The Fairmont Dubai (Hotels in Dubai)

Member Name: sarajackson

Product:	Hotels in Dubai
Date:	16/03/03 (910 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect Service, Great dining options, Luxurious accommodations

Disadvantages: None, None, None

The Fairmont Dubai opened in February 2002, and within a week we had made our reservation for our trip in January 2003. Such was the reputation of the Fairmont group that what had for years been an ongoing intention to visit Dubai, quickly turned into a reality once the Fairmont opened.

The rate we booked online was Dh 450 per night (around £100 when you add the 20% tax and service charge) which was for a Fairmont Gold room on the private floor. This was an amazing bargain, and the rate shortly became around 3 times this price. As often is the case with Fairmont there are amazing bargains to be had if you book as far ahead as the website allows.

We were in contact with the Fairmont Gold Manager before our stay, and he set the tone for the service we were to receive, being extremely helpful and efficient. He answered all our queries, no matter how trivial, and made restaurant bookings for us. His tone demonstrated a genuine desire to help and a professionalism that we have come to expect.

When we arrived at the airport at 7am we were greeted by our Chauffeur who quickly transported us to the hotel, after offering us some refreshments. This is a perk of the Fairmont Gold room, as the transfer is complimentary. A smooth ride in a Mercedes S Class sure beats most other transfer options available when checking into your average hotel. We were struck straight away by the customer service, the chauffeur being extremely professional and a pleasant change from the grumpy or over familiar taxi drivers that usually make the transfer to hotels such a trial.

The Fairmont is situated on Sheikh Zayed Road, in the business district. It is directly opposite the World Trade Centre and close to many business office blocks, as well as a few other hotels. The hotel is a striking building, in common with many on Sheikh Zayed Road. Being 33 storeys high it is a landmark you can see from most locations in the city. The exterior is built
of a light sandy coloured stone, but the structure is a pleasant change from other high-rise hotels, that usually end up looking like featureless stone and glass boxes. The shape of the hotel, being a square site with four large corner columns and the glass shaping inwards at increments towards the center of the structure, result in the building having a very pleasing appearance. The building is topped off by a wind tower inspired roof.

Once at the hotel, our bags were taken care of for us while we found our way up to the 33rd floor, and the Fairmont Gold reception. We expected there to be a dedicated lift, so wandered around momentarily before we took the normal lift. The lobby is gleaming and stylish, the main space set off by a water feature in the center with a few places to sit dotted about. It has a very modern feel but not minimalist enough to be clinical or austere. Its size is deceptive as much of the ground floor space is taken up with the cocktail bar and shops and the deli at the rear of the lifts. Two of the six lifts are glass enclosed and offer an exciting ascent as you speed towards what appears to be the ceiling on the 9th floor, which you strangely zip through as you carry on towards the upper floors. When we reached the Fairmont Gold reception we were greeted by two receptionists who made us feel very important and suggested we went for breakfast while they checked us in. This was a lovely touch, and considering many of the beach hotels in Dubai insist you reserve a room for the preceding night if you are arriving early, we felt very grateful that no problem was made of us checking in before 8am! We handed over an upgrade certificate, as my husband is a member of the President's Club, and left the receptionists to arrange this for us. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with very personalized service with nothing appearing too much trouble. The Fairmont Gold lounge service seemed very different to that we have experienced in
Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, as you are served at your table for many of the items as opposed to fetching everything yourselves. The emphasis here appeared to be not to check you in as quickly as possible, but rather in the most civilized and relaxing way - a totally different experience. After a while a receptionist came to check we wanted to upgrade our room, as on our original booking we had requested an Arabic style room, an option that was not applicable to the suites. This attention to detail impressed us, and we confirmed that we would like to upgrade to the suite.

