InterContinental Dubai Festival City

The InterContinental Dubai Festival City opened in 2007 adjacent to the mall of the same name and is located only a ten-minute drive from the airport.



Pulling up at the entrance, I was offered help with my bags and was quickly checked in in the expansive but slightly impersonal lobby, thanks to a second member of staff appearing promptly at the IHG Elite desk. I was advised of my upgraded room category and confirmed the Ambassador late check-out of 16:00 on my final day.











My Classic Suite on the 22nd floor was the expected one category upgrade from my booked Premium room. The suite was large – certainly too large for one person – and started with a cloakroom off to the left of the entrance, and a spacious living room comprising desk and chair, chaise-longue type sofa, armchair with ottoman, and dining table comfortably seating four people.













A Nespresso machine and one lonely bottle of water was to be found on the TV console, whilst the minibar, kettle and two further bottles of water were in a cabinet adjacent to the dining table. There was no Ambassador mineral water, although with filtered bottled water being provided (also in the bathroom), there wasn’t really any need for it.





The bedroom, accessed through a sliding door, featured a very comfortable king-size bed, further armchair, dressing table and stool, and a walk-in wardrobe behind the headboard (complete with two of the previous guest’s socks at the back of a shelf). There was a power socket on one side of the bed only, with no USB sockets or master light switch. One of the bedside lights didn’t turn on to full brightness automatically, and the switches around the suite were so brightly lit at night that I had to find random objects to place in front of them. Whilst we’re on the subject of electricity, I found the strip lighting above the windows in both the bedroom and living room to be incredibly bright, with no dimming option. Robes and slippers were available in the wardrobe. There was no turndown service.













The bathroom was spacious and smartly designed with dark green tiling and plenty of lighting. To the left as I entered was a separate room for the toilet and bidet, ahead was the basin and – refreshingly post-pandemic – a full range of amenities, whilst to the right was a wet room with walk-in powerful shower and ceiling-filled bath. Amenities were mostly in large bottles and by Byredo, now the brand standard at most InterContinentals. The body wash was running low (again – super annoying that these things aren’t checked properly between guests), but housekeeping replaced it on request the following day and also provided some small individual bottles to keep me going in the meantime. There were no hooks immediately outside of the wet room, which meant I had to hang my towel actually inside the room itself. There was also no magnifying mirror.

















The view from the room was decent if somewhat flat and sandy, with the ever-continuing construction of the city visible in the distance on a clear day and the nightly light and fountain show much closer just 22 floors below. Some of the windows were a little smeary from previous guests viewing the spectacle.



Overall, I was happy with my suite, even if it did feel a little clinical (mainly due to the harsh lighting) and was starting to look a little battered around the edges (I don’t think the hotel has been refurbished since it opened).

Four floors above my room, the Club InterContinental lounge provided a welcome respite from the Arabian heat as well as expansive views over Dubai Creek to the Mohammed bin Rashid Library and Burj Khalifa beyond.





Arranged over a series of five connected rooms, the lounge curves around the building’s main tower and is smartly decorated in a classically understated way. From reception, the first room offers lounge seating and contains a small library as well as a printer.



The second room offers dining seating mostly in tables for four, although there are some tables for two at the side of the room and by the windows.





Next up is the buffet room with a large central island station and three further stations around the side, and beyond that is a further dining room matching the previous one.









The final room offers more lounge seating, with a small bar at the far end and a handful of additional dining tables along the windows. There’s also a bookable boardroom off to one side at this end of the lounge (2 hours’ use is complimentary).









The lounge has its own washrooms, as well as one shower for those arriving ahead of their room being ready. As comfortable as the lounge appears at first glance, it severely lacks power sockets (most sockets which are available are 5 amp sockets for lamps), but the staff supplied an extension cord on request. I also found there was an imbalance of dining tables to comfortable armchairs; more of the latter were needed.



Breakfast consisted of a reasonable buffet selection, augmented by a decent à la carte menu (via QR code), from which I was offered multiple selections. Across three mornings I sampled the lamb sujuk shakshouka, a customised omelette and the Asian tapsilog, all of which were of high quality. Coffee, served at my seat, was notably excellent.

























Full waiter service was offered for afternoon tea, comprising a three-tiered stand of finger sandwiches, patisserie selection and scones. It was great to see loose leaf tea being served.







The buffet returned for the evening canapé service, with an at-seat drinks and nuts service and the offering of three special canapés including one hot item. Off-menu cocktails were available on request. The staff seemed quite keen for guests to leave the lounge once canapé service had ended, with the lights being turned up abruptly on the dot of 20:00.























Across all three services, the buffet selection changed subtly each day. Whilst service wasn’t always as proactive as I would have liked (primarily I think due to the team being quite new when I stayed), there were some good examples of personalisation, including the reception team remembering my name when I walked in and out, and evening drink preferences being remembered between nights. I found it odd that the team would hand out TripAdvisor cards as service concluded on more than one occasion, actively encouraging guests to review their experience. I’m in the business of trip report writing, so clearly like reviews, but I don’t want to constantly be reminded to write one when I’m still staying at the property in question. The team were quick to resolve an issue on the first morning when my key card wouldn’t let me back into my suite.

I didn’t use any of the property’s restaurants or bars during my stay, but there’s a comprehensive selection of five to choose from; all-day Anise (which is also where breakfast is served), CHOIX (Pierre Gagnair’s lounge), Karam Al Bahr (the choice for seafood), Pierres TT (the hotel’s fine dining offering by the eponymous chef) and Vista (bar and casual dining).

The hotel’s pool area is shared with the adjoining Crowne Plaza and feels a little dated. Shallow and deep pools are offered, along with a smaller relaxation pool, children’s pool and outdoor jacuzzi. As well as a bar, complimentary pool service is offered, with cool bags containing bottled water, an apple and cold towels offered to all guests.























The male and female changing rooms (which are for IC guests only) each feature a sauna and steam room, and the same Byredo amenities as the rooms. As you would expect, a spa and fitness centre are also offered.









When it came time to check out, I was able to do so in the lounge and the staff invited me to continue using the lounge until I needed to leave for the airport – very welcome with a 16:00 suite check-out and a flight not leaving until 01:15. I was asked to rate and review my stay for the umpteenth time and offered help with my bags down to the lobby when the time came to finally depart.

I enjoyed my stay at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City. Whilst the hotel is not the newest or flashiest in the city by some distance, it offers a solid if slightly corporate experience and a thoroughly decent lounge. Some might be put off by its location relatively far from the main attractions, but in a city as spread out as Dubai, travel is always going to be needed. On which note I will leave you with some images of my few days exploring Dubai before heading to the airport to board Swiss First home.