kryten22uk

Ok, a few points. It really has the wow-factor. The missus, said, "oh wow, look at that one!", as we were driving down the road...and then we turned in! Enormous/high entrance, spacious lobby, and strangely huge hallways/landings on each floor, very much give a feeling of space and not being rammed in.

Every bit of the construction has a luxury quality feel. There didnt seem to be any cut-corners. The location, whilst in the middle of nowhere, is only 1hr and 150dirhams in a taxi from DXB, and is on a perfect spot of beach. Although the beach sand is fake, and is too coarse, the sand at the shoreline and in the water is very fine.

Rooms we had were probably the largest rooms I've stayed in ('Family deluxe sea view with balcony').

Bathroom appropriately opulent.

Plenty of free bottled water in room refreshed daily.

Lighting system is a bit of a mare though. A multitude of confusing switches, and some of them not working properly.

Main buffet was incredibly diverse, and perhaps the best breakfast spread I've had. They served pork (proper bacon/sausages etc) which was good, given it is often missing in the region. Evening buffet was 220Dhs each, which included one glass beer/wine. Half price for kids 12yrs and under. Personal touch on our last morning at breakfast as was given a "Have a safe journey" cake platter.

Pool area is very nice. Plenty of cabana's. Hotel was 80% full, yet we still got a poolside cabana every day, despite meandering down about 11am. Bottled water provided in metal wine buckets filled with ice, so that little extra detail. Every now and then a guy goes around giving freebies, like smoothie cups, ice-pops etc.

Has a relatively small but varied mall within walking distance, where I bought a Galaxy S7 Edge (I know the S8 is now out) for way cheaper than other UAE outlets were advertising.

Good HH Diamond recognition (upgrades on both my rooms, free breakkie which isnt required of W-A, late checkout etc).

Oh, and it is right next to IceLand water park which was brilliant, and almost completely empty!

German Expat

We stayed there 2 times. Here are our likes and dislikes:

Likes:
- very good upgrades (Gold) to large rooms or suites
- in general large and pretty nice rooms
- liked the Japanese restaurant, steakhouse was also quite good (didn't eat the buffet so can't comment on it)
- large pool (almost a bit too much cooled down) with swim up bar (not a great swimmers pool but there is another one for adults only)
- large beach
- usually well priced
- good service
- good breakfast (including some pork products, not that we cared much)

Dislikes:
- not much to do in the area (the mall not so far away is pretty sub par for the UAE, went to the movies there once and bought a bit of stuff at the supermarket)
- hotel is marketed in some European countries (e.g. Germany) as a vacation hotel so a lot of tourists coming in via packages
- breakfast can be very crowded (saw dinner also kind of crowded at the buffet because a lot of the packages include half board)

Neutral:
- large hotel (depends what you like)
- a lot of children (we have a now 12 year old son so saw this as an advantage but dependent what you are looking for might be different)
- gym is ok and big enough for me but nothing to write home about
- a bit more then 1 hour away from Dubai

The Ritz used to be the Banyan Tree but I can't comment on it. We did stay at the desert resort Ritz now has (used to be a Banyan as well at the time) and we really enjoyed this one.

I can recommend it especially for the price point. Its a large vacation hotel but if you like to shop or do things in Dubai its quite a distance (more then 1 hour). It is in a bit of backwater Emirate. So it depends what you like to do. Worked very well for us to relax at the pool. If you like Thai food and don't want to stay at the Ritz in the desert I can recommend the restaurant there for dinner to just sit outside in the evening and get a feel for the desert, food was excellent (we did this also before staying there once and then decided to actually stay on a later trip).

SanDiego1K

This is a beautiful hotel that treats elites very well. We had a 30 hour layover between flights. We knew that the heat in Dubai was such we wouldn't want to go out and about. Thus, it was important that I choose a hotel where we'd have a great view and a comfortable room. This hotel served that purpose. 3 or 4 days before arrival, I began getting notes from my "personal concierge". I told them the time of evening I would arrive and asked for a 6pm checkout. It was granted.

I booked a base room, using an AMEX free night certificate. Despite being a diamond, I was willing to pay for an upgrade in order to have a spacious room. Thus I ticked off several of the NOR1 upgrades. When I arrived, I was given a king junior suite with sea view and balcony. The receptionist said that they were giving it to me for free because of status. The room was HUGE. There was a large walk in closet and a spacious bathroom with both a tub and a shower. The bed area had an alcove with an l-shaped divan. Then there was a sitting area by the window with sofa, chair, and desk. All the finishes and fabrics were luxurious.

We also were given a full breakfast. On weekends, breakfast is served till noon. Otherwise, it is served till 11am.

I am very happy with my decision to spend a night there.

BOStonTravels

Overall seems extremely positive for experience as HH Gold and much better than similar experiences at the WA properties in Dubai or for that matter the Conrad which gets terrible reviews here?

Wow, this seems like a stellar experience especially compared to treatment of HH Diamond members at the Hilton properties throughout Dubai. Is that your impression? How did you feel about the quality of the beach area compared to the Dubai Hilton properties or properties in Abu Dhabi (if you have experience)? The pool looks much nicer than the Dubai properties. Is your sense that RAK has more of a local flavor (e.g. actual culture) than the glam that is Dubai and much of Abu Dhabi?

