Schwann

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/Ł340GBP/$470US for 4 nights.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi Schwann,

Excellent report and photos thanks!
Now that is what Conrad evening snacks should be like!

I am begining to think about a week in Dubai in September - looks like the Conrad is a fairly solid hotel choice in a good location.

Do you know if the Conrad EL had afternoon tea/snacks in mid afternoon ( prior to the Evening service) please?

Regards

TBS

Schwann

Hi TBS,

Unfortunately I didn't get in there between 1300-1500, despite trying I was always usually found swimming at those hours! Someone else above described it as being just cookies and fruit so perhaps not anything substantive. Soft drinks and tea/coffee was available throughout the day though.

Definitely a solid choice... worth booking an Impresario rate. I'm splitting my time between many hotels the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for other Dubai Hilton options.

NoY

This hotel is a real mixed bag, with a somewhat chequered past as far as many are concerned. If you dig back into this thread there have been many disgruntled FT-ers (myself included) posting here for a whole raft of reasons! In normal times the place is packed at weekends & many facilities are zoo-like.
I understand that the management has changed (for the better) & obviously during covid times service will be a little less stressed than during normal times.
Buyer beware!

Red259

Does it make sense to book with the impresario rate if you have diamond status? Seems like I can save maybe $72 off the rate over the course of a three night stay.

fvn1312

Of course

You will receive all diamond benefits as well

Schwann

Yes, as FVN says, you will get full Diamond benefits and points/nights. Although of course many of the Diamond benefits overlap Impresario.

kilo

Although it is not clear the poster might be asking if it is worth paying $72 more to get the impresario rate for that trip, considering their diamond status.

Schwann

Oh, good shout. If OP is already Diamond I probably wouldn't bother unless they plan on spending money in the hotel, therefore getting the $100 resort credit at a slight discount.

For me it was worth it because I got a 3 nights for the price of 4 rate, so the price via Impresario was the same as the cheapest available rate for booking 4 nights with Hilton directly.

Red259

Yes the price difference with already having diamond status was my question. Did you get three nights for the price of four as part of a special offer?

Schwann

Yes, should be available from any Impresario agent I assume..

Red259

Hmm i'll look into it.

stargold

Had a 7-night stay recently where proximity to the Metro was a key consideration (and frankly there are not that many other decent options directly next to a Metro stop, at least this side of the Creek). The room situation was just not good:

- Both the front desk staff and the manager was adamant that I could only receive a one-category upgrade as a Diamond. Which, according to them, meant an upgrade from a King to a King Executive, which is basically the same room on a higher floor. When I protested, they then found a Corner room which is slightly larger than the standard room, but not ready yet (at midnight...) so I had to wait for a further 20 mins, even though the entry level suite was available. Frustrating.
- The corner room had a generous layout but was directly across from the top floor of the Fairmont next door, so one side of the corner had very little light. Plus, there must be some sort of a nightclub there, because I could feel booming music very late into the night.
- The room also had a musty mouldy smell from the A/C which I tried to ignore, but when condensation started drizzling on the floor from the A/C vents on Day 2, I had to ask for a room change.
- They finally decided to upgrade me to a Deluxe Suite (next category up) at this point. Deluxe Suites have the weird layout where they have a useless kitchenette but a bathroom that is smaller than a standard room. Oh, and no working desk even though it is clearly a business hotel. Whoever designed the layout needs to stop designing interiors.
- This room also had a musty mouldy smell from the A/C in the living room, but the bedroom was safe. I couldn't face yet another room move so I coped by keeping the A/C off in the living room most of the time.

However, other aspects were more satisfactory and seems to be a noticeable improvement over my last visit a few years back, perhaps at the peak of cost cutting. Breakfast at Ballaro was overall quite good, with very good coffees and house cured salmon which was a step above the usual pale and artificial tasting affair you see too often. Service was also very attentive. I had lunch one day at Ballaro as well, and enjoyed a well executed risotto at a very reasonable price (with 25% off for Diamonds). Housekeeping was also very good. I was in the Executive Lounge once for happy hour, but the food spread was quite decent, and service in the lounge was generally very good.

Would I go back? Maybe, if I could find the right room which doesn't smell like a mouldy basement. But with so many options in Dubai, I will probably only be back when I have to be close to the Metro.

Some helpful tips from my painful room experience:

- Avoid the Corner rooms on XX02 line or Deluxe Suites on XX01 line, unless you are on floor 30 or higher. Otherwise you will have the Fairmont seemingly about 10m across from the window.
- If you need a working desk or dislike cramped bathrooms, avoid the Deluxe Suites.
- Before unpacking your things, turn on the A/C and check for musty smells - it won't get any better with time so just change rooms.
- If you have a particularly room type you have in mind (entry level suite or higher), speak to the hotel in advance so that you aren't told at check-in you have been generously upgraded to a standard room on a higher floor.

NoY

...ah yes the old one category upgrade BS. I was told that once upon a time & the front desk guy was absolutely adamant it was Honors policy & they can't deviate. I knew better. Spoke politely to a duty manager & she agreed that the front desk guy was wrong & I was apologetically given a suite. As I said above "buyer beware" at this hotel

stargold

Lucky for you that the duty manager saw sense. The manager on duty at midnight when I arrived only reaffirmed the "policy" and suggested that I book an Executive Room next time if I want an upgrade to a suite *facepalm*