Hilton Sharjah review, the “other” Emirate
Sharjah is one of the Emirates that doesn’t get much attention, in fact, when we were telling most people about Sharjah, they had no clue where it was on the map. Turns out it’s only about 20 minutes north of Dubai airport and there’s a Hilton there too!
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We booked this night using points as it’s only 20,000 points a night which is a great use in my opinion of the Hilton points we had collecting dust (I think since the Bush Administration).
Downtown Sharjah
We grabbed a taxi from the airport (word of warning they don’t take credit cards, only cash) and headed to the Hilton. After about a 20 minute ride and 50 AED, we arrived at the Hilton Sharjah.
Declining assistance with our bags (I didn’t feel like having anyone else in my room at 1am), we headed in to the massive lobby, which was just as blinged out as I would imagine a hotel in the Emirates to be. The grand sweeping staircase covered two levels in the middle of the lobby. The check in counters were all individual desks set off to the left side of the lobby. We were informed that as Hhonors gold members we were upgraded to the Ambassador suite on the 15th floor with sweeping views of the city. Also because we are Gold members we would have a free breakfast buffet in the hotel’s restaurant.
Hilton Sharjah Lobby
Hilton Sharjah Grand Staircase
The room was at the end of the hallway and as we entered we didn’t quite know which direction to go. That’s because the room empties into a huge lobby with four hallways in each direction. We apologize in advance for the dark photos as it was 1am when we arrived and we couldn’t figure out how to get more light into the room. In fact It was all I could take to not pass out right away after the stunning EgyptAir flight that brought us here.
Hilton Sharjah Ambassador Suite Door
To give you a better idea, we’ve included a map. Seriously, when was the last time you needed a map to navigate a hotel room?
Hilton Sharjah Suite Map
There’s a room off to the right leading to the guest bathroom, I suppose so no one stinks up the sheik’s private bedroom facilities?
Hilton Sharjah room lobby
Hilton Sharjah guest bathroom
Directly behind it entering to your left there was a large living room with two sofas, chairs, and some end tables. There was also about a 42” TV for viewing. The doors closed to partition this space off from the rest of the suite. Everything in the living room, with the exception of the flat screen, was purchased in 1986 (including the plastic plant).
Hilton Sharjah living room
Hilton Sharjah seating area
Connected to this room was the formal dining area with a table and chairs for four, also from the late 1980’s
Hilton Sharjah dining room
And connected here was the small kitchen and prep area.
Hilton Sharjah kitchen prep area
The bedroom was down the other hallway leading off to the right from the lobby which included the master bathroom, complete with bidet.
Hilton Sharjah King Bedroom
Hilton Sharjah King Bedroom
You can read more about bidets in a future post!
When I woke up, Ben was still passed out, so I decided to meander to the executive lounge to see what the breakfast offering was there, but it was pretty meager. It would be good if you needed to grab and go on with your day, but for something more substantial the breakfast buffet downstairs would be the better option. There was a pastry selection,
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
Fruits and cereals,
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
Cold cuts and cheeses,
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
And some overcooked eggs and sausages.
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
There was drip coffee and tea available for your own self service, but when I inquired about a cappuccino the attendant mentioned that she could get one for me, but it would take about 30 minutes to get it from the kitchen. Thirty minutes? Seriously? It would be cold by the time it made it upstairs. This would never have happened in a Dubai hotel… just sayin’.
Hilton Sharjah executive lounge breakfast
As I headed back to the room to get our things and head downstairs with Ben to catch our flight, I grabbed a quick glance at the minibar. As is to be expected, the products were ridiculously overpriced. A coke was $4.50 and a bag of Lays potato chips was $5.75. Don’t forget the 20% tax and service added to your room charge as well.
Hilton Sharjah $7 lays
Hilton Sharjah $5 coke
For what we needed out of the Hilton Sharjah, that is, a clean room close to Dubai and a cheap option to save money, the hotel wins. It loses however on its décor and pricing of the minibar options. The room was very 1986 and you could tell that it was in need of some updating. Also the executive lounge could use a proper coffee machine instead of offering filtered coffee. If we found ourselves in Sharjah again on another layover, I’d be more than happy to stay at the Hilton again, provided points nights were available.
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