we stayed for three days at the hotel in one of the rooms facing towards the veranda, looking out towards the polo field. the hotel room was one of the most tastefully decorated one i've ever been in, and it is huge: high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, a big bathroom, you name it. the restaurant called rare is superb. the service at the hotel was everything you expect it to be. next time i'm in dubai i'll definitely stay there again. if i had to name anything that would leave room for improvement: the service at the epicure restaurant was slow, and you can hear the road nearby (go to bab al shams jumeirah if you want nothing but the desert around you).

We had a lovely few days at the Desert Palm resort. It is listed as one of the small boutique hotels of the world and is recommended in Mr & Mrs Smith. Staff are very subtle and attentive, the rooms spacious, sumptious and very well equipped - and the grounds and hotel beautifully maintained. Polo games are played daily and can be watched from the hotel terrace.

DINING
We dined in 'Rare' one evening (very pleasant meal). Room service is also of a very high standard - coming back late from the mall one evening meant we were too late for the restaurants, but enjoyed freshly cooked food from the in room dining menu at midnight.

HORSERIDING
One downside was that there is currently poor communication between the hotel and the stables, and booking riding was difficult. The stables did not get back to the hotel to confirm my riding time, so I missed out on an early morning ride around the estate - to be informed later that evening that "if I could be ready in 2 minutes they could take me out before sunset". This did mean things were a little rushed, but at least I did make it out on horseback around their beautiful polo fields and grounds. It's roughly £40 for an hours ride. NB I just brought my jodhpurs, as I thought there'd be facilities to borrow boots, but it seems that hard hats are all they really provide - so I'd recommend packing your own boots/chaps.

FLIES
The other thing I should mention is the amount of flies around when you're sunbathing - this has been mentioned before, and I suggest packing some DEET spray as a precaution.

LOCATION
20 mins from airport (for approx £30) you can be picked up by the hotels private car. At 11am and 5pm the hotel has a car that goes into the huge Dubai Mall where the Burj Kalifa tower is, and the dancing fountains can be viewed. Otherwise it's £7-10 for a 20-30mins taxi ride each way into Dubai itself.

SKI DUBAI
We loved this - best £30 I've spent for 2 hours of enjoyment in a long time. At the Mall of the Emirates - allow 5hours in total from departing hotel to returning to hotel.

Hopefully I'll be back with the intention of a polo lesson next time !!

We chose the desert palm due to the offer on at the time. Both of us had been to Dubai before and this time was as a stopover on the way to Sri lanka/Maldives. We wanted somewhere to relax and also to be able to visit the tower and Atlantis whilst there. From the information given on the hotel we did know this would be a way from the main points of interest in dubai, however, everything was much closer than we thought. 5-10 mins to the Burj Khalifa and half an hour to Jumeriah Beach (Meridien/Grosvenor house area). Taxi cost (unless you use the hotel car) were about GBP5-6 t Burj Khalifa area, GBP16-20 to Jumeriah beach/Palm/Atlantis.

I thought the hotel was very well kept, we had a 2 bed private pool residence (they were full so upgraded us ;-) ) and this was lovely and bigger than our house in England! Really comfortable beds and very clean, great bang and olufsen entertainment system, spoilt for choice with bathrooms and a lovely private pool area. The main hotel areas were very well kept, the main pool area was lovely although there didnt seem to be that many sunbeds, am not sure if this is ever a problem.
The Epicure restaurant was used for breakfast and served a la carte which was great and there was a good choice, I tried the Arabic dishes and they tasted great to me!
We ate at the Rare restaurant one evening and it was lovely, really good wine selection and the wagyu beef was almost like pate it was so soft and tender. I didnt think prices for beers, cocktails etc that bad as ive seen much higher in the other 5 star hotels in the more touristy areas.

Staff wise, they were all very helpful and there was a really peaceful feel about the place. I would recommend this for those of you who have been to Dubai before and dont need to be at Jumeriah beach or for those who dont really like the idea of Dubai but are looking for somewhere nice to break up an onward flight. I would be quite happy to stay here again.

We stayed here for 1 night: nice hotel, GREAT room.Especially the tour over the polo terrains was nice to do!
Also you're close enough to Dubau City to visit and shop, but far enough to be relaxed.
Be sure to be on the terrace by sunset, and enjoy the view of the Burj Kalifa.