Hotel Apartments and Holiday Homes in Dubai for Families

Three listings can all say “two-bedroom apartment, Dubai” and still be three different things.

• One is a hotel apartment, a graded hotel establishment licensed under the same decree as hotels.
• One is a holiday home, a residential flat that its operator has licensed for short stays.
• The third may be an ordinary flat that someone is renting out by the night without any licence at all.

The kitchen, the number of people allowed to sleep there, the deposit, the cleaning charge and what happens if something goes wrong all depend on which one you have booked.

This page is about choosing between a hotel, a hotel apartment and a licensed holiday home, and then checking the one you choose before you pay. It uses Dubai’s own decrees, the Department of Economy and Tourism’s (DET) holiday-home user guide and the booking platforms’ published terms, all read on Oct. 1, 2026. Throughout, it keeps four things apart: what the government requires, what a particular property imposes, what a booking platform imposes and what your family needs.

One word, three regimes

Hotel apartments are hotel establishments. Dubai’s hotel-establishment decree (Decree No. 17 of 2013) lists them alongside hotels and resorts and grades them “luxury, deluxe, standard”. Some guides still use “superior”; that grade dates from before 2013. What a Dubai hotel-apartment grade does and does not promise about breakfast and children is the next question once you know the grade.

Holiday homes sit under a separate decree (No. 41 of 2013). Their operators must “lease out Holiday Homes in whole rather than in part as separate rooms or bed spaces”. The DET guide is explicit that the two regimes do not overlap: “Permits will not be issued for: Units that are classified as hotel rooms or hotel apartments.”

An ordinary residential flat has no tourist permission at all until its operator registers it with DET as a holiday home.

Labels are not licence types. “Serviced apartment”, “holiday apartment”, “furnished apartment” and “vacation rental” are marketing words. Dubai’s hotel decree lists hotels, resorts, hotel apartments and guest houses among its categories, but none of those labels. Behind each listing is one of the three types above, so ask which one it is.

	Hotel	Hotel apartment	Licensed holiday home
What it is	Hotel establishment	Hotel establishment, graded luxury, deluxe or standard	Residential flat or villa licensed for short stays
Regulator	DET (Decree 17/2013)	DET (Decree 17/2013)	DET (Decree 41/2013 and its 2020 bylaw)
Kitchen	Rarely	Often, but no official minimum we could find; check the listing	Usually a home kitchen; check what it actually has
Living space and separate bedrooms	Usually one room	Often a living area plus bedrooms	Whole flat or villa
Housekeeping	Normally daily	Varies by property	Varies; often only between stays
Who sets occupancy	The hotel	The property	The permit: “the maximum occupancy capacity determined in the Holiday Home Permit”
Visitors	Hotel’s own policy	Property’s own policy	DET wording: limits per bedroom, none between midnight and 8 a.m. (see below)
Deposit	Property policy	Property policy	Allowed by DET; no set amount; balance returned “as soon as possible”
Tourism Dirham	AED 7 to 20 per room per night, by grade	AED 20 (luxury), 15 (deluxe) or 10 (standard) per room per night	AED 15 (deluxe) or 10 (standard) per bedroom per night
Suits	Short stays, little cooking, daily service	Mid-length stays wanting space and some cooking	Longer stays, larger groups, regular cooking

The Tourism Dirham figures come from Dubai’s schedule (Executive Council Resolution No. 2 of 2014) and the DET guide. On May 21, 2026, the Dubai Media Office announced an “exemption from collection of the Tourism Dirham and the sales fees on hotel rooms and restaurants”, and said the responsible government entities would announce implementation timeframes.

By Oct. 1, 2026, none had published a start or end date, and the announcement does not say whether the exemption covers holiday homes. Ask the property whether it is charging the Tourism Dirham, and the municipality fee, for your dates.

None of this makes one type better. It tells you which questions to ask.

When a hotel is still the better fit

A hotel usually wins on:

• short stays;
• little or no cooking;
• daily housekeeping;
• breakfast or room service;
• a staffed front desk.

What you give up. Usually one room with less floor space. Usually no hob. Fewer ways to split a family so a toddler can sleep while the adults stay up. How many adults and children a Dubai hotel room really takes is the hotel-side question, and the answer decides whether you need two rooms.

Hotels are not always cheaper or always dearer than apartments. Compare the full bill for the full stay, described further down, not the nightly rate. A realistic daily Dubai budget for Indian travellers shows where accommodation sits in the total.

When a hotel apartment earns its place

A hotel apartment is licensed and graded under the same decree as a hotel, usually with a reception desk, and gives you more room. It suits:

• a separate bedroom for the children;
• a living area for the evenings;
• a fridge for milk and fruit;
• a stay of a week or more, when eating every meal out becomes tiring.

