Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah

I've had the privilege of travelling extensively throughout my life, travelling is one of my passions, to travel to many different places around the world for business and pleasure has been great fun. One of the places that has impressed me in recent years has been Dubai, the standards of hotels and the service offered is of a remarkable level. Normally I would stay in the Jumeira Beach area where there are many exceptional hotels with excellent facilities, however last week I stayed at the Marriot Resort Palm at West Beach which is an area with which i was not familiar. The location is fantastic with access to its own beach area with various connected restaurants. the large pool with full service also has a swim up bar. I'm used to getting exceptional service in Dubai but the service received from the incredible staff at this Marriot was truly outstanding. Usually i would not nominate an individual member of staff particularly in a team as good as this one but a young lady named Nandini was absolutely remarkable in the way she looked after our group who were celebrating a special birthday. We all had a very happy 7 day visit and cannot wait for return in October. Read less

Let me start by saying this hotel has great potential to be a brilliant holiday for families on the Palm. We’ve been to Dubai earlier this year and stayed at Le Royal Meridien Jumeirah beach and that was amazing and the service impeccable so we were looking forward to trying another hotel from the same Marriot group. The service is so hit and miss, and they are inconsistent in providing quality services and information to guests. On check in, it felt more like a mall waiting line at a store. No welcome drink provided, we were expected to que which was slow and no one made eye contact until we reached the front of the desk. It seems reception are not happy and are not welcoming. The same with the concierge desk, one particular male looked miserable and didn’t feel like he wanted to help with our questions on three occasions so it put me off going back when we did need help. The food; we were half board and when checked in told we had all inc for our 16 month daughter, who also has food allergies. I emailed in advance to inform them of her allergies and to check they could cater for her, otherwise we would not choose the hotel and bring other foods (which we always travel with safe foods anyway). I specifically asked prior to arrival to ensure there would be no nuts in the room, but this was not upheld even though they confirmed it of course could be done, we arrived and nuts were in the room at an accessible height that my baby could’ve got hold of. Not a great start to entering the room. We asked for an infant cot prior to arriving, it wasn’t in the room either. Restaurants; the chefs in the main levantara were great at preparing foods for my daughter and went beyond to help us make sure she could eat safely, I always felt reassured with the chefs. The majority of the servers in here were also very helpful and kind, it’s busy but we went at quieter times and they always helped find a suitable table for us too. Italian restaurant; chef excellent and came out personally after I asked the service staff after they left me worried about knowledge of allergens, servers not so great; it seems that the staff think they are too good for the hotel or to provide service especially in the ice cream parlour connected to the restaurant; one particular male staff was so so rude to not only us but many families we spoke to and clearly does not want to be there never mind giving 5* service. He seemed to be arguing with many families about the all inclusive option and how it can be used, not what you expect in a 5* hotel in Dubai where usually the staff go above and beyond to provide what you need. We asked if we could have a scoop out of a new box of ice cream as the one we wanted to share with our daughter had cross contamination from another ice cream scoop which was clear by the colour swirl and he refused to do it, so she couldn’t have it. This is unheard of in Dubai, allergies are treated seriously here usually. We also were told she wasn’t AI anymore even though another receptionist gave us a wristband for her, when we went back to complain and ask to speak to a manager about the service we’ve had in the first few days they said someone would cal us but it never happened, I then emailed and no reply. Ample opportunities to answer our feedback before our review on TA. The Mexican was also great once the senior server took our order and we really enjoyed the food here. Sadly not all restaurants are open to children which was a real shame and we didn’t know this prior as we probably would’ve not booked th half board here. The room constantly smelt of body odour after staff had been in to clean the rooms which was awful stench. We had wet dirty towels re-folded and put back out for us to use, even though we put down on floor/bath to be washed. Saucers of the coffee cups were not replaced when dirty, neither were vanity kits after use. They had no breakfast tea bags available and made a fuss when we asked for some, eventually got them but bizarre on a hotel of this size to not have basic tea in the room. The shower was not clean around the grout. The view was beautiful though and the bed very comfortable and our baby slept well in the cot. We had to use white noise for sleep for her as our room was right by the lifts so noisy at evening time. Beach and pool; Waiters slow and don’t bother to press the service button as no one comes! You need to get your own towels, another couple we spoke to were saying it’s so inconsistent as sometimes they do it depends who served you if they can be bothered. Seems to be really lacking in staff. Again, at LRM they do all of the towels etc for you and always arrive at service calls but they had substantial staff compared to Marriot. The kids pool was lovely but it’s small and not much for them to play with so I wouldn’t say it’s the best family hotel in this area. Accessibility wise it’s not the best, constantly had to carry the pushchair up stairs to access to the pool areas and beach as the ramps are so far away. We really liked the location but the hotel needs to get better trained on giving true 5* service that people visiting Dubai would be expecting. It seems they favour business guests and need to decide who they want to really attract here. Anil on the valet was so lovely and helpful getting us a taxi and he was the only standout person here. It’s such a shame to see a lack of good service in the reception team and management as it could be a great hotel. Overall we had a great week but we would not return to this hotel and will be back at le royal Meridien JBR, management please go visit them to see true 5* service in the same price bracket. Read less