German Expat

We didn't do or care much about RAK itself and I had friends working and living there and either one said not much to write home about. There is a mountain range not too far away with the highest local mountain (Jebel Rais) that has some things to do but can't tell from own experience if its worth it (e.g. has the longest zip line in the area with more then 2km). You can also do a day trip to Oman (e.g. Dolphin Watching, snorkling). There are tennis courts as well and a decent gym.

Zip line: https://jebeljais.ae/worlds-longest-zipline/
Khasab tour: https://www.khasabtours.com/day-trip-khasab.html

We didn't do either one so no personal experience. What we really enjoyed is the (now) Ritz Carlton (Al Wadi Desert) Ritz but it is in a different price class.

If your flight time matches up there is also now a free shuttle this summer:

RAK Shuttle Bus Service

In summary it is a good beach hotel but nothing special to write home about RAK. But I am not that big a fan of Dubai since I don't like shopping malls much (except for Ski Dubai :-) ). Desert tours pretty much the same regardless where you do them (did them in Dubai, RAK and Abu Dhabi) with some bouncing around on the dunes in a SUV and a tourist camp with similar shows.

BOStonTravels

Good information, the RC does look stunning but as you say, different class of property. I was hoping the WA property offered really good VFM (value for money) as the beach and even pool looked much nicer than the WA Dubai on Palm or similar Dubai "beach" properties, what are your thoughts on this?

German Expat

It depends a bit what you want to do. I always went with my family there, 3x in total, twice with wife and son (12 years old now) and once with my son only. We like to have a late breakfast and our son loves to swim, my wife tends to work in the room and I like to relax in the shade, swim a bit, work out etc. We enjoy good food (we do like Asian food) but are not the most active people going out (we do city vacations for that) while on a beach vacation. Usually some type of tour on one of the days and a movie if bored of the beach or pool (watched Black Panther last time in RAK). For this purpose it is a perfect hotel.
Last trip (with my son only) we stayed at a city hotel in Dubai (JW Marriott Marquis, nice lounge) for 3 nights and did some stuff in the city and then moved for a couple days to the beach. From a price value perspective the WA in RAK is better than Dubai. If you want to go out in the evening and party or you like a large restaurant variety then I would rather stay in Dubai (had business trips there with nice dinners and good bars but on those trips I do not care about the beach and would not stay at a beach hotel).

I also did like the Ritz in Abu Dhabi (last time the service was crap though) but it is not a real beach property.

So if you want mainly beach and pool and relax value for money is much better in RAK, rooms are bigger and upgrades (I am Gold) are much better. If you want nightlive RAK is not the place to go. Also as a warning, it is sold as a tourist hotel in Europe with attracting a bit of a tourist clientele (you notice it most at the morning breakfast buffet, it can feel a bit like a battlefield) and you see people putting towels on the best pool chairs in the morning (bloody Germans :-) ) but there are enough pool chairs and the beach chairs tend to be quite empty.

Taxis are cheap, why don't you try 2 properties so you can do both, stay in Dubai on the way in or out and then go to RAK?

BOStonTravels

great input, what is the typical rate for taxi/car service from WA/RAK to Dubai? Does Careem operate?

German Expat

I didn't use Careem so can't comment on it. Taxi is about 200 AED from Dubai to RAK and cheaper the other way around (you can only pick 'local' taxis so a Dubai taxi can not take a fare back from RAK). You can also ask the Waldorf to quote you a pick up. I paid 650 AED from Abu Dhabi (Ritz) to the Waldorf about 3 years ago and pricing is probably still in the same range. Had a quick look at blacklane and it seems their rate is around 100 USD for a limousine from DXB to the Waldorf in RAK.

BOStonTravels

I had a terrific one night stay at this surprising property. I think the beach and pool surpass anything available at a Hilton property in Dubai. The hotel is also so much nicer than whats on offer with maybe the exception of the overrated WA on the palm. I would totally return to this property for one or two nights to simply relax if in the UAE. It is easy to get a taxi service back to other parts of UAE as you noted and from Dubai cheap to take Uber to RAK.

Bonzo_7

Wasn't sure if this should sit in the BA or Hilton forum, mods please move if necessary.

I'm currently looking at a BA holiday to UAE, specifically WA RAK, as there's some good deals for July (I know it'll be hot but that's why we're going) however the arrival time on BA0105 is 8:25am. Do people have experience in terms of arriving into hotels at that time and access to facilities etc? Appreciate once we're through customs plus travel time to RAK it's going to be mid-morning but still well before the usual 2/3pm check-in.

I was going to email the hotel directly to add my HH number.

Thanks
Bonzo

KeaneJohn

cosmo74

By the time you get to RAK it will be mid-late morning - chances are they will have a room available for you, but if they don't they will certainly let you store your luggage and use all of the hotel facilities until the room is ready, I've yet to stay at a hotel in the UAE where that hasn't been the case. As the poster above said, it helps if you contact them in advance to advise this and give your HH details (they may try and sell you a room the night before, but don't bother with that, there should be no need). It's always a good idea to pack what you might want during the day in your hand luggage, or at least at the top of your suitcase, to make things easier if your room isn't available.

sunshinebob

If youre concerned you could buy a day room.

windowontheAside

I have no BA holidays experience, but in half a dozen or so trips to UAE all of which seemed to arrive/depart at odd times, the hotels all seemed very used to that. I think it's the norm there to allow guests to check in as long as there's a room available.