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DubaiPartiesLifestyle

by Dara Morgan

Wellness Over Wild Nights: Is Dubai Still a Party City?

4 Jun 2025

Photo: Getty Images

Ah, Dubai — the city where brunch once meant dancing on marble tables, not beetroot lattes and breathwork under the moon. Where Marina rooftops throbbed with basslines and DIFC was less financial, more “another round for the crowd.” But lately, something curious has happened. The city of the all-nighter has started… sleeping. Or worse — stretching.
Gone are the days when everyone had glitter in their hair and a stamp on their wrist. Now? Walk along Kite Beach on a Thursday night and you will be passed not by party people but by joggers, cyclists, and groups doing group sports as if a gold medal depended on it. The most popular accessory? Not a Fendi clutch, darling — it is a fitness tracker. And what do people brag about now? Whoop recovery scores, not the number of clubs they hit before sunrise.
So, what changed?
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Photo: Natalie Behn

Millennials, matcha, and mortality

Well, for one, we are getting older. Millennials — once the nightlife foot soldiers — are now navigating early bedtimes and lactose-free diets. And yes, I will admit it: I can feel 30 around the corner like it is a dentist appointment — unwanted but unavoidable. These days, I hesitate before going out on a Friday night, because Saturday morning is for Pilates. I hate that this is the truth — but there it is.
Even when I do make it out, I find myself asking the real questions: “Is it too loud in here?” and “Do they have a quiet section?” More often than not, I end up staying in with friends, chatting over soda and playing PlayStation like it is 2007, except we all have skincare routines now.

Zoomers: The clean-living crew

And what about Gen Z? Surely they must be raging harder than we ever did, right? Wrong. Statistically, today’s under-25s drink 20% less than millennials did at their age. According to a 2023 Gallup study, only 62% of under-35s in the U.S. even drink at all — down from 72% two decades ago. That is a big, sober no-thank-you to hangovers. Instead, they are into wellness. Deeply into it. Ice baths, therapy talk, 5K runs before breakfast. Their idea of a good time includes mental clarity and a green juice, not sunglasses and walks of shame. And social media, instead of encouraging them to party, has given them an entirely new currency: the like. And nothing gets more likes than a toned body, a sunrise jog, and a quote about “protecting your energy.” And here comes another point, which I find very important: the lighting is much better during a 6 am yoga session than in a nightclub bathroom.
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Photo: Getty Images

Dubai’s wellness glow-up

This is not just a personal reckoning. The numbers agree: the UAE’s wellness tourism expenditure grew from $2.8 billion in 2019 to $5.44 billion in 2022. The Middle East and Africa’s wellness tourism market, with the UAE leading the charge, is projected to grow at 11.3% per year through 2030. In other words: yes, everyone really is going to yoga.
As the population shifts and Dubai becomes home to more ambitious, career-focused young professionals, the cultural scene is adapting too. Gone are the days when your weekend plans revolved around finding the newest secret bar. Now, it is about finding balance. You might still go out on a Thursday, but best believe you are doing a sound bath and a sauna session by Friday morning.

Where to party now?

So you are now ordering your matcha, but that doesn't mean fun is off the table. Dubai’s social scene is evolving right alongside your lifestyle, offering an exciting wave of sober, early-bird-friendly events that bring the vibes — minus the hangover. Here are three places where you can still party (and remember every moment of it):
Fred’s Coffee Party
Launched by student and caffeine enthusiast Shivam Grover, Fred’s Coffee Party is redefining rave culture — daylight edition. Think invite-only, pop-up coffee raves in cafés like Intellect Coffee and Artisan Bakers, where the espresso is strong, and so is the sense of community. With local DJs spinning house and electronic tracks, the vibe is as upbeat as any club — just with honey oat lattes.
PEAQ Wellness
Founded by Emirati entrepreneur Ali Hassoun, PEAQ is a sleek, social wellness club located in a minimalist warehouse space in Al Quoz. It offers a heady mix of contrast therapy, Lagree classes, and stretching. With a soundtrack of nostalgic '70s to early 2000s beats, it feels like a party — except you leave feeling better, not worse. It is where fitness freaks, creatives, and entrepreneurs come to sweat, socialise, and sparkle.
NoFilter.DXB
A collaboration between Shannon Soans, Beeking Gurung, and Mohamed Ali Al Madfai of Emirati Coffee, NoFilter.DXB is your go-to for open-format café parties that bring together music and movement. Held monthly across venues like Costa Coffee and Emirati Coffee’s flagship locations, these gatherings offer house-heavy DJ sets, and all-ages crowd (pets welcome too), that somehow makes everything even more inclusive and electric.

So… Is the party over?

Not quite. It is just happening earlier, with more vitamins. Dubai is still full of life, just a different kind of energy — the one that wakes up fresh, works hard, and prefers a sound bath to a sound system. The party scene is not dead. It is just doing yoga now.
And honestly? We kinda like it.