Had a 4 night stay here recently, booked with an Impresario agent on a 4 nights for the price of 3 rate with all the usual Impresario perks included. Booked the most basic room (King City View), and was upgraded to an Executive King. Had previously stayed here last year so had a pretty decent idea about the hotel, service was still excellent and even better given it was a bit quieter than December! As always the hotel is on the Dubai Metro line direct to the airport so very convenient.
The room
View from the room:
As mentioned, was upgraded to an Executive Room on the 45th floor. The upgrade appeared the day before and I did the online check-in to secure a corner room. According to the front desk agent who checked me in and offered to move me, the corner rooms are slightly smaller than the other Executive rooms.. although this wasn’t important to me so stayed as is. The hotel opened in 2013ish and has a decor feeling of an era before it, but they’ve kept in in good condition. Definitely not as swanky as some of the other Dubai options but a solid option at the price point. The bed was comfortable and the room was a genuinely nice place to be to escape the Dubai summer heat. House keeping was really excellent - they came in the morning and then back in the evening for turndown service, which was in reality almost a full service all over again. Bathrooms are pretty big and full of amenities including mouthwash etc. Last year I stayed in a regular King Room and there was a separate shower.. there still is in the Executive rooms, but it is kinda build into the same area as the shower and falls onto the floor around the bath. I prefer the completely separate shower.
My only slight frustration was the air conditioning. I don’t think it could really cope with the outdoor heat. They sent an engineer to look at it, and he cleaned the filter and it made a marginal amount of difference. But sleeping was uncomfortable at times.
F&B
I had breakfast included with my rate which I could take in either the lounge or the restaurant. The selection in the restaurant on level 6 is extensive with Western, Arabic and Indian options. Unless the restaurant is unbearably busy, I would recommend going there as the lounge selection is somewhat more limited. The staff in the restaurant were excellent, and they greeted me by name after day 1 and by day 3 had my preferred coffee option on the table before I had a chance even ask them for it! Most of the buffet is served by the kitchen staff.
Restaurant breakfast:
Restaurant breakfast:
In the evening (5pm-8pm) they had a small buffet in the lounge. There was enough there (for me at least) to make a proper dinner out of it. The options seemed to rotate and they had at least one substantive hot option each night - pasta bolognese, beef, chicken biriani, chicken with tomato sauce etc. They serve alcohol between 6pm and 8pm. Drinks are table service, food is served by the chef on duty. The wine was very good for lounge plonk - was pleasantly surprised.
View from the lounge:
As I had the $100USD (or in the hotel's dubious exchange rate, 342AED) resort credit, I used it mostly in Kimpo which is the Korean bar in the lobby. It’s a pretty decent place and good use value wise for the credit - I'm travelling solo but managed 3 meals there!
Facilties
A really lovely pool. Was a little bit busy at times, so not great for serious swimming as there were plenty of people getting in the way. I didn’t use the gym or spa.
Service
Excellent! Friendly service, friendly staff. Granted a 6pm late checkout too. Very happy for the rate at 1,700AED/£340GBP/$470US for 4 nights.