The corridors leading from the central lifts have light mosaic granite floors with soft carpet runners. The walls are all in a crisp off-white, and you are struck walking around by the peacefulness. Our room was on the 20th floor, and was classed as a Deluxe Junior Suite, actually an upgrade of two room categories. You enter into the living area with a large cabinet on the inside wall containing the mini bar with mirror above. A large glass topped dining table with four chairs was contained within the first half of the room. On the right was a guest washroom. Separating the dining area from the living area was a large L-shaped desk with leather chair. At the window end of the room were two off white sofas with big burgundy cushions, a coffee table, side table with lamp and a large TV cabinet with large TV. The floor is in cream coloured shiny granite with burgundy-patterned rugs in both the living and bedroom areas, and the furniture is of extremely high quality. The white walls are set off with large silver framed pictures. Next to the living area separated by a door is the bedroom, which would constitute a generous hotel room in itself. A large bed covered in crisp white covers with burgundy and beige harlequin patterned valance and cushions, and floor to ceiling windows set off the room. In both the living area and the bedroom the windows, due to the shape of the bui
lding, are at an angle so you get views in two directions. There is a second TV unit, a dressing table with large mirror above and a large chaise longue near the window. The bed and chaise longue are set off by large, soft rich coloured cushions. The bathroom along the same lines is also very generous in size, with a separate shower, a large bath with shower above and a marble topped sink unit with green/blue pearlescent mosaic tiles below. There are plentiful supplies of toiletries and the often unwelcome addition of a set of bathroom scales! I cannot stress enough the whole feel of the entire room being that of quality and understated elegance. The usual Fairmont attention to detail is apparent with an added twist of furnishings reflecting the Middle Eastern taste - a perfect combination. The living and bedroom areas are separately air conditioned and both TVs offer complimentary Internet access, using a cordless keyboard. This added extra is very welcome and a service that I wish more hotels would offer. The realization that not everyone who would appreciate Internet access travels on business with a laptop is appreciated. The room also benefited from a Bose CD/Radio player which was of a superior quality to those usually found in Fairmont Gold rooms. The do not disturb signs are superfluous as you have a 'smart door panel' with LEDs indicating whether you want to be left undisturbed or the room made up. Each room also has a door bell. Bathrobes (for use during your stay) and slippers (for use when you get home!) are provided in the room, and there is a complimentary shoe shine service. I cannot think of anything the room lacks; even the daily run to the ice machine is avoided by ice being delivered every afternoon to your room.

The first afternoon when we arrived back after doing some sightseeing, a platter of exotic fruit and sweet items had been brought to our room. A bit later a large bowl of fruit and a note had been brought we
lcoming us to the hotel. Every afternoon we were brought a similar fruit platter along with mineral water (of which we were kept well supplied) which was a nice touch.

Being on the Fairmont Gold floor afternoon tea is served between 3 and 5pm, consisting of various small sweet cakes and delicacies. Slightly later the evening hors d'oeuvres are served. The usual help-yourself hors d'oeuvres service is dispensed with, with individual plates of canapés brought to your table. During our stay we enjoyed canapés including oysters, langoustine and foie gras all prepared by various dining outlets of the hotel. The bar service similarly isn't the usual Fairmont Gold 'honor bar' but you are served at your table by staff. Complimentary tea, coffee and soft drinks are served 24 hours per day, but similarly we did not pay, or see anyone else pay for alcohol either. This is something that is not publicized and caught us out somewhat when you are expecting alcohol to be less readily available than at home. For breakfast you are served tea, coffee, juice and toast to your table, but there is a good choice of Danishes, croissants, fruit, cereal etc that you can help yourself to.

