Not quite the 5 star luxury that I thought I was b...

Not quite the 5 star luxury that I thought I was booking and very deceptive. This hotel caters for the masses and is extremely busy with the pool full of floats and no room to move and queues for breakfast. The breakfast is of very poor quality.

There is no international buffet. There is a French buffet but if your children don t like French food then there is limited choice. There are other restaurant choices but if you are on half board you are made to feel cheap as you have a limited menu. Especially for children, the choice is very poor on the half board. You receive a different potion on half board to if you are paying. The half board concept is misleading and overstated about the choice available.

In the Turkish restaurant there wasn t a single Turkish dessert. I thought I had ordered something that sounded Turkish as I have had many vermicelli desserts. I ordered A doughnut with vermicelli. It was a children s doughnut with icing and multi coloured sprinkles! What an insult to receive this in a restaurant in a 5 star hotel.

On the half board, at the Rib room restaurant you are only allowed to order a starter and main or a main and a dessert. I opted for the main and dessert and the choice was limited to the same donutfrom the Turkish restaurant , fruit or ice cream. I asked for a dessert from the main menu and was told there is a supplement. I said I would just stick with my mains. When the other 4 didn t order a desert I was offered the dessert from the main menu. It had lost its appeal by then but must admit the sticky toffee pudding was exceptional and served beautifully.

A beautiful and regal setting with exceptional spa facilities and a lovely place if you have not visited hotels in Dubai before. The hotel s lobby is stunning as is the decor in all the restaurants.

The club lounge is very uninviting and is more like a cheap airplane lounge.

Additional services offered by the poolside/beach are great. You have the sunglasses cleaning service, water cooling spray, complimentary ice lollies and water every morning and the staff are very attentive.

The rooms are fairly basic and very dark and uninviting. Our room had a leak in the toilet and a foul smell. This was repaired and then the smell returned but we didn't tell them again as we were out most of the time.

The food and beverages manager Hasan was extremely accommodating and if it wasn t for his hospitality I would have definitely have checked out!

We visited my sister who was staying at the Al Naseem. This hotel looked more like a hotel we would have enjoyed more as it seemed less busy and more tranquil.

Wrong choice of hotel for us!
Wrong place for foodies!