mecabq

I am surprised at the raving reviews here. I had a mediocre stay. I am Diamond and booked a room with club access (unfortunately it was the last minute, and this was the only room available, though it looks like Diamonds don't get club access automatically so I suppose I got some benefit). They gave me breakfast also downstairs, which was solid but not spectacular by Dubai luxury hotel standards. (For example, the offerings at the Park Hyatt breakfast are vastly superior.) No drink vouchers, though they did send up a fruit plate and some cupcakes.

I arrived at about 1:30. They said my room wasn't available so moved me to the same category on a lower floor, which was fine given the early check-in. However, it took forever to check in in the lounge -- it required three people banging incessantly on the computer for an extended period. The room was spacious and decent; bathroom and lighting were nice. USB plug didn't work. It didn't accept my log-in to the internet (perhaps due to the room change.) By comparison, the rooms (and, in fact, everything else) are better at the Waldorf in Ras Al Khaimah.

Club breakfast is mediocre. They had a cardboard printed menu with a couple of basic egg dishes, and the hot selections were not much better or broader than the typical Marriott/Hyatt/etc. club lounge in town. Did have fresh berries, however. Also, they had no brewed coffee of any kind in the lounge (some hotels use French press, which is an acceptable alternative if demand doesn't warrant brewing full pots), but they didn't seem to know what brewed coffee is. (Pet peeve: when they think Cafe Americano is "American coffee.") The bar, Serafina, was excellent, both the menu and service.

Beach is nice. They have comfortable loungers and towels, complimentary water, had a guy going around to clean sunglasses, and good and prompt service overall. This was probably the best part.

When I checked out, I swung by the front desk and asked for a change for a 20 dirham note. The guy scowled, said, unfortunately I don't have it, flashed a stack of 500s, and basically shrugged. Minor point, but his glibness (not to mention the fact that they couldn't accommodate such a simple request -- what if I wanted to exchange foreign currency?) rubbed me the wrong way for a supposed luxury hotel.

One other point beyond the hotel's control: the Palm is just a disaster. The road outbound from the East Crescent had one lane closed for construction, which made traffic slow in the afternoon and evening. Ditto for some construction in the middle of the Palm where the new mall will open. There was a Halloween party at Atlantis, which required a trip of over an hour to get from the mall area to past Atlantis at midnight. It was chaos. These are one-off events, but I can imagine there will often be some headache at peak travel times once all of the hotels on the East Crescent open. This was foreseeable in the design of the Palm, and is regrettable and I will avoid the whole area unless I plan to just hang out at the hotel my whole stay.