Season Guide - Abu Dhabi - Hilton Racing

Another cultural must-visit is the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the world's second-largest after the Holy Mosque in Mecca. Despite a grandiose total of eighty-two domes topped with twenty-four-karat gold, the £1.5bn white-marble complex is surprisingly feminine, with pillars and walls bearing flowers inlaid with twenty-eight colors of imported marble. The UAE's late president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, conceived the monument not just as a place of worship but as a tourist attraction to teach non-Muslims about the basic tenets of Islam.

Al Ain, an oasis town a 45-minute drive from Abu Dhabi, has date plantations and a museum containing 5,000-year-old bedouin artifacts. The late Sheikh Zayed was governor here before becoming ruler of the United Arab Emirates, and his house and fort, now restored, provide a sense of the emirate's pre-oil lifestyle.

But it's not all serious stuff. Abu Dhabi offers Arabic food and drink and nightlife, without the gawdiness of Dubai. There are more hookahs than hookers in the bars in this town.
The Havana Café on the Breakwater next to Marina Mall offers a huge variety of shishas and fruit juices and looks across the water to the Corniche. For lunch, Prego is a smart Italian restaurant with a great terrace.

When the time comes for some serious afternoon relaxation, head for Chi spa which is staffed by the most gloriously sadistic masseurs. I don't know what they teach the therapists at Chi spa training school but whatever it is, they should bottle it and sell it for a Sheikh's ransom to anyone who thinks plinkety-plink music and a limp back rub doth a massage make.

For cocktails, the most fashionable bar in town, and perfect for sipping a Belvedere Martini, is Cristal. If you want a little fresh air, there's nowhere better than the outdoor bar at the Hiltonia Beach Club.