I was there on Tuesday / Wednesday for a night on points, got a HUGE suite as a Diamond and no problem with a 3pm check-out. That said, I agree occupancy must be very low - only around 10% on the sun loungers on the beach were occupied. It's a shame as, if you've not got kids, it is a great time of year to come and escape the British weather.
I agree that the staff seemed more on the ball than on my previous visit last year. It was especially nice watching how they sand to a 2-year old girl at breakfast whose birthday it was.
It is growing on me BUT the desalination plant and the electricity sub-station next door are not exactly attractive, and of course you're not staring out to sea - you're staring out over a narrow bit of water to the buildings on the other side. If you can get any of the Madinat Jumeirah properties for the same money then you'd be mad to stay at the WA, of course, and the Mandarin Oriental is about to join the Four Seasons as a super top-end beach option.
Pleased to see all the marketing literature for other Habtoor Group housing developments had gone from the rooms. They did, however, have a saleswoman walking around trying to persuade guests to visit the Cirque du Soleil-style La Perle show which, of course, is based at another Habtoor-owned hotel. La Perle is FANTASTIC, by the way, but I don't necessarily want to be fighting off their sales team.