CMK10

Stay Report - 12/27 to 12/29

Location: The hotel is located on the eastern end of the top part of the Palm Circle. It's fairly close to Atlantis but not really in walking distance of much. Thankfully I never had an issue getting an Uber out here and Ubers in Dubai are really cheap. It's about a half hour to downtown Dubai and similar to DXB. There is a Metro station at the Atlantis but I didn't use it. The views of Dubai are lovely from here and there's a nice walk along the water you can enjoy.





Hotel: Very nice and lovingly decorated for Christmas which was a pleasant touch. The lobby is on the 2nd floor and has a whiskey/cigar bar with a bar menu, Peacock Alley which is a tea/dessert place and a pleasant sitting area. One level down are a restaurant which does a breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet and a really good Southeast Asian restaurant. Outside is a large pool, separate adult pool, pool bar and a halfway decent beach.











Check In: We arrived at 2 PM and had to wait a few minutes to check in due to a crowded lobby. Once we were checked in the agent doing so was really friendly and helpful. All staff we dealt with here were great in fact. I was thanked for being Diamond, upgraded from a Superior to a Deluxe room and given property information. I did have to wait about 15 minutes to get into the room though.

Room: My stay the night before was at a Four Seasons but I can honestly say I liked this room better. It was really large with a nice separate living and bedroom area along with a desk, large TV, massive bathroom with two sinks, full tub and a big shower and a toilet and bidet. There was also a nice balcony with views of Dubai. We also received a welcome amenity a little after check in. Turn down service was offered each night too.











Pool/Beach: The pool is lovely though they don't let you in at night and start winding down services an hour before sunset. During the day though service here is great and they have toys for the kids. The beach is what it is.







Dining: We ate at various places:

- Pool Bar: Fairly meh. Simple orders (caesar salad and a poke bowl) took 40 minutes to come out and were mediocre
- Lao (Southeast Asian): Outstanding. Excellent food of really high quality
- Peacock Alley: Tea service here was delightful
- Serafina Bar: Good cocktails and their bar menu wasn't bad either. They do 2 for 1 cocktails during Happy Hour too

Breakfast: Diamond Breakfast was one of the best breakfasts I've had at any Hilton property. Huge spread with omelet and egg station cooked to order, waffles, pancakes, Middle Eastern and Asian options, pork station, cheeses, meats, yogurts, fruit and way too much else to describe.



Overall I am hugely impressed and very glad I stayed here.

lost_in_translation

I’m amused your views on food are literally the exact opposite of mine, I thought the poke bowl was pretty good for beach food, whilst breakfast was low quality and a relatively poor selection in my opinion. Did I miss part of the breakfast spread? The only Asian options I saw were a couple of pieces of dim sum in a heater like you’d find in an executive lounge in Asia and similarly the Middle Eastern selection was also tiny. I didn’t try any of the other restaurants since I didn’t like breakfast.

Also hopefully you weren’t coming from one of the Dubai Four Seasons as the rooms at both make this place feel cheap and dull to me (other than the bathroom).

CMK10

Okay well clearly you and I need to travel together because we make a complete person

And no I was coming from the Abu Dhabi Four Seasons which was very good but I preferred this room.

redpalmetto

I am staying here at present - Jan 4 to 9 on points. Got a Diamond room upgrade on checkin. Have stayed before so know all about facilities etc. However was disappointed not to be able to buy Pearl Club access as we have previously, due to covid capacity restrictions.
Good hotel and great value on basic points per night rate especially.

dyinginthesun

hi did you purchase the half board ? I’m confusing with the pearl club and half board. Any suggestions? Which one is better ? Or both ? Thanks in advance

ChristopherWalken

What kind of diamond upgrade did you get? I'll be staying here at the end of the month.

ChristopherWalken

Stayed here from April1 to April 4th on the way back from Conrad Maldives. I received a minor upgrade due to Diamond status from the standard king superior room to a king superior with a skyline view. Overall my experience was mixed. The alarm clock was broken and I had water stains above the shower. The hotel staff replaced the alarm clock and inspected the water marks above the shower. They said the water marks were from the air conditioning condensation but did not pose a safety concern. However, they didn't offer me another room. Not sure I would return, and it did not feel like a $600 a night hotel. Also keep in mind that you are far from the main tourist areas of Dubai (aside from Atlantis). It will cost you about $30 to Uber each way to the mainland.

View from balcony.




Broken alarm clock.

