So curiosity got the better of me. I caved and booked the brand new Dubai Edition in its soft opening (confirmed with front desk that it is still in soft opening, though not explicit on Marriott website), despite the misgivings I had with the pictures, E-hotel thing...

Honestly? I'm glad I did. It was a very good stay. This would be my first stay at an Edition, so I dont really have a frame of reference.

FYI, I reduced the resolution in all pictures and they dont seem to look quite as good as the originals.

Check In

We arrived on a weeknight around 8pm. From the pull up to the curb, the bell staff jumped to action and we were in the lobby getting checked in.  I had secured myself an upgrade to a Superior Suite as a Titanium member (no SNA) via chat prior to arrival and the front desk confirmed all of our details. Check in was quick, efficient and friendly enough. No lounge but 1000 Bonvoy points was offered as the standard amenity.

As you know Edition hotels have a very unique and spartan style. It's not for everyone.  That said, in person, the lobby area (also where Italian restaurant Duomo is) was attractive and in my opinion, much better than the pictures on the main website. 

Room

The entire building had that new building smell; in the hallways, the room, the lobby. There are modern touches in the hallways like motion sensors for lighting near the elevator.

The superior suite is located towards the front of the building facing Dubai Mall. From our vantage point we had a partial view of Burj Khalifa (most of it was obstructed by the Address hotel). However I thought it was a good view of the intersection of Dubai Fountain and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rachid Blvd; right in front of the entrance toward the mall and fountains. It looks as if all rooms have balconies.

The room itself was very modern and minimalist. Some people will hate it, some will adore it.  I will be honest that when looking at the initial pictures on the internet I was unimpressed, but in person I liked the room a lot.

The suite had an entryway and small restroom, leading to the dining and living room area. The dining table was interesting.  I'm not used to having what was essentially a picnic table in-room, but it grew on me. There was no working desk.

From there, it led to the bedroom with king sized bed. The bedroom could be closed off via sliding doors.

The main bathroom was large but strangely only had one sink.  There was a large tub and a rainfall shower area.  The tub and shower were not separate so this may bug some people. You would definitely be getting the tub wet while taking a shower. The toilet/bidet area had a door so that you can do your business in private.  The bathroom is "open" to the bedroom in the sense that glass separates the two areas but you can ensure privacy with a curtain.

There is also a walk in closet area off the bedroom/bathroom. I didn't love the setup as I felt it was a bit narrow, but that was minor to me and I travel light. 

The room had standard amenities; hair dryer, iron, safe, robes, slippers, mini fridge, two large flat screen televisions, coffee-maker thing (I can't recall if with pods, I don't drink coffee). There were complimentary bottles of water and housekeeping could always bring more.  Both Elemis and Le Labo products were made available to us.

There were controls for the blackout curtains and well as sheer curtains and you could dim certain lights to the intensity of your choice.

Near the king bed on each side was a universal plug, and two USB ports (not USB-C from what I would tell).  For a modern freshly built hotel I wish there were more. We had a bunch of different devices and had to share, plus use the travel adaptors on the local plugs. 

Yes, there were some things I wish were better in the room, but overall I really liked it.

Service

At first I thought the service was a little awkward.  Not rude, just awkward. I chalked it up to being a new hotel. There were a couple of minor service errors but nothing to write home about.

A welcome gift of dates was provided.

Over the next few days, it was much better. I was always greeted (though not by name) in a friendly manner, whether upon entry into the hotel, in the hallways, in the lobby...

Housekeeping politely checked in on us for amenities during our stay (we avoid having housekeeping come into the room). I used the chat service on the app a lot to ask for information about the hotel, PCR tests, late checkout...  All questions were answered and all requests were completed to my satisfaction.

We ordered room service on two occasions and it was prompt. No complaints there. Servers were always polite and asked us how we were doing.

The Guest Experience manager called our room after one of the minor service errors which I thought was a very nice touch.  And upon checkout the Front Desk manager took some time to chat with us and asked us about our stay.

We did not have anything major occur so I guess others will comment if that happens in the future. In the end we were very satisfied with how we were treated by the hotel staff.

Dining

There are currently three dining options at the hotel.

Jolie, the main hotel all-day dining restaurant. Duomo, an Italian restaurant on the first floor. Thia, the pool lounge/bar.

We cannot comment on the last two unfortunately as we did not partake.

Jolie had good food. Nothing spectacular but good.  I thought it was a little pricey over all and the portion sizes were on the smaller side for breakfast.  Service at the restaurant was awkward, but not unkind. Again, I think it is new people getting used to the routine, but we will see.  We also ordered in from Jolie and ate on our balcony. Unfortunately I only have this picture.

Location

The location of the hotel is both good and bad. 

I mean it's good that Dubai Mall is about a 3-5minute walk from the entrance.  If you want to be in that area, it is totally convenient, with many food options (cheap and not cheap), a grocery store in the mall and other amenities easy to reach by foot.

By car/taxi/rideshare, yuk.  Traffic is terrible. That's not the hotel's fault. Leaving is ok because the hotel is on the side of the street that leads away from the mall, but coming to the hotel & being stuck at that intersection on a busy afternoon/evening is the pits.

The Dubai Mall metro station is a long walk.  Through the mall, which is already large, and then through that pedestrian tunnel. I figure a good 25 min walk at a brisk pace.

Overall

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to check out the pool area or the gym so I cannot comment on those.

TL:DR.  I really liked the hotel.  The price? It was what is was. It's an Edition. We were treated well, the room was nice and well appointed, and as a Titanium I got my benefits honoured.  The food was decent if a little pricey. Good location but beware of traffic jams.  Would I come back? Yes, if only to see what the hotel is like after the soft opening.