From the best family brunches to the coolest kids’ soft play areas, here are the shortlists for this year’s awards ceremony

Dubai is one of the most family-friendly cities on Earth. There, we said it. Don’t believe us? Then feast your eyes on the nominees for this year’s Time Out Dubai Kids Awards, which will take place on Sunday September 22 at Grand Plaza Mövenpick Media City.

Categories are more competitive than ever for 2019, with so many superb activities for kids of all ages, and the parents who are secretly just as excited about flinging themselves onto inflatable landing pads.

From the UAE-wide Best Family Hotel to the Dubai-specific Best Soft Play Venue, these awards are designed to highlight the greatest destinations around for parents and their energetic broods, plus the services they need to make lasting memories – that’s why this year we’ve introduced new categories including Best UAE Family Leisure Store and Best Maternity/Family Photographer.

Whether you’ve just arrived in the city or think you’ve lived here long enough to have tried it all, this year’s nominees is essential reading.

For table bookings, email tablebookings@timeoutdubai.com.

2019 CATEGORIES

RETAIL
Best UAE Kids’ Clothing Store
Best Online Kids’ Retailer
Best UAE Family Leisure Store
Best UAE Maternity Retailer
Best UAE Toy Store

ENTERTAINMENT
Best Kids’ Entertainment Centre
Best Kids’ Edutainment Centre
Best Soft Play Venue
Best UAE Theme Park
Best UAE Waterpark
Best Kids’ Party Choice

FOOD AND HOSPITALITY
Best Family Café/Restaurant
Best Family Brunch
Best Family Beach Day
Best UAE Family Hotel

SPORT, HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Best Fitness Organisation
Best Outdoor Adventure Sports Experience
Special Recognition for Pre- and Post-Natal Care

PEOPLE AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Best Maternity/Family Photographer
Parent Blog of 2019
Time Out Kids Family Entrepreneurial Award
Recognition for the Education of People of Determination

CATEGORY SHORTLISTS

RETAIL

BEST UAE KIDS’ CLOTHES SHORTLIST
Cotton On Kids
GAP Kids
H&M
Level Kids
Monsoon Kids
Mothercare
Next
Purebaby
Splash
Zara Kids

BEST ONLINE KIDS’ RETAILER SHORTLIST
Babysouk
Elli Junior
Eggs & Soldiers
Five Little Ducks
Little Wren
Martin and Ella
Mumz and Munchkins
Mumzworld
Noah’s Garden
Sprii

BEST UAE FAMILY LESIURE STORE SHORTLIST
ACE
Adventure HQ
Carrefour
Decathlon
Go Sport
JD Sports
Sports House
Stadium
Sun & Sand Sports
The Cycle Hub

BEST MATERNITY RETAILER SHORTLIST
ASOS
Babyshop
Destination Maternity
H&M
Marks & Spencer
Mummyista
Mums & Bumps
Nats & Jun
Next
Seraphine

BEST UAE TOY STORE SHORTLIST
American Girl
Back to Games
ELC
Hamleys
Klug Toys
LEGO
The Toy Store
Toy Corner
Toys for Less
Toys R Us

ENTERTAINMENT

BEST KIDS’ ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE SHORTLIST
Adventure Zone by Adventure HQ
Air Maniax
BOUNCE
Dubai Bowling Centre
Hub Zero
Just Play
Magic Planet
Ski Dubai
Sky Zone
VR Park

BEST KIDS’ EDUTAINMENT CENTRE SHORTLIST
Children’s City
Cloud 7
Dig It
Fun Robotics
KidZania
Little Explorers
OliOli
School of Culinary and Finishing Arts (SCAFA)
STEM for Kids
The Green Planet

BEST SOFT PLAY VENUE SHORTLIST
Cheeky Monkeys
Extreme Fun
Fairytales
Funky Monkeys Playland
Kids HQ
Kidz Palooza
Kidz Venture
PlayPoint Dubai
Stay & Play
We Rock The Spectrum

BEST UAE THEME PARK SHORTLIST
Bollywood Parks Dubai
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
Global Village
IMG Worlds of Adventure
LEGOLAND Dubai
motiongate Dubai
VR Park
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi

BEST UAE WATERPARK SHORTLIST
Aquaventure Waterpark
Dreamland
Laguna Waterpark
LEGOLAND Water Park Dubai
Splash ‘n’ Party
Splash Island at Blue Wave Club
Wild Wadi Waterpark
Yas Waterworld

BEST KIDS’ PARTY CHOICE SHORTLIST
Be Bar Blow Dry Bar
BOUNCE
Cheeky Monkeys
Just Play
Kid’s Party Palace
Mattel Play! Town
OliOli
Splash ’n’ Party
The Green Planet
The Happy Studio

