For a group that wants top courses by day and a lively, convenient base by night, it is a very good fit.

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