The hotel is brand new (opened last 22 april), is located in the central area of Aqaba, only a few minutes walking time from the beach and the shopping areas, and is the only Hilton property in Jordan (apart the King Husein Bin Talal Convention Center in the Dead Sea, managed by Hilton, opened a few weeks ago, but at the moment I don’t think it offer accommodations but only meeting facilities). The DoubleTree Aqaba is not a resort, like the most part of the top class properties in the area, but a full service upscale hotel with 173 rooms, excellent bars and restaurants, nice leisure amenities, including the semi-covered, infinity-style swimming pool with two whirpools overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba located at the second floor, the fitness center with sauna and steam room, and a well equipped business center with meeting and conference rooms. During my visit about 50% of the guests were businessmen and the other half leisure travellers (like me).
I stayed at this hotel twice in a week during my Jordan holiday with my wife and here are my comments.
Airport transfer (arrival)
The hotel offer a free airport shuttle. The airport of Aqaba (AQJ) is 10 km away and to reach the hotel is a quick 10 minutes ride in the DoubleTree minivan. The only scheduled flights to AQJ are two short 30 minutes RJ flights from AMM, the first in the morning and the second in the late afternoon, operated with EMB175/195. I emailed in advance my arrival time to arrange the pick-up, and on arrival we found the driver waiting for us.
Room
I checked in at 9 am and the room was ready. With the keys I received the traditional DoubleTree cookies (for evening check-ins there is also a welcome drink). I booked the cheapest room available at a 59 JD rate (about 89 USD) and as a Diamond I was upgraded to a king bed de luxe room sea view, the best room in the inventory apart some junior suites. The room was 60 square meters, with a king bed facing a corner window, a seating area with a wide sofa and a couple of armchairs, a kitchen area and a very large bathroom with tub and shower. (On our second stay we were upgraded to a similar room, a little bit smaller but with a balcony). On the table there was a welcome letter from the GM, two bottles of water and the Diamond gift (chocolates and pastries).
Staff
All the staff members were friendly, expecially the Front Desk managers. Late in the morning in the lobby I was approached by Jurgen, the GM, apologizing for not being able to welcome me personally during my early check-in. He presented me with his business cards telling me to contact him in case of need. During the day I also saw him doing the same with other guests checking-in, and also at the restaurant for the dinner and the breakfast (I really appreciated this gesture because this is the first time for me in an Hilton hotel to receive a personal welcome from the GM).
Pool and fitness
The pool is located at the second floor. On the two sides there are two whirpools and about 20 sun chairs. There is also a pool bar/restaurant. The area is not big, but I never found it crowded. Near the pool there is the fitness center, the sauna and the steam bath.
Beach
The hotel is not facing the beach but you need to cross Ayla square and a few minutes walk to reach the central public beach and the marina. There is free access to the beach, mainly used by local people. For a man no problem, but a western woman could feel uncomfortable to use this beach. For this reason the hotel has an agreement with a new beach club located on the south beach, about 10 km away. There is a 10 JD charge (14 USD) per person to use this beach, but is free for Diamonds (maybe also for Golds). The hotel offer a free shuttle on demand to reach the beach: for the pick-up you have to book 20 minutes in advance, at the reception or at the beach club office. The beach club is very nice, there are a couple of pools, a whirpool and a wide sandy beach, with possibility of water sports, snorkelling or scuba diving on the spectacular Red Sea coral reefs. There is also a bar and a restaurant and you can have the food and beverages charged to your room. The site is a new contruction development and during my visit there were still some landscaping work in progress. Now everything should be completed.
Bar and Restaurants
The Tree Cafè is located near the reception and offer tea, coffee and pastries. The Infinity bar is close to the pool, here you will find fresh juices, cocktails and light snacks. The Lounge open from 5pm is one of the most popular entertainment venue in the area, full of locals. Live music, karaoke and DJ performances until late in the night. Gusto restaurant is the casual place for breakfast or dinner. Here I had one of the best Doubletree breakfast. King’s restaurant is an elegant American style steakhouse, the right place for meat lovers and the one of the best restaurants in town. I tasted a wonderful wagyu beef , cooked on a stone in front of me by the chef. Unfortunately is high priced: full dinner for two with a bottle of French red wine was about 140 USD. For a comparison in an average Aqaba restaurant you will pay not more than 20-25 USD per person, wine excluded.
Activities
Aqaba is the only sea destination in Jordan (unless you would consider the Dead Sea a real sea). Is located on the northernmost part of the Gulf of Aqaba. Saudi Arabia border is about 30 km southeast of Aqaba, and the Israeli town of Eilat is 8 km west of Aqaba. Egypt coast is facing the south beach, and you could easily reach Nouweiba or Taba via ferry without crossing the Israeli border.
For a Red Sea holiday Aqaba can be a cheaper alternative of Eilat, even if it is not offering the same quality of services and nightlife. To give you an idea the day following my first stay in Aqaba I moved to the Eilat Hilton Queen of Sheba, where I paid 365 USD for one night, compared to the 89 USD of the Doubletree, offering more or less the same level of services except the executive lounge. You may choose Aqaba also as the base for a trip to Petra (130 km north of Aqaba) with a two hours taxi ride for a fare of about 35 JD (1 JD equal to 1,4 USD) or the Wadi Rum Desert (35 km northeast) with a 50 minuts ride and a 20 JD fare. This is exactly what I did for my two days trip to Petra and the Wadi Rum. In the hotel lobby there is a Thrifty car rental desk offering also car with driver (highly suggested due to fancy driving habits of Jordanians) and a tour operator desk. Concierge is also helpful with suggestions and activities or restaurant bookings.
Airport transfer (departure)
At the and of my second stay I asked for the free airport transfer. I had a flight leaving at 8.40am. and I felt quite uncomfortable when the front desk arranged my hotel pick-up at 8.10am, but AQJ is a small regional airport and the tight schedule was not a problem. Mine was the only flight of the morning, easy check-in, security checks with no queue and also plenty of time for the duty free shop. The airplane was waiting outside of the small terminal: my feeling was to fly with a private jet, and at 8.40 the airplane was airborne!

I found this hotel very nice and consistent on both my stays. If you don’t want to choose an expensive five stars resort on the beach (like the Intercontinental, Kempinski, Movenpick or Radisson blu) the fairly priced DoubleTree is the best choice.