Do not assume the kitchen. We could not find an official Dubai text that requires a hotel apartment to have a full kitchen, a washing machine or daily housekeeping. A 2018 resolution requires DET to publish its grading criteria on its website, but we could not locate them. So “hotel apartment” tells you the type of establishment, not what is in the unit.

Check the listing, or ask the property in writing, for:

• a full kitchen or a kitchenette;
• a hob, and how many burners;
• a microwave;
• a fridge and freezer;
• cookware, plates, cutlery and knives;
• a washing machine, a dining table and, if it matters to you, a dishwasher;
• the number of bathrooms;
• the actual beds in each room.

When a licensed holiday home makes sense

A licensed holiday home is the closest thing to living in a Dubai flat. It suits:

• larger or extended families;
• longer stays;
• several bedrooms under one roof;
• a family that wants to cook most days.

Dubai’s holiday-home decree and DET’s guide give guests some protection:

• The operator must hand over “the Unit in a clean and ready state”.
• Electricity and water are included “without charging Guests additional costs”.
• The operator cannot add extra fees for services “unless actual charges are incurred by property developers or building management companies, and proof is provided to the Guest”.

The trade-offs:

• Holiday homes vary much more from one to the next than hotels do.
• Housekeeping may happen only between stays.
• DET allows a deposit, and some operators take one.
• Building and community rules apply on top of DET’s.
• You have to check the licence yourself.

The kitchen question for vegetarian and Jain families

For many Indian families, the kitchen is why they look beyond a hotel. Breakfast at your own table, a simple dal and rice in the evening, snacks for children, and food stored safely for a fussy eater all become possible. For a strict vegetarian or Jain family, the kitchen can matter as much as the location.

“Kitchen” on a listing is not the same as “a kitchen that works for us”. Before you book, ask for photos or a list showing:

• the hob, not just a microwave;
• fridge and freezer space;
• pots, pans, a pressure cooker if you need one, knives, a chopping board and serving spoons;
• enough plates and cutlery for everyone;
• counter space to prepare food;
• how the kitchen was cleaned between guests;
• whether the property restricts cooking in any way, such as strong smells, deep frying or burners.

For Jain families in particular. No listing can tell you whether a kitchen meets your requirements. Shared cookware may have been used for anything. Some Jain families bring a small set of their own vessels, or buy a few basic utensils on arrival, and use only the flat’s hob and fridge. Decide what your family needs, then ask whether the kitchen allows it.

Checking a vegetarian kitchen’s standards, and where to buy groceries covers the meals you do not cook yourself and the shopping for those you do. Groceries can come to the door. How Dubai regulates delivered food and the water in your tap explains what to expect.

Checking the flat itself before you pay

Sleeping:

• the real beds in each room;
• whether a sofa bed is counted as a bed;
• whether an extra bed or cot is available, and whether it is charged;
• which children share.

A family with an under-3 should check the cot before anything else; which attractions admit under-threes free and take a pram helps plan the days around it.

Bathrooms:

• how many;
• attached or shared;
• shower or bath.

With grandparents, a walk-in shower may matter more than a third bedroom. Getting a grandparent around Dubai with less walking covers what Dubai provides outside the flat.

Laundry:

• a washing machine inside the unit, or a shared facility;
• a dryer, if you need one.

Housekeeping:

• daily, scheduled or none;
• whether a mid-stay clean or a towel and linen change is included or charged.

Do not expect hotel-style service in a holiday home unless the listing promises it.

Location: a flat that suits you indoors but sits far from a station costs you every day. Comparing Dubai neighbourhoods on Metro access and Indian food narrows the area first, and why “near the Metro” can still mean a long walk to the door shows what to ask about any address.

Guests, visitors and children

Families often treat “how many people” as one number. In a holiday home, there are at least three:

Term	What it means	Who sets it
Maximum occupancy	How many people may stay in the unit	Government rule: the number “determined in the Holiday Home Permit” (2020 bylaw, Art. 14(15))
Registered guests	The people the operator must log with DET	Government rule: “within a maximum of three (3) hours of entering the Holiday Home”
Visitors	People who come to see the guests	Government rule (DET guide), plus building and operator rules

The DET guide’s visitor wording is: “The maximum number of visitors allowed is 1 adult and 1 child under 14 years of age per bedroom, with no more than 6 visitors, except with the approval of the building or residential community management and the Licensee’s approval regarding a larger number of guests in special circumstances…” It adds that “visitors may not remain in the Holiday Home between 12:00 midnight and 8:00am.”

