Emirates Palace

We just came back from 4 nights staying in the Emirates Palace. I very nearly rated it 3 stars but decided to go with 4 as the hotel guy at AUH was fantastic! He literally carried all of our bags all the way from the car through the queues and almost to the plane!!!! We had a really fantastic time on the first 3 days. Breakfast was great at the Vendome restaurant but for some reason on the last 2 mornings was in the Sayad restaurant, which unfortunately was nowhere near as good. The beach is lovely with plenty of loungers and parasols and the lifeguards all very friendly and welcoming. There is also a really nice Bedouin guy with camels that will take you on a camel ride (for no charge) by the beach. The pool is nice with a couple of flumes. The spa is very relaxing and the massages great. All was going swimmingly until our last day. After returning from the beach we got back to our rooms and realised our keys had stopped working. Now I know that the keys should be kept away from mobile phones so was especially diligent to ensure that neither came into contact with one another. In any case after several unsuccessful attempts to gain entry we found a room attendant who telephoned the butler to arrange for new keys. We waited by the room for at least 15 minutes (not an easy feat with a tired child!) but nobody came! We then had to make our way all the way to the lobby (it's a very large hotel) to get new keys all while with a now screaming child in tow. Not the end of the world sure. The following morning we were awoken at around 4am by a very loud fire alarm. There was lots of commotion in the hallway but then it all went quiet after a few minutes so we realised it was a false alarm and tried to go back to sleep. Once again not an easy feat with a toddler! Later that same morning after eventually getting our son to sleep we awoke and wanted to go down to breakfast. However, because he had lost several hours of sleep we could not rouse our two year old son. We therefore decided to take it in turns to go down to breakfast whilst the other kept an eye on him whilst he slept. I decided that I would instead bring him up a few of his usual bits from breakfast for when he awoke. After explaining the situation to the girl at the breakfast desk she informed me that this was not allowed. I then had to reiterate my reasons and in the end she went to get the manager. The manager was a bit more understanding and allowed me to do this but rather than allowing me to take it on a plate instead put it in a paper bag so it all got mixed up like a breakfast for some kind of savage. The cherry on the top was a charge on my final bill for 53 AED from the Vendome. I didn't recognise it and the girl went to check what it was for. She said we had had water at dinner the previous night. We hadn't eaten at that restaurant that evening but she assured me it was correct and since my wife was not with me at that point, I was tired from the fire alarm and we had a flight to catch I let it go. Upon enquiring with my wife later on she assured me that nobody had ordered a bottle of water the previous night so that really did feel like I had been done over! All in all a nice place to stay but there are certain parts of the experience that felt a long way from 5 star. I have stayed in many of the finest hotels in the world including the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and felt that certain parts of the stay were not up to standard. As mentioned previously the redeeming features were the guy at the airport as well as Dinesh the lifeguard and Joseph the doorman. All in all I would recommend a stay here to others just to see the beautiful building but I won't be rushing back in a hurry! Read less

We have visited Emirates Palace for dinner, the services is TOP delivered from the moment of arrival at the entrance and guided by the most international well trained Golden key concierge Valmira. The warm welcome and the introduction of the hotel facilities are top notch. Highly recommend to all type of guests, leisure and business. We will definitely come back and stay in the place of Emirates and experience the rooms and other venues. Regards, MaGcierge Read less

I'm a frequent visitor to Abu Dhabi and have come to the restaurants at the Emirates Palace several times, but this is the first time I stayed there. I really enjoyed my stay. The room was very comfortable and very spacious. Mine faced the pool and the royal palace - really very nice - with a balcony. Everything was well done in the room - furniture, bed, etc. Lots of closets and cabinet space. I had one problem with electrical outlets - my iPad plug/transformer wouldn't fit into the space allotted for plugs - which is a problem in this day and age. But I unplugged a lamp to be able to charge my iPad. The internet is really excellent - very fast - and works everywhere in the hotel and on the hotel grounds. This is a big plus for the business traveler! One comment - the channels listed on the TV guide are incomplete. There are many other channels, which I discovered inadvertently while using the up/down button on the remote control. So while the list on the TV is fairly small, the TV selection is actually quite good, but you need to look. The hotel is tremendous - basically divided into two wings - each one as big as a large hotel. Don't forget anything in your room because it will be a long walk back to get it. But the walk is through opulent halls that remind one of a Thousand and One Nights palace! Breakfast is excellent - one of the best I've seen in Abu Dhabi. The restaurants are all great - I ate at the Lebanese, Emirati and Indian restaurants - all great, but I would particularly note the Indian restaurant as notable. Unfortunately, it was still too hot for the pool and the beach, but I did take a walk on the beach and this is the nicest beach I've seen at a hotel in Abu Dhabi. The gym (one in each wing) is also great - spacious, bright with lots of machines. My one criticism was the service in the restaurants. Just too much!!! I had several meals with business colleagues and we were constantly interrupted by questions of if everything was ok and even if they should pour more wine and water! At one restaurant I came in with a colleague and we were dealing with an emergency at work and I was typing on my phone but the waitress was absolutely insisting that I take the menu that she was handing me in my hand instead of her just putting it on the table. Good service is discreet. I know that the tradition in the Emirates is service that borders on ubiquitous - but this was really just too much and annoying. All in all I had a great stay and look forward to coming back. Read less

Hi, This hotel is the perfect place to train for a marathon- it is vast - about two kilometers from one end to the other of expensive wasted space. I have never come across such a contrast in the staff of a hotel as this one - we arrived late for breakfast at 10,30 but breakfast was advertised to carry on until 11 a.m. - the manager of the restaurant could not have been kinder or more charmjng and we had a delicious la carte breakfast. A bell showed me incredible kindness and refused a tip because I reminded him of his Mother. My colleague took a bar if chocolate from the mini bar to find it was stale and a grey brown color streaked with white - really looked disgusting- we showed the receptionist on departure and she agreed and did not charge us - but as we were waiting for our transport a tall Indian male manager addressed us aggressively saying that milk chocolate was like this - maybe he has never eaten chocolate. However, he continued his tirade, accusing me of stealing two Corona - I didn’t even know what that was. It’s a type of beer. I don’t drink alcohol and the idea is just totally preposterous!! We booked rooms with King Beds and I was offered an upgrade at a nominal additional price which I accepted. The so called upgrade to a “ Diamond “ Room was rubbish as my room was identical to that if my companion, plus it had single beds. They wanted to push the beds together to make a king size bed - ridiculous you just fall through the middle all the time!!! I complained, they moved me to an identical room with “king size” bed which was seriously uncomfortable as it was two beds pushed together, but at the original price. We ate the worst meal ever there - see my review of the Mawal restaurant. The rooms are comfortable beside the bad beds, and old fashioned and traditional in decor. Unfortunately the hairdryer is hopelessly inadequate. It’s a small wall unit in the bathroom and while it worked albeit slowly on my thin hair, a person with thick hair would spend hours drying their hair. All in all an unfortunate choice. Read less

All at once including hotel nights is a fantastic mix of activities to pass a weekend or even longer trip. The EP is huge and offers so many impressions. Admittedly, it may take you some time to get from your room to the breakfast area but hey, you’re walking beautiful Arabic style galleries and impressions. Even the water plays outside offer a true 5-Star experience Read less