We were only here for two nights, so it’s hard to give a complete review. But I must say that we were very, very impressed – especially with the service. We booked into one of the Landmark Suites and were upgraded to one of the Presidential Suites. This is a seriously impressive suite – 3000+ sqft of space, his and hers (in our case his and his) bathrooms, huge bedroom, huge living area and separate dining room. There is also a kitchen area and a third bathroom. Best of all, there is a gigantic terrace with sweeping views of Dubai (well, what we could see beyond the constant cloud of dust that surrounded the city).

Raffles Dubai suite living room area (partial).

Service

Service was exemplary. From the pickup at the airport (where we were met not only by the driver, but also the head concierge), to the front desk staff, butler, staff at the executive club, really everyone was top notch. I often find service at city hotels to be efficient, but not terribly warm. But this was certainly not the case here as staff had warmth in abundance (and were also very efficient). Raffles has ‘butler’ service and although we did not give ours much to do, he was always around, making sure everything was up to our expectations (and he went out of his way to get me some passion fruits, which I had a craving for).

Amenities

The hotel has a small, but well provisioned gym, a decent spa (I didn’t get a massage, but my partner did and he indicated that both it and facilities were fine) and a very interesting pool (you will never wonder what time it is while you are there). The executive club was quite nice, with a decent presentation of food throughout the day. The breakfast buffet, as well as the a la carte breakfast options were quite good. We did not eat in any of the restaurants, but did have in room dining, which was excellent.

Overall

Note that this is a very ‘urban’ property. You are surrounded by buildings and roads and construction (that we saw but never heard). So, if you are looking for a more resort like experience, this property might not be for you. Also, I consider the view of the Dubai skyline from some of the rooms to be a huge asset of the property, but it looks like a building is going up right across the street that might, if it is high enough, encroach on this view. I will point out this detail when I post pictures.