That is a rule about visitors, not about how many of you may stay.

The same section of the guide also gives a per-unit formula: “2 adults and 2 children under 14 years of age per master bedroom or studio, 2 adults and 1 child under 14 years of age per additional bedroom”. It uses the word “visitors” again, although its structure reads like a sleeping limit. Do not work out your own cap from it. Ask the operator what maximum occupancy your unit’s permit shows, and whether your children count towards it.

Hotels and hotel apartments. In the Dubai texts we could read, we found no rule on extra beds, occupancy or visitors. In practice, each property sets its own.

Booking platforms. On Airbnb, children count: they “are subject to a host’s maximum guest capacity”. We found no Airbnb rule on how infants are counted. On Booking.com, each property sets its own child, cot and extra-bed policy. These are platform conditions, not Dubai law.

Before you book, ask:

• Does the booking name every adult?
• How are children counted, and from what age?
• Are infants counted separately?
• Is there an extra bed or a cot, and at what charge?
• Can relatives visit? During which hours, and with whose approval?
• What are the house rules on noise and parties? DET’s guide tells guests to avoid noise “especially between 10pm-8am” and to avoid holding parties.

Deposits

What DET allows. For a holiday home, “the Licensee can obtain a security deposit (or equivalent) from the Guest before the guest moves to the Holiday Home”. The guide says any remaining balance should be “released or returned to the Guest as soon as possible following their departure.” The guide sets no maximum amount and no fixed refund deadline.

Hotels and hotel apartments. We found no official Dubai rule on deposits. They are property policies, often taken as a hold on your card.

What the platforms say:

• Airbnb: “most hosts are not allowed to charge security deposits, either through our Resolution Center or outside the Airbnb platform.” Some hosts, including select software-connected hosts, may collect one off the platform, but it must be shown in the listing’s fee field. Hotels may take a card for a deposit if the listing says so.
• Booking.com: a property “might require a ‘damage deposit’ before or at check-in”. Booking.com says it “won’t be involved in any financial settlement related to damage deposits”, so any refund is between you and the property.

Before paying, find out in writing:

• the amount and the currency;
• when it is taken and how: cash, transfer or a card hold;
• who holds it: the platform, the operator or the building;
• when it is released, and how damage is assessed.

Use a card, not a transfer, if you can. Paying a Dubai deposit by card, forex card or cash weighs the options.

The full bill, not the nightly rate

A low nightly rate with a cleaning fee and an extra-guest fee can cost more than a higher rate that includes everything. Compare the final amount payable for the whole stay.

Cost line	Hotel	Hotel apartment	Holiday home
Room or unit rate	Per room per night	Per unit per night	Per unit per night
Cleaning fee	Rare	Property policy	Possible; on Airbnb a flat fee per booking
Extra-guest fee	Property policy	Property policy	Property or platform; on Airbnb per guest above a set number
Extra bed or cot	Property policy	Property policy	Property policy
Tourism Dirham (see 2026 exemption)	Per room per night by grade, up to 30 nights	AED 20 (luxury), 15 (deluxe) or 10 (standard) per room per night, up to 30 nights	AED 15 (deluxe) or 10 (standard) per bedroom per night, first 30 nights
Other levies	Dubai’s 7% municipality fee on hotel sales (covered by the announced 2026 exemption once dated); service charge, which the law caps at 10%; 5% VAT	Same as hotels, as hotel establishments; confirm with the property	DET bars extra service fees without proof of a real building charge
Deposit	Card hold, often	Property policy	Allowed; refunded “as soon as possible”

Holiday-home billing. The DET guide says the Tourism Dirham is charged “per room per night regardless of the number of Guests”, and spells out that this means “per bedroom per night”. It counts any room with a bed as a bedroom, and “the maids’ room is considered as a bedroom”, so a two-bedroom flat with a maid’s room can be billed for three. Check the bedroom count on your bill. It must appear on the bill “as a separate item or charge”, labelled “Tourism Dirham”. We could not confirm whether Dubai’s 7% municipality fee applies to holiday-home lets, so ask what your total includes.

Platform display. Since April 21, 2025, Airbnb shows the total price of a stay, “including all fees before taxes”, from the start, and always shows the total with taxes before checkout.

Refunds. Read the cancellation terms before paying. Among the conditions the DET guide tells operators to put in holiday-home lease contracts, next to the rule that guests keep to the contract dates, is: “Guests are not entitled to a refund of Holiday Home lease fees in any case whatsoever.” That is a contract term DET asks operators to include, not a consumer-protection ruling. Your booking channel’s cancellation policy may differ, so know which one applies to you.

