When my partner tried to make a reservation, the booking tool on the website was unavailable, so he booked via email. Upon arrival, our reservation couldn’t be found and was registered under a completely different name. After a long journey, and me feeling unwell, we had to wait over 20 minutes for check-in. The receptionist barely provided any information about the hotel—she simply told us how to get to our room: “You can take that elevator to your floor.”

The room itself was beautiful but felt a bit overcrowded with furniture given the available space. Unfortunately, we had a room facing the street, which was extremely noisy, especially in the evenings, with the sounds of sports cars and people outside constantly audible.

The next morning, we were shocked by how chaotic breakfast was. It felt like a free-for-all, with guests piling food onto their plates, making the atmosphere extremely loud and the buffet looking quite messy. After breakfast, we wanted to go to the pool, but all the spots were already reserved, so we headed to the beach instead. The sunbeds there were very comfortable, and the service was friendly and efficient. However, around 2 PM, extremely loud music started playing—either from the pool area or the beach club—resulting in two different tracks blaring at high volume.

After a day at the beach, we had to walk past the pool area to return to the hotel. This was a truly unpleasant experience: crowds of people, excessive drinking, food, shisha, and deafening music. We felt completely out of place. At that point, we realized this hotel wasn’t for us.

We decided to ask if we could cancel our 10-night stay and move elsewhere. The receptionist showed no empathy and simply stated that we should have known what kind of hotel this was based on their website. Honestly, I feel that in Dubai, all hotels and restaurants market themselves in a similar way, so this wasn’t that obvious. She then asked if we had visited the other pool at the hotel. We hadn’t, but only because no one had mentioned its existence upon check-in. She also reminded us that we had booked a non-refundable stay. We understood this but wanted to express that it wouldn’t be good for anyone if we were unhappy for 10 days. She said she would check what could be done.

The next morning, we skipped the chaotic breakfast and instead had a peaceful meal at Delisserie, which was a lovely, quiet spot. We decided to search for the other pool and ended up at the spa area, which was much calmer. This gave us hope that we could still make the best of our stay.

Later that day, the Front Office Manager called us because, despite us deciding to stay, the hotel still wanted to discuss our experience. This made us feel heard and valued. A well-handled solution was offered, allowing us to enjoy the rest of our time there, for which we are very grateful. We were given more information about the hotel and even visited the beautiful new restaurant, Jade. The manager assured us that if we had any further concerns or questions, we could contact him directly, which gave us peace of mind.

We are now having a pleasant stay and enjoying ourselves—though the walk to and from the beach past the pool area remains a daily struggle, haha!

Housekeeping did an excellent job; the room was always well taken care of, and the staff was very kind. However, the number of towels we received varied daily. The bed was changed with fresh sheets every day, which was a great touch. One minor point: there was no soap available for the bathtub, which could be improved. Also, the minibar was not checked or restocked daily.

Room service was good, and I had a fantastic massage at the spa. I must say, the staff at Delisserie, housekeeping, and the spa were all incredibly friendly!

Tip for the hotel:
As a five-star hotel, I would recommend asking guests at check-in whether they would like a short tour—either immediately or at a time that suits them, such as the next morning. This would help prevent situations like ours, where we were unaware of key hotel facilities.