Where to See and Be Seen
From November through April, corporate sponsors vie for private boxes in the Maktoum and Millennium grandstands at the Nad al Sheba horse-racing track, where emirs root for their steeds. Insiders contact the hospitality department of the Dubai Racing Club to arrange catered dinners to impress clients. The world's largest waterfront development, Dubai Marina City surrounds an artificial inlet whose megayachts and rising skyscrapers back a lively restaurant row; lines are longest at the new branch of Buddha Bar. At night under Hollywood-style searchlights, Western expats, young Lebanese and Iranian couples, and male Emirati party animals bar- and restaurant-hop at Madinat Jumeirah. A collection of clubs and restaurants—and the Dubai Marine Beach Resort and Spa—it is home to several small, modish lounges, including So Cho, a sleek sushi bar cum fashionista hot spot.

Where to Close a Deal
Dubai government officials inevitably take VIPs to the Al Muntaha Mediterranean restaurant atop the Burj al Arab. Business movers and sheikhs also bring clients to Vu's, a Pacific-French fusion eatery with another breathtaking view on the fiftieth floor of the Emirates Towers Hotel. Verre, British chef Gordon Ramsay's upscale restaurant at the Hilton Dubai Creek (down the Corniche from the National Bank of Dubai), may only be at mezzanine level, but its cool white and glass decor, the efficient dark suit-clad waitstaff, and the master's pan-seared foie gras make it a favored business celebration venue.

Airport Intelligence
It's a trek from arrival gates to baggage collection, so bring wheeled carry-ons. Dubai International Airport's Marhaba Services is worth booking for handlers who whisk you to the front of immigration lines clogged with tourists and immigrant labor gangs. While Dubai is a shopping mecca for Western goods, the duty-free selection—with the exception of GSM cell phones—is not cheaper than in the United States. There's an airport gold souk if you miss the one in town.

Local Codes
Although punctuality is expected, it is not necessarily reciprocated; Arab rules of hierarchy and hospitality may call for your host to postpone or interrupt your meeting to address someone more important than you. You will be offered something to drink. If it is a concoction you don't like—cardamom-flavored coffee, for instance—one polite sip will do. At restaurants, the party that initiates the meeting, whether male or female, is expected to pick up the tab. The first appointment (never on a Friday, the Islamic day of rest) can be set up by an assistant, but exchanges of business cards are considered mutual invitations to contact each other directly by cell phone or email. Business discussions begin with niceties, including inquiries about the family. While a foreign woman may be asked about her family, for a foreign man to ask about a Dubai national's wife is a social faux pas. Outside of hotels, beaches, and nightclubs, conservative dress is appreciated, especially during Ramadan. Women should wear a pantsuit or a dress that covers elbows and knees; men should wear a suit and a tie to meetings and should never wear shorts in public.