I am happy to do the 2nd review of this very nice hotel, after the one done by my friend from the FB/AFKL forum: Orbitmic :-). Weeks before my stay, I already received confirmation of my club Millesime access and other platinum benefits. I had a great stay. The property, the rooms, the club lounge and the staff are all great. I have sincerely not a single negative point to report. Specifically, I didn’t encounter any sleeping problem/noise coming from the rooftop bar unlike Orbitmic (I think they addressed the issue). LCAH status recognition was perfect too.

The hotel is conveniently located on Abu Dhabi corniche (in case you didn’t guess from its name ;-) ). Valet parking is free.

Check In

I checked-in in the middle of the night after coming from DXB with a rental car and an horrible drive all the way (150 km) due to very heavy fog. Check-in was rapid and pro. Was thanked for my loyalty, was told I was upgraded from « luxury king size bed, sea view » to Opera King suite on the 34th floor (club Millesime is on the 35th floor). Drink voucher was given.

Pictures of the main lobby:

Room

Suite was large and nice. The living room part included a separate toilet & sink, a large sofa, desk, minibar and Nespresso machine. Splendid view on the corniche road and the sea.  Very comfy MyBed. Large bathroom in 3 parts (bathtub/shower, sink, toilets). Welcome gift was a plate of sliced fruits and madeleines with a welcome letter from the GM. Turndown service every evening. I have taken pictures at night when I arrived and during daytime the following day.

View from the room:

Swimming Pool

There is an outdoor pool on a terrace on the 2nd floor with a bar & restaurant.

Picture taken above my head, when lying on a pool bed.

Club Millesime

Club lounge is on the 35th floor and offer great view on the persian gulf. Unfortunately you cannot check-in/out from the lounge. But the service was superb. There is a small cold selection for the breakfast but you can order plenty of warm options from the menu.

Free evening cocktails time is from 6 to 8 pm. Here is part of what’s available for food in the evening.

Dining

Outside Club Millesime, there are several restaurants and bar :

• ground floor : main restaurant for BF and for buffet lunch/dinner (different kind of ethnic food every day)
• 2nd floor : an italian restaurant and the pool bar/restaurant. The latter is open until 9 pm and I had dinner there one evening : an excellent arabic mixed grill.
• 36/37th floor : rooftop bar. You can enjoy your drink voucher there (specific menu available, with plenty of choice). Great view of the city.

GF restaurant:

Rooftop bar:

Service

Service was great everywhere, from the housekeeping staff to management.

Overall

Overall, a highly recommended hotel. I would return without hesitation.

I spend an extended week-end in Abu Dhabi for my birthday with the idea to relax, see a bit of culture and generally take some sun. I choose the Sofitel due to the nice reviews on Flyertalk, plus a fairly generous deal of 40% off on room and breakfast.

I liked the hotel although I would not be as positive as orbitmc. It was a good stay overall but not overwhelming. I found service to be the highlights while food was a let down. 

The hotel itself is a bit dated and much smaller than it appears from the outside; only one of the four towers is actually the Sofitel, and there are 10 rooms per floor only. The result is that it is rather quiet, which is a clear advantage.

Check In

Check-in went well (at 2:15 AM !) I was upgraded from a King room with City View to a Luxury King Room with Sea View. I think the extra of the room are the higher floor and the view, plus slippers and bathrobe. Otherwise no difference I can see based on the description. An attendant went with me to the room to handle my small luggage and show me the room amenities and light control. 

Room

The room was as good as expected: spacious, with all amenities you could expect from a Sofitel, the famous MyBed. The bathroom had a shower cubicle and a bath tube. The room was in good condition mostly but some wear and tear was visible, specially on the sliding doors between the bedroom and the bathroom. 

The desk was not really good, there was no space to put your feet and honestly I had a hard time spending more than 30 minutes on it. 

Two bottles of water were given every day by the housekeeping staff, plus one extra during the turndown service. There was enoug coffee capsule as well as tea bags. 

Bathroom amenities were Hermes.

Service

Service was really good: all the staff were polite, helpful and really trying to solve the issues. I had no problem getting a late check-out at 5 PM or help about local bus services from the front desk. Breakfast staff was also very active bringing tea, refilling orange juices.

On Sunday, my birthday, they brought a cake:

Then on Monday, a welcome gift was brought as well as another cake (on purpose, this was not a mistake) !

Dining

The food was not as good as expected. I had dinner there once and it was a buffet, they do not do a La Carte in the hotel restaurant. There was various other restaurants in the building but externally managed, some of them with a cover charge !

The breakfast in particular was disapointing by the quality of the products, specially the bread. Cold cuts were ok, good egg station but lacking choices of topping for the omelette/scrambled eggs. Good choice of arabic specialties though which was well appreciated.

Gym

The gym is located near the swimming pool. Good choices of strengthening machines (there was even a Smith machine !), aerobic equipment and cardio equipment. The space is large enough that it does not appear crowded. 

Location

Location is on the corniche, not exactly by the walk (one needs to cross the road via two underpass to get there). The bus station terminus for line A2 from/to the airport is just behind the hotel, which is very convenient. Bus stations for the Louvre, Grand Mosque, Marina Mall are all nearby.