Unless you spotted Dubai’s potential way back when it was little more than a dust path, had a three-souk marketplace and was just starting to become a trendy spot for the hippest indigenous Bedouin to hang out and tell their epic tales of camel camaraderie, it’s more than likely that you won’t have a property to move directly into as soon as you arrive. Therefore, you’ll need to consider alternative arrangements for your first few weeks and, if there’s anything in Dubai that inspires more awe than its property or island developments, it’s the hotel sector.

Those in the envious position of having their first few days or weeks paid for by their employers should look no further than the Burj al-Arab. It may not always receive the best reviews, but the experience alone is worth a stay in a building that seems more an exercise in using superlatives than a hotel.

The Burj – the world’s first 7-star hotel – is also the world’s tallest hotel, features the world’s largest membrane façade, its Al Mahara restaurant is rated as one of the best in the world and the atrium lobby is – yep, you guessed it – the tallest in the world.

Magnificence comes at a price, however, and rooms start at around €750 per night, going up to €11,500. You’d better hope that your new company has just posted record first quarter figures and the accountant’s had a little too much to drink (as long as he has a licence, of course) when he signs off your accommodation bill if you want them to stump up for the Royal Suite. €21,000 per night makes it – mercifully for the sake of hyperbolous repetition in this article – one of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world. Although that figure does include use of the hotel’s rooftop helipad.

In terms of luxury, the iconic sail-shaped Burj may have become synonymous with Dubai hospitality, but it does not stand alone. Mina A’ Salam at Madinat Jumeirah is often considered the best hotel in the emirate for luxury and enjoyment, while you can never really go wrong with an ever-dependable Ritz-Carlton offering.

Startling as it may sound, you don’t actually have to be on the same salary as a Premiership footballer to stay in Dubai. The Ramada Continental Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Dubai, for example, is an extremely comfortable and pleasant mid-sized building where rooms have a measly average price of around €75 a night. The Ibis World Trade Centre is cheaper still and, were it not located in a land that considers even 5-star luxury to be unsatisfactory, it would be deemed good accommodation.

In general, if the cost of relocating is coming out of your own pocket, head to a downtown hotel, but if the company gives you carte blanche, then look towards Jumeirah Beach. You may strike lucky and end up somewhere in between.