Well, this gives us the warm fuzzies…

Dubai is a popular playground for the rich and the famous – and why wouldn’t it be, with its seven-star hotels, high-end restaurants and enormous shopping malls?

But it turns out, it’s not just the glitz and the glamour that attracts many an A-lister (and B-lister, and C-lister) to this city. In fact, the reasons why they’ve fallen in love with Dubai might just surprise you… it’s the simple things, like lovely locals and lack of paparazzi.

Here are 10 nice things celebrities have said about Dubai (aww, shucks).

Will Smith

Legendary actor Will Smith can’t seem to get enough of Dubai, even describing it as one of his “favourite cities on Earth”. He explained why the emirate resonates with him while in town to promote his movie Suicide Squad back in 2016.

“Dubai dreams the way I dream, when I landed I was like, ‘that’s how I would build a city if I was making a city’. It really flows with who I am. You never know why a city speaks to you… it’s just the energy of progress here.”

Lindsay Lohan

The Mean Girls star is now based in Dubai, and recently revealed to Emirates Woman magazine why she chose to move to the city.

“Moving here was a fresh start,” she admitted “You hear more about real current events rather than celebrity gossip, which I really appreciate.”

Nicole Richie

Reality star and fashion designer Nicole Richie told talk show icon Ellen DeGeneres about her first trip to Dubai back in 2015.

“There’s so much to see. Everything they tell you is, ‘this is the fastest in the world, this is the biggest in the world, this is the longest in the world’ – everything has ‘in the world’ after it. It’s just so grand.”

You can watch the full interview here:

Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen must have taken Nicole’s travel advice, because she spoke of her fondness for Dubai during a recent episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in which every audience member won an all-expenses paid holiday to the emirate.

“Let me tell you about this amazing place,” Ellen told her audience.

“It is a melting pot of cultures with over 200 nationalities living there and they are welcoming to all. There is so much to do, the nightlife is insane. I have been there, I love it, I’m talking about Dubai.”

Tom Cruise

The Hollywood star famously scaled the Burj Khalifa for the 2011 film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but even before that, Tom Cruise was impressed by this city.

He told Gulf News: “Watching the city being built, I was on a layover once – refuelling here – and every time I’ve been, I’ve wanted to film here. It’s a beautiful city, a very cinematic city. The way it’s set up – it’s incredibly modern, an extraordinary accomplishment.”

Nicki Minaj

Rapper Nicki Minaj revealed her appreciation for the city (well… its inhabitants) in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live back in 2013.

“I went to Dubai. I almost got in so much trouble because the guys in Dubai are so cute. It’s not even funny.”

Gigi Hadid

Supermodel Gigi Hadid is half-Palestinian, so it’s no surprise she feels an affinity with the region.

She told Gulf News she loves coming to the UAE “because you can do everything here. In one day you can go skydiving, skiing, and then go deep into the desert. Also my aunt and all my cousins and second cousins live here.”

Paris Hilton

Reality TV pioneer Paris Hilton has spent a lot of time in Dubai, even filming a show here called Paris Hilton’s Dubai BFF back in 2009.

She told Gulf News: “I love exploring; there are so many fun things to do in Dubai, and its always changing. Meeting different people and visiting the souks are some of my favourite things to do. The shopping is great, too.”

Tyrese Gibson

Fast and Furious star Tyrese Gibson is a frequent visitor to Dubai and a huge fan of the UAE. He explained why in an interview with The National back in 2015:

“I’ve never travelled to any country and felt more welcomed than in the UAE. People think it makes me happy because so many folks out there got money but that’s not the case. If you had a bunch of royals with money, and everybody was mean and arrogant then it would be one of the worst places. But the UAE is one of the safest places I’ve ever been. And outside of the mega-yachts and the big royal palaces – the common men and women of Dubai are nicest people I’ve ever been exposed to.”

Drake

Drake loves Dubai so much that he rapped about it in his album More Life.

On the track Sacrifices, Drake says: “I got Dubai plates in the California state.” And in Free Smoke, he actually says he wants to move to Dubai. “I want to move to Dubai so I don’t have to kick it with none of you guys.”

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