Roy Kelly

Review of Jumeirah Zabeel Saray

Hotel is of medium quality, given the array of cho...

Hotel is of medium quality, given the array of choice in Dubai. Rooms are great, with plenty of space for our family of 4. Beds are comfortable, pillows are way too soft. We asked for firmer pillows, but were given an extra pillow!?!

Bathroom is large, with reasonable toiletries. Shower is perhaps on the narrow side. The bath is extremely large (and very uncomfortable being made from marble), it takes around 30 minutes to fill, so is impractical.

The pool is nice, as is the beach. People put towels on sun beds early, so its a bit like a Spanish resort, which is a shame. Sun beds in both locations are on top of each other, so there is no privacy.

Staff are very pleasant in general, although in certain areas there is just not enough of them. Pool area staff are under pressure - we asked a waiter for water a couple of times, then gave up and got it ourselves. Same for sunbeds - we asked another to find us two extra beds and bring them over to us - we waited all day and they never arrived. They also ran out of towels one day.

Restaurants on site are amazing. A real plus for this place. We tried them all and did not have a bad meal. Highlights are the Lebanese and the Turkish.

The biggest issue with this place is the location. Almost at the end of the Palm, it is at least 20 minutes in a taxi to anywhere. Taxi prices vary from 35 dirham to 65 dirham for the same journey so you never know what is correct. Taxi drivers seem to be taking advantage of the Palm guests - something does not add up.

Would I stay here again? No, probably not. There is so much better, the competition is fierce so I will be looking elsewhere.