Water marks above shower.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Have booked a 3 night stay here in a couple of weeks for R&R. ( will have spent 2 nights at the Canopy and 5 at the Conrad before moving). Fee for the Pear club was reasonable so reserved a Pearl Club King

Will report on my stay

Regards

TBS

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

Just received a pre arrival upgrade marketing email.( not the pre arrival upgrade)
my exciting offers include

Upgrading my pearl King to a queen
afternoon tea for 2 ( I am on my own)
romantic beach dinner for 2
bespoke massage
Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries
upgrade to the chairmans suite for only 20000 aed per night

Regards

Tbs

redpalmetto

Pearl club is the lounge - and worth taking in my opinion. Got complimentary breakfast as a Diamond, and room upgrade to a king with a better view

The _Banking_Scot

Hi
thanks for that

Have not received any pre arrival emails from the hotel ( unlike wa berlin last year)

I could actually see the hotel and atlantis from my room at the conrad this morning as the sky was clear at 0745 ... but only for 5 mins when the haze rolled in

Looking forward to my stay at the weekend

Regards
tbs​​​​

kilo

I received my pre-arrival email, for this hotel, the day before arrival.(This was last week).

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

the pre arrival email came in at 0345 today ( day prior to arrival)

When clicking on any of the areas ie special requests a box appears and says that special requests cannot be guaranteed less than 48 hours prior to arrival but to phone and they will do their best ( I do not need any thing but just emailed back with my eta tomorrow)

regards

Tbs

10th June

just a few hours to check in and have not received an acknowledgement of my email ( not a big deal but conrad dubai did respond quickly)

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

Here now.

Picked the wrong time to arrive 3pm on a Friday and a slow moving queue to check in but after a few minutes a staff member ( after checking my name ) escorted me to the Pearl Club (as I understood it they scan your passport at the front desk then check in at the club)

room is at the end of the corridor with a beautiful view of the burj al Arab. There is however a blank sandy empty lot also in view ( beside the hotel) but it beats the brown coloured building at the other end of the hotel complex beside the tennis court and adult pool.
sea temperature is hot but nice views of the fronds and towards the mainland..atlantis is a little hazy due to the haze and afternoon sun. therw is a platform about 25m out
The family pool is quite busy and cooler than the sea.
​The adult pool is a plain rectangular shape but with a nice large marble steps into the pool water is relatively cool and refreshing compared to the Beach and the conrad pool that was at 30degrees.
landscaping around the pools is excellent ( conrad was excellent also) with lots of palms and greenery
requested a turndown service time and had a look around the hotel.
Now will hit the pool then evening snacks.
​​pool afternoon snacks in the club are
very good.

Room and hotel public areas are beautiful.
so far for aed1200 per night it is very good value for money.

i am paying for 3 nights here for the price of 5 at the conrad but so far so good.


Regards
Tbs


Having evening snacks now at 1845

Great views over the pool and towards the mainland and atlantis

Prosseco served.
Better range of alcohol than conrad
desert options more limited then at the conrad
staff proactive at asking if you wanted ice and lemon with your diet code

Good selection of hot and cold items including individual portions of wadorf salad
slices of melon and watermelon
chicken safron soup and individual servings of chicken tikka

Cocktails also available.ie pina colada and espresso martinis.
Lounge staff very good.

Overall food wise the selection is slightly weeker than the conrad but quality is a bit better and more interesting options.
mask wearing round the buffet area is mandatory and enforced politely
Lounge relatively quiet but quite a large rush for last drink orders prior to 2000 zo my cafe latte took a few minutes.

Overall I think I prefer the conrad lounge although the pearl club is more relaxing as it is quieter and the range of drinks and cocktails is better
fitness centre open 24hrs and looked large when I had a quick look after arrival
there is a wa store selling wa branded items and also Bentley branded items

kilo

Hopefully you have as pleasant a stay as we did. We checked out yesterday.

We just completed a one week stay at the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeriah. The location is close to the distal end of the East crescent of the Palm. So even after entry into the Palm there is still a 6 mile plus journey to get to the hotel.

We arrived several minutes before check in time (3pm). Our room was not available. As our room had Pearl lounge access, we were able to wait in the lounge . What we did not bargain for was a two hour plus wait for our room to be available. However the lounge was a nice place to wait for our keys. More on the lounge below.

All the staff wore masks as required by law. One thing that surprised me though is that the guests predominantly wore masks indoors as well. This was in contrast to the 2 previous hotels I had visited earlier on this trip. I did not see one instance of enforcement by staff but that might be happening.

The hotel is centered around an atrium.There are 5 floors in addition to a G and LG level. The glass enclosure around the elevators alllowed view of the atrium whilst using the elevator. The elevators were quite silent and hence could easily arrive and leave without you realising. This was also because the inside of the elevators were as shiny as the outside of the doors.







We stayed in a Waldorf Astoria Suite with seaview. The suite was on 4th floor and overlooked the the Palm as well as the pool area. There were also similar suites overlooking the Burj al Arab. There is no distinction between the two views as far as booking the suites are concerned. For standard rooms there appears to be a distinction between a Palm and Burj/ sea views.