FOOD AND HOSPITALITY

BEST FAMILY RESTAURANT/CAFÉ SHORTLIST
Brambles
Bystro
Carluccio’s
Couqley
Jones the Grocer
LOWE, KOA Canvas
Maison Mathis
PizzaExpress
Reform Social & Grill
The Cheesecake Factory

BEST FAMILY BRUNCH SHORTLIST
Al Bahou, Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate
BFF, Ibn Battuta Gate
Bread Street Kitchen, Atlantis The Palm
Family Daycation Brunch, Lapita Hotel Dubai
Farmer’s Brunch, Bab Al Shams
Geales, Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa
Mazina, Address Dubai Marina
Nomad, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel
The City Brunch, Hilton Al Habtoor City
The Picnic Pantry Brunch, Crowne Plaza Festival City

BEST FAMILY BEACH DAY SHORTLIST
Club Joumana, JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort
Club Mina, Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Umm Suqeim
La Mer, Jumeirah 1
Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort, Dubai Marina
RIVA Beach Club, Palm Jumeirah
Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa, Palm Jumeirah
Talise, Madinat Jumeirah
The Beach, Dubai Marina
Waldorf Astoria, Palm Jumeirah

BEST UAE FAMILY HOTEL SHORTLIST
Atlantis The Palm, Palm Jumeirah
DoubleTree by Hilton Resort & Spa Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah
Emirates Palace, Corniche, Abu Dhabi
Fairmont The Palm, Palm Jumeirah
Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Umm Suqeim
Lapita, Dubai Parks and Resorts
Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, Al Sufouh
Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort, Dubai Marina
Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa, Palm Jumeirah
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Corniche, Abu Dhabi

SPORT, HEALTH & WELLBEING

BEST FITNESS ORGANISATION SHORTLIST
Desert Palm Riding School
Diverse Performing Arts School
Dubai Tigers Rugby Club
DuGym
Elite Sports Academy
Hamilton Aquatics
ICC Academy
My Sports Academy
Spanish Soccer Schools at Dubai Sports City Football Academy
We Rock The Spectrum

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE SPORTS EXPERIENCE SHORTLIST
Al Boom Diving
Aventura Parks
Challenging Adventure
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club
Surf House Dubai
Wadi Adventure
Wire World Adventure Parks
Xpark Jr.
Xtreme Wake UAE

SPECIAL RECOGNITION PRE- AND POST-NATAL CARE SHORTLIST
Amy Vogelaar & Jasmine Collin, co-founders and parenting educators, Love Parenting UAE
Andrea Allen, founder, The Doting Doulas
Dru Campbell, midwife, Health Bay Clinic
Eleonora Fornelli and Shereen Zarroug, co-founders, Belly Baby Mom
Elsa de Menezes Fernandes, Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and founder, New Concept Clinic
Janice Aton, Lactation Nurse, Malaak Mama & Baby Care
Jennifer Kasirsky, Head of Maternity, Mediclinic
Jo Holt, lead sleep expert & quality control, Malaak Mama & Baby Care
Joanne Hanson-Halliwell and Lala Langtry White, Small & Mighty Babies
Kirsty MacPherson-Wright, co-founder, Phoenix Rising

PEOPLE & ACHIEVEMENTS

BEST MATERNITY/FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER SHORTLIST
Adele Major Photography
Becky Clemson Photography
Blink by Laura McCone
Emma Staples Photography
Hotshots Photography by Charlotte Simpson
Marli Smith Photography
Natalie Robinson
Similitude Photography
Sophia Mattia Photography
Stu Williamson Photography

PARENT BLOG OF 2019 SHORTLIST
Babynilia & Mummy, Behnoush Aghajanpour
Dubai Mother, Wahiba Esri
Just Two Mums, Megan Kelly and Rebecca Davis
Katherine Abdeen
Khalid Al Ameri
My Little Loves, Helen O’Brien
My Wilde Tribe, Jeri Willmott
Nadine As A Mum, Nadine Zein
Seashells on the Palm, Edwina Viel
The Mothership, Helen Farmer

TIME OUT KIDS FAMILY ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARD SHORTLIST
Charlie Barlow, Health at Hand
Dr Saliha Afridi, LightHouse Arabia
Geetanjali Kaul, TurtleCard
Hannah Curran, Pure Born
Hiba Van Dyke, Chubby Cheeks organic baby food
Holly Hart, Neon Starfish
Jumana Al Darwish, The Happy Studio
Lily Kandalaft, Malaak
Raquel Ramalheira, Martin and Ella
Sofi Chabowski, Eggs & Soldiers

RECOGNITION FOR THE EDUCATION OF PEOPLE OF DETERMINATION SHORTLIST
Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs
Child Early Intervention Center
Dubai Autism Center
Dubai Center for Special Needs
High Hopes
Riverston Children’s Centre
Sensation Station
Stepping Stones
Team Angel Wolf
Tender Hearts Arena
Widad Center
Wilson Center for Child Development

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