New Outdoor Hangout in Dubai Festival City: Say Hello to Sirocco Garden

Sirocco Garden is the latest reason to step outside, with Dubai’s weather finally behaving. Set at Holiday Inn & Suites Dubai Festival City, it’s the hotel’s new open-air bar and social spot, built for easy-going evenings rather than dress-code drama.

The venue officially launched on 19 November 2025 with a simple idea: casual, everyday hangout where you can unwind after work, meet friends without making a big production of it, and stretch weekend nights in a place that feels familiar after one visit.

What is Sirocco Garden, exactly?

Sirocco Garden is pitched as an “everyday destination” – not only for hotel guests, but the wider Dubai Festival City crowd. Think of it as the laid-back corner of the hotel’s F&B line-up.

• Outdoor bar and social hangout at Holiday Inn & Suites Dubai Festival City
• Designed for after-work drinks, casual meet-ups and weekend evenings
• Launched with a community-focused event on 19 November 2025
• Part of the IHG Hotels at Dubai Festival City F&B portfolio

In a cluster that already includes restaurants and lounges across InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn & Suites, Sirocco Garden adds a more informal, open-air option to the mix. It sits alongside other seasonal experiences in the area, like Festival Bay’s waterfront winter season, giving Dubai Festival City yet another reason to stay busy after dark.

The setting: soft lighting, open air and a garden feel

Rather than going for glossy rooftop drama, Sirocco Garden leans into a more relaxed, garden-style atmosphere. The focus is on comfort, not spectacle.

• Lush, open-air layout with a garden-inspired aesthetic
• Soft lighting and comfortable seating for longer stays
• Set up as a relaxed, lounge-style space
• Dedicated shisha area to round out the social vibe

You get the kind of space you can sit in for hours: enough lighting to see your food and friends, but not so bright that it kills the mood. The garden looks keep things easy on the eyes, while the seating is arranged for groups as much as for couples or solo guests.

The shisha corner nudges the vibe towards a lounge more than a pure bar, which fits the wider Dubai Festival City crowd and its mix of residents, hotel guests and office workers.

Food and drinks: comfort-first, not fussy

The menu at Sirocco Garden sticks to familiar territory, but dresses it up a bit. It’s not trying to be fine dining; it’s trying to be the place you actually want to eat at after a long day.

• Signature mixed beverages and refreshing coolers
• Specialty mocktails for non-drinkers
• Freshly brewed options for those sticking to coffee or tea
• Pub-style comfort dishes with a more polished take

The drinks list covers the usual bar bases but doesn’t forget the large crowd that skips alcohol, offering mocktails and brewed drinks that are treated as first-class choices, not afterthoughts.

On the food side, expect the kind of dishes that sit well with an evening outdoors: sharing-style pub favourites, but with a bit more care in how they’re put together. It’s built to support the social energy of the place – plates in the middle of the table, not tasting menus in hushed silence.

Who it’s for: after-work, weekends and everything in between

Dubai has no shortage of “occasion” venues. Sirocco Garden is aimed at everything in between – the nights you don’t want to dress up but still want to be somewhere that feels put together.

• After-work catch-ups for those based in and around Dubai Festival City
• Casual hangouts for hotel guests looking for an easy option downstairs
• Weeknight and weekend gatherings during the cooler months
• Shisha-and-snacks nights where nobody is watching the time

With Dubai’s outdoor season running hard from November through spring, the timing makes sense. You can hit the garden for a relaxed evening after a day at the mall, a walk along the waterfront, or even after an F&B-heavy night at nearby spots like Zaytoun’s Arabian Nights at Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City. Sirocco Garden positions itself as the casual, no-pressure option where you can either start the night or end it.

Part of the wider IHG cluster at Dubai Festival City

Sirocco Garden doesn’t stand alone. It’s one more piece of a large hotel and dining ecosystem spread across the IHG Hotels at Dubai Festival City.

• Located at Holiday Inn & Suites Dubai Festival City
• Part of a cluster that includes InterContinental, InterContinental Residence Suites and Crowne Plaza
• Connected to almost 15,000 sq.m of event space and multiple restaurants and bars
• Close to Dubai Creek, Dubai Festival City Mall and key city landmarks

The broader IHG set-up covers everything from large-scale events and conferences to casual dinners and staycations. You’ve got big event venues, hotel ballrooms, and a line-up of restaurants and bars across the four properties.

Sirocco Garden slots into that picture as the easy-going outdoor bar for the winter months – a natural add-on if you’re already around for an event, staying at the hotel, or passing through Dubai Festival City for one of the city’s newer rooftop and waterfront hangouts.

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