For the other charges that appear once you are in Dubai, see Tourism Dirham, VAT and the other levies added after booking.

Checking a holiday-home listing before you pay

Step 1: Find out what it actually is. Ask the operator whether it is a hotel, a hotel apartment or a holiday home. If it is in a hotel-apartment building, ask how the unit is classified. A unit classified as a hotel apartment cannot also hold a holiday-home permit.

Step 2: Ask for the permit number. Dubai’s 2020 bylaw requires operators to “include the Licensee’s approved trade name and Permit number in all print and digital advertisements”. Airbnb asks DET-registered hosts to add their “Unit Holiday Home Permit Number” to the listing. If the listing shows no number, ask for it. An operator who will not give you one is a reason to stop.

Step 3: Match the details. The building, unit number, operator name and dates in your booking should all match what the operator tells you and what is on the permit. A permit for a different flat, or one in a different operator’s name, does not cover your stay.

We found no public DET tool that lets a tourist look up a permit online. The only public DET address the guide gives is [email protected], and it is meant for complaints, not pre-booking checks. If the operator cannot show you a permit that matches the unit, book somewhere that can.

Step 4: Check at the door. The DET guide says “the License must be placed in a clear and visible place in the Holiday Home”. It also says a unit QR code goes “beneath the DEWA premise plaque on the exterior side of the unit door”. DET’s 2023 announcement says the code gives “essential information about the operator” and DET’s contact details, and the guide says guests can scan it to send feedback or complaints to DET. Neither source says the code proves a licence. Check that the licence inside matches your booking.

Step 5: Keep the money on the record. Pay through the platform or by card to a named business. Reporting a Dubai Police warning on June 6, 2026, after a fake chalet-rental scam, Khaleej Times described scammers asking for money “as a booking deposit, documentation fee, or insurance” before any viewing or contract. Airbnb warns that a request to pay outside Airbnb “without prior notice” may be fraudulent. Report suspected fraud through Dubai Police’s e-Crime service or by calling 901.

If something goes wrong. The DET guide says complaints and supporting documents go to [email protected], and it requires operators to run a complaint line around the clock.

Can a hotel apartment also be a holiday home?

No. DET will not issue a holiday-home permit for “units that are classified as hotel rooms or hotel apartments.”

Hotel-apartment rules apply in a hotel apartment, and holiday-home rules apply in a licensed holiday home. The operator of a unit sold to you as a “holiday apartment” inside a hotel-apartment building should be able to tell you which of the two it is.

What we cannot tell you is the status of any particular building. That depends on how each unit is registered, so ask.

Booking platforms and the permit

A booking platform is a sales channel, not a licence. Airbnb, Booking.com and the classified sites all carry Dubai listings. Each has its own conditions: Airbnb asks Dubai hosts for a permit number, and Booking.com lets properties set deposits and child policies. None of those conditions replaces DET’s permit.

So a listing is not proof of licensing. A missing permit number is not, on its own, proof that the flat is unlicensed. But the 2020 bylaw requires the number in every advert, so its absence is a reason to ask for it before you pay. What you can do is ask for the number and check it against the unit, as described above. That approach applies to every platform.

Which stay fits which family

If your family needs…	Look at	Why
A short stay with little cooking	Hotel	Daily service and a front desk; a kitchen would go unused
Daily hotel-style service	Hotel	Housekeeping in apartments and holiday homes varies
Separate bedrooms and a living area	Hotel apartment or holiday home	Multi-room layouts are more likely; check the unit
Regular home cooking, including Jain meals	Whichever unit has a verified working kitchen	The equipment matters more than the word “kitchen”
A stay of 10 nights or more	Hotel apartment or holiday home	A kitchen, a fridge and laundry earn their keep
Room for an extended family	Licensed holiday home or a multi-bedroom hotel apartment	Check the permit’s maximum occupancy or the property’s own limit

These are decision factors, not recommendations. The four families below show how they play out.

Two adults and two children, three nights. Either a hotel room or a one-bedroom hotel apartment can work. With three nights mostly spent out, a full kitchen adds little. Check how the beds are arranged for four, whether the children’s ages change the price and the full bill, including the Tourism Dirham. If you want an apartment for the extra space, compare the total, not the nightly rate.

Two adults and two children, 10 nights. Now a fridge, a hob and a washing machine earn their keep. Either a hotel apartment or a holiday home suits. Check whether housekeeping happens mid-stay or not at all, whether linen is changed, and the full bill for all 10 nights. Unless the 2026 exemption covers your dates, the Tourism Dirham applies to every one of them, because the cap is 30 nights. Use pacing five nights of Dubai sightseeing to plan the cooking days around the busy ones.

