Nick

Review of Eastern Mangroves by Anantara ...

no Arabian Dream at second glance

no Arabian Dream at second glance
we were impressed by the pictures on Anantara s website and the overall good ratings on tripadvisor and as we prefer Hotels with a local touch instead of worldwide look-alike chain Hotels, we decided to stay at Eastern Mangroves this time while in Abu Dhabi (we usually stay at Shangri-La Abu Dhabi or Madinat Jumeirah Dubai which we both love!).
We arrived around 9pm. The Building itself is very impressive and made us feel we arrived at our Arabian Dream vacation right away. Reception went smooth, very attentive staff. We were offered arabian coffee, juice, dates and chilled towels immediately. Angel, our welcome Manager, was more than friendly and charming! We were even given a free upgrade to a Mangrove view Executive Balcony Room.
The room is fantastic indeed. Very big, immaculately clean, comes with luxury ammenities such as Nespresso coffee maker, Elemis products, free water and fresh fruit. We took a quick Hotel tour. The gym is OUTSTANDING! I have around 120 Hotel stays per year. Never have I seen a Hotel gym that well equipped. Also the spa facilities look amazing, however even the use of Hammam or Sauna without treatment is an extra pay which is very unusual for a Hotel this category.
After the tour we had Dinner at the Thai Restaurant. Ambience, service and most of all the food have been fantastic. We opted for the special of the day which featured a flight of five dishes all of which were mouth watering delicious!
Overall a fantastic first night impression.
Then came the next morning. We went for the Breakfast Buffet which I was very much looking forward to.
Arriving at the Restaurant, the place was not busy at all and well equipped with staff, however no-one greeted us. We waited roughly one minute, then decided to pick a table ourselves. Atmosphere in the Buffet Restaurant was like at a mediocre 3* Tourist Hotel. They placed a trolly for used dishes right next to our table with all the noise that came with it. Coffee and Tea were self serving options with just supermarket standart tea, not any high-scale brand one would expect from a five-star. Food options were various, however the presentation was not appetizing at all. Hardly any decoration, looked like it was made for masses, not classes (please see pictures and judge yourself).
As we arrived, we found sausage on the floor. Yes, even at a five-Star this does happen and is perfectly acceptable. But finding the same sausage still there when leaving after 45 minutes should NOT happen at a Hotel this category. Staff was friendly but very slow. It took them almost 10 minutes to get me a Cappucino and I had to wave them over to ask for a second one (which took equally long). Restaurant Manager was busy with wasting empty tables instead of coordinating the service and do customer care. Juice was not fresh but came in bottles which were emptied into self-service units so all the pulp sank to the bottom and the liquid stayed on top. Basically all we got was a glass of pulp (see foto). Food quality and variety was good but far from what what we experienced at Shangri-La or other 5* Hotels within the UAE.
After Breakfast we went outside to see the facilities at daylight. This completely ruined the overall positive impression we had so far. A variety of different deck-chairs all of which came with different covers and obviously several seasons old (see fotos). Cracked wood, a childrens trampoline and bike stowage right next to the main (and only!) pool. The overall appearance of this area is far from five-star!
We were actually planning on staying longer after arrival last night, however now decided to change Hotels tomorrow.