Cloud 22 floats on the 22nd floor of Atlantis The Royal, on the crescent of Palm Jumeirah, where a 90-metre infinity pool spills toward the Dubai skyline and the bar pours cocktails right up to the edge. By day it runs as a glamorous pool club; by evening it turns into a rooftop lounge built for golden hour and the lights coming on across the water. This is a special-occasion address, and it knows it.
The pool deck was once reserved for hotel guests, but Cloud 22 opened to the public in December 2023, which is when the wider city got its first look at the view (MyBayut). The setting does most of the talking: an edge pool 22 floors up, terrace seating, and a sweep of skyline that reviewers on Tripadvisor call the main reason to book. Luxury Lifestyle Magazine described the rooftop as one of the city's standout beach-club-in-the-sky experiences.
The space splits between the infinity pool and the bar-and-dining terrace, with futuristic white interiors that lean into the high-altitude fantasy. Sunset is the seat everyone wants, so the west-facing loungers go first. Come for the late-afternoon light if the view is the point of your visit. The pool edge reads as the whole pitch of the place, water meeting skyline with nothing in between.
Order The Cloud, the house signature built on Tanqueray gin with a piney juniper lift and a faint lemon zest (Atlantis Dubai). Sunset Bliss, made with 818 Tequila Blanco, is the smoother, brighter call as the sky turns. The cocktail list is short and polished rather than experimental, which suits a room where the skyline is the headliner.
Pair the drinks with chef Serhat Meci's Mediterranean small plates, designed for sharing across a lounger. The smoked salmon and cream cheese caviar flatbread and the wagyu sliders are the crowd favorites, with Gillardeau oysters, truffle burrata, and grilled octopus rounding out the spread. These are bites to graze on, not a full dinner, and the prices match the postcode.
The crowd is dressed-up and destination-minded: couples marking an occasion, groups booking the loungers, and travelers ticking off the view. It runs as a relaxed pool scene through the afternoon and lifts into a livelier bar mood after dark. Expect a polished, see-and-be-seen energy rather than a wild night out.
Go at golden hour on a clear evening, when the pool, the skyline, and the sunset line up for the full effect. Go midweek if you want the loungers without the weekend crush and the surge pricing. Skip it if you want a budget round or a late club night, because Cloud 22 keeps refined hours, a strict dress code, and a guests-21-and-over door.
The rooftop sits inside Atlantis The Royal on the Palm Jumeirah crescent, a taxi ride from Dubai Marina and the JBR strip. Access runs through the hotel, and a minimum spend or a pool pass usually applies, so check the booking terms before you go. Bring ID, since the door enforces the 21-and-over rule.
Who it is for: a date that wants the skyline as a backdrop, a celebration booking, and travelers chasing the best rooftop view on the Palm. Who it is not for: budget drinkers, families with kids, and anyone after a casual walk-in, since this is a booked-ahead, dress-the-part rooftop.
Cloud 22 sits near the top of any Palm Jumeirah rooftop shortlist. See where it lands among the best rooftop bars in Dubai, read the editorial on Dubai's best rooftop bars and best hotel bars, and browse more across the full Dubai bar guide.
