We took the highway to the nature reserve for about half an hour, and then saw the gate to the Al Maha grounds which are part of the nature reserve. Even from there it was quite a distance to the main resort building, and we saw camels and oryx along the way.
The car dropped me off out from of the main Al Maha building. Al Maha was originally an Emirates owned and operated resort in the desert near Dubai, located within a nature reserve. Now it is Starwood operated (as of November, 2010), although still Emirates-owned. The idea behind it is to be in the desert environment but have luxurious accommodations. I had read some excellent reviews of it so was really looking forward to it. The Emirates flight crew said that they often go as they get a good rate as EK crew, and really enjoy it as well.
Upon arriving I was invited to sit down at the check-in desk, was given a cold drink and wet towel, and then listened to a 10 minute recital of the Al Maha accommodations, amenities, rules, and regulations. It was a decidedly professional and to the point appraisal of what was on offer, and was distinctly different in tenor from the welcome and introduction that I had received at both Amandari and Amankilia.
Since it was shortly before 7 am and my villa was not yet ready, I decided to take advantage of one of the two included activities in this all inclusive resort. I went dune bashing in a Toyota Landcruiser, driven by a guide. This was an exhilarating experience which felt quite risky with the vehicles not adhering to any established paths, and were quite literally bounding over dunes at full speed. We even got stuck in sand at one point. This was nevertheless a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it. One caveat however, and that is the guides, all of which are South African except for one Swiss one, advised that people threw up from this experience on a daily basis...so it is obviously not for everyone....
The main resort building was nice but was rather unremarkable.
One nice touch is that they serve morning snacks and afternoon tea in the lobby. They were OK but nothing particularly lavish or special.
It is however the landscape which is the most attractive part of this resort.
One often seas the oryx within the grounds of the resort, sometimes even taking a drink from each villa's private pool.
The villas were quite private and one takes a buggy to get to each one down the pathways, as it is too hot to walk. I was there in the end of June and temperatures approached 50 degrees in the desert. It was simply too hot to walk or sit outside, except in the evenings, and therefore activities took place starting at 5:30 am or took place in the evenings...Even at other times of the year, I think it would generally be prohibitively hot to sit outside for very long in the desert heat.
The villas, although large, spacious, well furnished, and well air conditioned, had a decidedly Bedouin aesthetic, which is of course rustic.
Now, although the Bedouin aesthetic was appropriate, I personally would have preferred "flowing white Lawrence of Arabia Sheikh styles", which would have been equally appropriate
. As it were, although well maintained and comfortable, the decor was not particularly appealing or particularly tasteful. Furthermore, for some insane reason, the villa pools were HEATED. Yes, that is right!
It made cooling off in the pool, impossible. Since it was so hot, other than the activities and the evenings, I was stuck in my villa, and could not even enjoy a nice cool pool which would have made things more manageable.
The welcome amenity was a dried fruit and nut plate, including
beer nuts for some reason, which were the kind I used to get at the circus as a kid. Very underwhelming and inappropriate. There was however a good single cup cofee machine with a wide variety of capsules, and a very nice selection of tees. There was even a complimentary bottle of Sherry.
I had some fun taking a camel trek in the evening. Getting on and off a camel is a little scary however. It was a good experience though and worth doing, if a little cheesy...
The guides were all good and very nice. They were all fairly new as apparently there was a mass exodus of the guides once Starwood took over. It was a little strange though, having South Africans guide you through the Arabian desert...was not exactly an appropriate fit, although par for the course in a country that is staffed nearly entirely by expatriates.
Aside from the dune bashing and camel trek, there were a few other activities like falconry, archery, horseback riding, and a nature walk. Not terribly exciting, and certainly not enough to fill in any more than a few days at Al Maha. They gym only opened at 7 am and closed at 8 pm, which was unfortunate, since it prevented me from using the gym early in the morning prior to an activity, or when I woke up..., but was well equipped.
The meals were included in the rate. I tried a lunch and a dinner, but based upon those two experiences, I decided I would have breakfast in the EK lounge on my day of departure. The food was OK and the menu selection was alright, but it was nothing special and not particularly tasty or well executed.
I had a steak and fries for lunch with a tomato and cheese salad. Both were OK, but nothing special, and service was very slow.
For dinner, I opted for the "Arabic" special dinner, which I had to order in advance. It consisted of some tasteless Arabic appetizer salads and some overcooked and dry skewers. I skipped the "arabic bread pudding desert" based upon the preceding courses, which were served very slowly. The food was not bad, it just was not great. It was fairly standard.
Most of the guests were couples on a romantic retreat, some of whom were living in Dubai as expatriates. I think that the food and accommodations were all superior, but nothing particularly extravagant or special. It was a fairly standard 5-star destination, but cannot be compared to Aman; it was not an Aman in the desert by any means. It was good, but nothing beyond that, but I think many people probably like it for the beautiful desert scenery and nature reserve. I think that at most a single night there would be more than sufficient, but would instead recommend staying in Dubai proper in one of the many fantastic hotels there, and just doing a desert day trip for that aspect of the experience.
On my day of departure I was looking forward to leaving and beginning my return trip to Toronto. The EK chauffeur picked me up on time, early in fact, and we let for the 40 minute or so ride to the airport in Dubai proper.