Hospitality Interior Design in Dubai & Abu Dhabi
Hospitality interior design in Dubai is the discipline of shaping hotels, restaurants, cafés and branded residences that guests remember and operators can run profitably. Studio By Three is a boutique interior design firm based in Al Quoz, Dubai, specialising in exactly this: bespoke hospitality spaces that blend contemporaneity, individuality and sophistication across the UAE.
What does hospitality interior design cover?
Hospitality interior design covers every interior a guest encounters in a commercial stay or dining setting: hotels and resorts, standalone restaurants and cafés, F&B venues within hotels, and serviced or branded residences. It spans guestrooms, lobbies, bars and the transition spaces in between.
Each stream carries its own operational logic — covers per square metre, housekeeping flows, maintenance cycles, hotel-grade durability. We design with those constraints in view from the first sketch, not as an afterthought, so the interior performs for the operator as well as it photographs for the guest.
What is Studio By Three's approach to hospitality design?
Our approach is concept-led and material-driven: we do not design for the ego, but for the will of creating something new for each project. Every brief begins with the story the space must tell, then experiments with architecture and materials to push boundaries and deliver a truly original environment.
Victor Nouman, Partner and Architect, leads our hospitality work with a focus on architecture and storytelling — the belief that a venue succeeds when its spatial narrative is as considered as its menu or service model. Eugenio Fernandez, Partner and Architect, brings experience in architecture, museography and creative direction for luxury brands across Spain and the UAE.
The proof sits in our built work. Mamafri Mamsha (Abu Dhabi, 2023) is an ocean-view, Asiatic-inspired restaurant pavilion with tiered wooden floors and a monochromatic palette of wood, stone and fabric. Let's Café (Abu Dhabi, 2026) organises an entire social space around a single sculptural central element, finished in green and maroon tiles. Earlier hospitality projects include Brunch Morsel (Abu Dhabi, 2022) and Osk Croissanterie (Abu Dhabi, 2021).
Why choose a boutique studio over a large design firm?
A boutique studio gives owners and operators direct access to the partners designing their project — the people in the first meeting are the people at handover. Large firms often hand work down to junior teams; a boutique practice keeps creative direction, technical resolution and site supervision under one small, accountable team.
For hospitality clients this matters in concrete ways. Decisions move faster, because there is no internal hierarchy to escalate through. The design intent survives value engineering, because the architects who drew the concept defend it on site. And the result is genuinely individual — in a market where guests choose venues for their distinctiveness, originality is a commercial asset, not an aesthetic luxury.
Why is the UAE hospitality market worth designing for now?
The UAE hospitality market is in sustained expansion: Dubai welcomed 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, up 5% on 2024 and a third consecutive record, according to Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism. Hotels ran at roughly 80.7% occupancy across approximately 154,000 rooms.
Announced and expected openings include Baccarat Hotel & Residences Downtown Dubai (2026), Aman Dubai on Jumeirah 2 (2027), and Nobu Hotel & Residences on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 targets 40 million hotel guests. On the dining side, the Michelin Guide Dubai 2025 awarded its first-ever three stars and now covers 119 restaurants across 35 cuisines. Every opening raises the design bar for the operators competing beside it. Differentiation through interior quality is now a requirement, not a preference.
What does our process look like, from brief to handover?
Our process runs in five stages: briefing and concept, design development, technical documentation, procurement support, and site supervision through to handover. The partners remain directly involved at every stage, which keeps decisions fast and the concept intact.
Briefing establishes the story, the guest journey and the spatial strategy, tested against the operator's commercial model. Design development resolves materials, lighting and custom joinery. Technical documentation produces coordinated drawings a contractor can price and build accurately. During construction we review samples and mock-ups and supervise on site, so what is built matches what was drawn — down to the details guests photograph in the final week.
Selected hospitality projects
Frequently asked questions
What types of hospitality projects does Studio By Three design?
Hotels, resorts, standalone and in-hotel restaurants and cafés, and serviced or branded residences across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Where does Studio By Three work?
We are based in Dubai and work across the UAE. Our completed hospitality projects — Mamafri Mamsha, Let's Café, Brunch Morsel and Osk Croissanterie — are all in Abu Dhabi; our studio and retail work are centred in Dubai.
How involved are the partners during a project?
Fully, at every stage. The partners who take the brief lead the concept, review the technical documentation and supervise the site. Clients deal with the decision-makers throughout.
How long does a hospitality interior design project take?
It depends on scale and scope. A restaurant or café fit-out moves considerably faster than a full hotel. We agree a realistic programme at briefing stage, aligned with your opening target.
Do you work with operators and F&B groups, or only independent owners?
Both. The common thread is a client who values originality and wants a space that cannot be mistaken for a competitor's.
If you are developing a hotel, restaurant or branded residence in the UAE, talk to Studio By Three. Our hospitality interior design work is led by our partners from our studio at Warehouse N.7, Al Quoz 3, Dubai — contact us at[email protected] or+971 50 443 6236 to discuss your brief.