We booked this hotel after reading some great reviews on Trip Advisor. We were travelling from Ireland to Australia and wanted to stay somewhere special as it was a big move for us leaving our home for good. We were certainly not disappointed!
We have two young boys aged 3 years and 15mths and I would have to say the staff in this hotel are some of the best I have ever come across. The hotel was about 15-20 mins from the airport which was a breeze. We had booked a transfer with our travel agent which I would recommend.
We arrived late one evening and were departing late the next so I had requested a late checkout which was accommodated with no problem.
The room itself was simply stunning. The balcony looked straight over the grand mosque opposite and the bathroom was to die for. The L'Occitane amenities were greatly appreciated after the flight.
After settling in for a while we decided to head out to get something to eat. We asked the concierge where to go and they suggested that maybe it was a bit late to be trying to find somewhere with the two kids! We said we would still like to go for a walk to get some fresh air and let the boys relax a bit, but the porters insisted on taking us by golf cart. They were just fantastic. One let our 3yo 'drive' the cart for a bit and another took photos of us. They made a huge fuss of the boys which we really appreciated after a long day of travel. My kids are usually quite wary of strangers but even the youngest headed off with one of the staff to look at the fountain and actually cried when I tried to take him back!! We had a fabulous tour of the property and the other hotel and apartments owned by the same person as the hotel. The staff member was so knowledgeable and friendly and made us feel so welcome.
We went back and ordered our room service which was beautiful. It was prompt, delicious and beautifully presented.
The following morning we decided to walk to the nearby souk which is really just a basic mall. The staff saw us and suggested we could take the gondola as well if we wanted. We decided to walk over to the souk and the boatman collected us and brought us back! I cant describe just how friendly every staff member was and how nothing was too much trouble.
We had lunch by the pool and Wilbert looked after us. He was superb and accommodated the children well. We had our late check out and we still had a couple of hours to spare so we took the children to the beach area and the staff came rushing over with buckets and spades and toys.
We kept them busy for hours and they were then well exhausted and ready to sleep on the 14 hour flight to Aus!!
The travel agent had made an error with our return transfer to the airport so the hotel organised this for us. As we were emigrating we had a lot of luggage so they ended up having to send a 2nd car out with our bags which again was no trouble at all. We left the hotel feeling rested, refreshed, relaxed...I honestly cant think of a bad thing to say about the place. We only wished we could have stayed a week and enjoyed the luxurious surroundings a little longer. Thank you Shangri La Abu Dhabi.