Last night, I revisited the first ever hotel that I stayed in outside of North America - 34 countries and many hotel nights later, I have a bit more context with which to judge this property. My overall take can be summarized as a great hard product with less consistent soft product. For a price that isn’t much more expensive than other area hotels, you trade the lounge benefits for what is probably a better hard product. That being said, I wish the service was more polished. Here are my impressions:
Neutral:
- Had to push on upgrade - initial upgrade only showed Grand Deluxe King Room - asked for suites at check-in and was told none were available - told them I had seen many available online - was then told that there was one that still needed to be cleaned - told them I would wait - took about 1.25 hours or so - ended up in a nice Grand Deluxe Suite with great view towards Burj Al-Arab and the Marina skyline
Pros:
- Bed is very comfortable, basically perfect - plush mattress, plush pillows, cover of great plushness for Dubai
- Shower pressure is great and strong
- Comfortable furniture and good design
- Isaac the bellhop was very friendly on the several times I ran into him
- Offered 4 PM late checkout proactively
- While not as amazing as I remember it last time, breakfast is still pretty good - good omelets, tater tots could be slightly more fresh, good croissant, good pancake and waffle, good barista coffee
- While a butler didn’t come initially to my room, I heard some shuffling in my room around 8:30 PM and came out to find a handwritten note with some fruit and baklava
- TVs have YouTube app
- Lots of towels - they came and brought extras, per my profile
Cons:
- Disorganized and confusing desk setup in the lobby leads to confusion on who is doing what, who can process check-ins - was left to go find a desk myself at arrival and ended up getting the concierge and not an actual associate (they had to switch computers) - no obvious signage or assistance with where I should actually go
- Lobby staff seemed more stiff than the last time I visited
I would still probably come back.
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