The room consisted of a fair sized bedroom - probably of similar size to the standard rooms and a huge sitting area. The lounge area consisted over sitting area, a full sized dining table and a bar area with bar . There was also a small kitchenette which had a full sized fridge freezer and a microwave. The latter was helpful when we got a food delivery. I suspect the kitchenette was designed with the intention of having a Butler service as there is a keyed entrance into the kitchenette from the outside.

There is a large balcony with sun loungers and chairs. I think all rooms in the hotel have balconies. There was also a second restroom and walk through closet. Of note in the bathroom is the large walk in shower with duplicated shower heads and controls. Like a his and hers walk in shower! The body lotion and soap bars were by Salvatore Ferragamo, but the other toiletries were by Aromatherapy associates London. Housekeeping was available regularly or when needed and there was a regular evening turn down service. Water was replaced on a daily basis.

Typically 6 bottles in the morning and eight bottles in the evening. In the end we had so much water but we had to stop them from delivering water in the last two days. We got a welcome gift of fruits and Waldorf Astoria chocolates possibly from out Impressario rate.














The staff were very friendly and helpful. We did not experience any poor service during our stay. The Pool staff were excellent as were the housekeeping staff the few times I came in contact with them. The door staff and concierge were also good. The Pearl club staff were top notch. Overall very good customer experience regarding staff interactions.


Like the Ritz-Carlton elite status does not automatically grant one access to W-A lounges. Access can be obtained by booking a Pearl club room or any of the Hotel suites (Pearl club, Waldorf Astoria or Chairman suites) You can also get access by paying a supplement depending on availability.

The Pearl club is located on the 5th floor. Key card access is required for the 5th floor.The doors of the Pearl club lounge were otherwise open during hours. I presumed all the rooms on floor 5 had access to the lounge. The lounge was almost never busy. The balcony has several tables to sit outside. Most people who sat outside seemed to do so in order to smoke. Breakfast was served at the pal club. On the days we had breakfast we had it at the Pearl club lounge save one day.

Lounge breakfast hours where from 8 Till 11. Afternoon tea is served between 3:00 to 5:00 PM Sometime between breakfast and afternoon tea. (I think 12:45 ) I was told they serve soup- I never attended during this service so I am uncertain what this meant. Happy hour was from 5:00 PM Thu 8:00 PM with Canapies from 6-8pm. We visited briefly the day we arrived and had some cocktails on another day. Otherwise our experience of the Happy hour was limited.

The level of hospitality at the Pearl club was a very high standard. Although I found the standard of customer care from the hotel staff in general to be excellent the Pearl club seemed to have a very high standard stop we’re all very cheerful okay I would come and introduce themselves. They remembered our names ( even though I have a name that most people are scared of pronouncing) and would come and say hello with a smile and genuine warmth. They remembered all your preferences in terms of drinks and even table seating / settings for breakfast. They even notice when you didn’t come for breakfast and ask if you are well.





The pool area consisted of an adult only pool, a family pool and a Jacuzzi . Over the weekend the adult pool did get quite busy. Assistance from the pool attendant might be required to get a lounger. I understand part of the to get busy because over the weekend there were a lot of locals who would pay to use the swimming pool area Even if they were not staying in the hotel. During the weekdays finding a sun lounger was not difficult. Staff were quite friendly. They offered free buckets of water in ice and what once a day offer free ice lollies full.







A benefit of the Waldorf suites is the complimentary use of a Bentley to (but not return from) nearby locations – Mall of Emirates/ Burj being the most distant location I think. The Bentley had to go in for repairs and hence we did get complimentary travel with a Mercedes and an A8- in addition to the Bentley when it was available. They also offer paid transport to various other destinations but I think the prices are higher than Uber Black.




The fitness room is open 24 hours and did look fairly well equipped for a hotel gym. Bottled water was available.






We visited the main restaurants for breakfast on only one occasion . Breakfast ends at 10:30, 30 minutes earlier than the lounge. It was fairly crowded at about 10:00 when we got there. There were more options available in the Main restaurant, compared with the lounge, but everything we wanted was available in the Pearl Lounge except granola which my wife wanted. We requested this one day at the lounge and they made a point of offering this to us every single morning we attended. The Main breakfast at the Mezzerie had outdoor seating. After guests vacated their seats a few birds would descend onto the table. Oddly most birds didn’t seem interested in the left over food.

There are 3 main restaurants in the Palm. Lao a Chinese/ Thai restaurant. The Mezzerie a buffet with different theme each night and Social by Heinz Beck an Italian restaurant. We visited the Lao and the Mezzerie on the international night. The meals we ordered at Lao were really exquisite. For a buffet the Mezzerie was also good. There is also a Pool bar serving meals until early evening. The Peacock Alley serves afternoon tea and the Serefina bar also offers bites.

We did not book half board but I understand that those with half board were given AED175 per person per day to spend. The Hilton 25% off food for Gold/Diamond and 10% blue/silver runs till the end of the year.

We requested at got a 14:30 check out without any of the typical fuss.

Overall a very pleasant stay.