The hotel has plenty of dining options, all stylish affairs. On the lobby level is Bridges, a cocktail bar serving light meals. Cascades are situated nearby, with a nightly buffet and a deli, Pronto, is also tucked away behind the lifts. The signature restaurant of the hotel is Spectrum on One, a multi kitchen concept serving amongst others Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Indian and French food. Bacchus, serving Italian food is on the 9th floor near the Spa. The hotel also has a more traditional restaurant, The Exchange. On our first evening we enjoyed two very good cocktails - a long island iced tea and a martini. Fairmont usually excel at cocktails, and the Dubai Fairmont was no exception, apart from the long island iced tea which was actually superior. Contr
ary to what we expected, the cocktails were not expensive, and the stories we'd heard about alcohol costing an arm and a leg in Dubai turned out to be totally false. The cocktails were Dh 35 each (less than £7 each) and so were actually less than you would pay at a hotel in the UK. The bar has an extensive drinks menu of beers, wines and spirits, all at typical hotel prices. We decided to have a snack in the bar, my husband choosing the Mezze and myself the tiger prawn and vegetable tempura. Both were generous in size, compared to the equivalent in the UK or Canada. Each dish cost around Dh 50, less than £10, so were very reasonable. On our second evening we dined at Spectrum on One. Beforehand we sampled the cocktails in the adjoining bar, and in my opinion the cocktail menu compared favourably with that at Bridges. The martini menu contained a Cosmopolitan, which the Bridges did not, and this cocktail that is often disappointing was just right. My husband sampled a martini with sake, which was an interesting twist. The bar is stated as having a city view, but from where we were sitting, this was not apparent and the area seemed quite small. The bar with its showcase wine cellar is a very civilized place to enjoy a cocktail, and the whole space seems quite intimate. Spectrum on One itself is a very large restaurant, with tables placed around the various show kitchens. From the descriptions I imagined a large space with tables clustered together in the center, but the location of the restaurant around the central atrium space, means the space is divided up effectively and you are not aware of the sheer size of the restaurant. Our table was near the Japanese kitchen, and the tables and chairs are all a light wooden design with black plates and the restaurant is stylish without appearing too stark. Our Waitress was very helpful, and eager to answer our questions. She hit a very happy balance between professionalism and friendliness. A sign of a t
ruly great restaurant is the ability to judge the customers preference in making chit-chat - this is something that Fairmont usually get right. The menu is separated into the various regional cuisines, and offers around 7 or 8 options per region for starters and main courses. We selected a bottle of Canadian wine costing around Dh 150, only to be told that they had run out of this particular wine. The waitress selected another (more expensive) option, but we decided to order another Canadian wine costing around Dh 130 instead. It then transpired the waitress had found a bottle of our original choice after all. It didn't strike us straight away, but it dawned on us half way through our first glass that the bottle was corked. WE chose another bottle though and this was changed without any fuss. It was only when a few days later at another restaurant when we were again told our original choice of wine was unavailable that we started to wonder if this was some way the restaurants tried to maximize their profits. Maybe when a customer chooses a low priced bottle, this choice is 'not available' but it suddenly becomes available if the customer chooses a bottle costing less! I chose the prawn cakes from the Thai menu, my husband opting for the Japanese tempura tiger prawns. Both starters were good quality and well constructed but rather on the large size - something that we were beginning to realize was typical of restaurants here. For main course I chose the Chicken Teriyaki from the Japanese menu and my husband decided on the Lamb Bhiryani from the Indian selections. My main course was delicious, and just the kind of food you often yearn for when faced with complicated and rich hotel food. Already quite full, we were still tempted by the dessert menu, my husband choosing 5 scoops of a variety of ice creams and sorbets. By the end we felt probably overfull, but still had enjoyed ourselves immensely. The following evening we dined at Verre by Go
rdon Ramsay, and despite much praise from various sources, I found Spectrum on One a much more satisfying experience, the style of food much more appropriate to the climate and the service immeasurably better judged.

The hotel has a large Willow Stream spa, with two outdoor pools on opposite sides of the hotel, one ideal for morning swims and the other for evening! One of the pools has a jacuzzi alongside. Both are lovely places just to relax and look out over the city.

Of the hotels on the Sheikh Zayed strip the Fairmont is the closest to the city, but still requires a taxi ride to get to most of the locations that a visitor will want to visit. This really isn't a problem as taxis are so inexpensive, and the location combines the feeling of being in the City away from the tourists as well as being in a relatively quiet area. On our first afternoon we walked down to the public beach at Jumeirah and through Satwa, but every other day we caught taxis. As a guide though we had six taxi rides to various locations either side of the Creek. We also caught a taxi to get us to our second hotel, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which is a fair way out of the city, and then one back to the airport from the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. In total we spent less than £35! To stay just at a beach hotel, any of which are a long way out of the city, even if you do have a trip into Dubai, would seem such a waste, and you really would be missing out on the real Dubai. At the Fairmont you are not surrounded by European tourists, and you feel part of the scene.

There is nothing I would change about the Fairmont. With extremely high expectations, we were not disappointed, only further impressed. The Fairmont brand has been fine-tuned here to offer an exemplary product and at a surprisingly reasonable price. There are many much hyped hotels in Dubai, including those proclaimed (self or otherwise) as the best in the world. Having stayed also at the Jumeirah Bea
ch Hotel, regularly voted the best hotel in the world, I find myself wondering if is it possible to be better than the 'best'? From my experiences at the Fairmont, it certainly appears so! With personalized genuine caring service, stylish rooms and quality interiors, world class restaurants and bars, it is likely only the Burj Al Arab (at many times the cost) would be better in Dubai. For our own amusement we keep a score of all the hotels we stay at, and unsurprisingly the Fairmont Dubai leapt straight to the top spot. When we return to Dubai area, there are many uncertainties as to which hotels we would stay at and for how long, but the one constant is that we would definitely return to the Fairmont.

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