A vegetarian or Jain family. Choose on the kitchen first, then on space. Ask for photos of the hob, the fridge and the cookware, and decide whether you will bring or buy your own vessels. A one-bedroom flat with a proper hob can suit you better than a three-bedroom flat with only a microwave.

Three adults and two children. Occupancy is the question. Ask the operator what maximum occupancy the holiday-home permit shows and whether the children count, or ask the hotel how many people the room or apartment may take. Make sure every adult is named on the booking. Make sure there are enough real beds, not just a sofa. If cousins will visit in the evening, check the visitor rules and the midnight-to-8 a.m. limit.

Mistakes that surface after payment

Choosing on the nightly rate. Cleaning and extra-guest fees can reverse the order. Compare the total for the stay.

Reading “apartment” as “full kitchen”. We found no official minimum for what a hotel apartment must contain. Ask for the hob, fridge and cookware specifically.

Treating a listing as proof of a licence. Ask for the permit number and match it to the unit.

Ignoring occupancy. The holiday-home cap is on the permit. Ask what it is and how children are counted.

Adding children after booking. You may exceed the occupancy or run short of beds. Book everyone from the start.

Not asking about the deposit. Find out the amount, who holds it and when it comes back, before you pay.

Missing the cleaning fee. It is often a flat charge per booking. Find it in the total.

Expecting hotel housekeeping in a holiday home. Ask how often the flat is cleaned during your stay.

Confusing a hotel apartment with a holiday home. The rules differ, and a hotel apartment cannot hold a holiday-home permit.

Paying before checking. Get the permit number, the occupancy and the charges in writing first.

The questions that come up at booking

Are holiday homes legal in Dubai?
Yes, when the operator holds a DET permit. Decree No. 41 of 2013 and its 2020 bylaw regulate them.

How do I check a holiday home is licensed?
Ask for the permit number, which must appear in its adverts. Match it to the unit and the operator, and check that the licence is displayed inside. We found no public online lookup.

Is an Airbnb flat automatically legal?
No. The listing is a sales channel. Airbnb asks Dubai hosts for a permit number, but you should still check it against the unit.

What is the difference between a hotel apartment and a holiday home?
A hotel apartment is a graded hotel establishment. A holiday home is a residential unit licensed for short stays. DET does not issue holiday-home permits for hotel apartments.

Can families stay in holiday homes?
Yes, within the maximum occupancy on the permit.

Do holiday homes take a security deposit?
They may. DET’s guide allows a deposit and says the balance should be returned “as soon as possible”, but sets no amount.

Do holiday homes charge cleaning fees?
They may; on Airbnb a host’s cleaning fee is a flat fee per booking. Check that it is in the total.

Can I add extra guests?
Only within the permit’s maximum occupancy, and with the operator’s agreement. Visitors are a separate matter, limited per bedroom and not allowed to stay between midnight and 8 a.m.

How are children counted?
It depends on the operator and the platform. Airbnb counts children towards the maximum. Ask how infants are treated.

Do hotel apartments have kitchens?
Many do, but we found no official requirement for one. Check the specific unit.

Is a Dubai flat suitable for a Jain family?
That depends on the actual kitchen and on your family’s own requirements. Ask for photos of the hob and cookware.

Hotel or apartment for a 10-day family trip?
An apartment’s kitchen, fridge and washing machine matter more over 10 days. Compare the full bill for both.

Can a holiday home operate inside a hotel-apartment building?
Not in a unit classified as a hotel apartment. DET does not issue holiday-home permits for those units.

The last pass before you pay

• Type: hotel, hotel apartment or licensed holiday home, confirmed in writing
• Permit (holiday home): number received; it matches the building, unit and operator
• Space: bedrooms, real beds, living area and bathrooms
• Kitchen: full kitchen or kitchenette, hob, fridge and freezer, microwave, cookware and utensils, with photos
• Occupancy: every adult named; how children and infants count; extra bed or cot; visitor rules
• Charges: unit rate, cleaning fee, extra-guest fee, extra bed or cot, Tourism Dirham and taxes; the final amount for the whole stay
• Deposit: amount, method, holder and release
• Refunds: which cancellation terms apply
• Payment: through the platform or by card to a named business, never by transfer to a personal account
• Services: housekeeping frequency, linen and towel changes, laundry and check-in arrangements
• Building rules: visitor approval, quiet hours, parking and access at check-in
• On arrival (holiday home): the licence displayed inside matches your booking

Booking a package instead? The family packages from Mumbai and other cities that Trekhops sells need the same checks. Put the same questions to us: which of the three types each stay is, and what the total includes, before you pay.