Andaz the Palm Dubai, a Hotel Review
Nestled at the entrance to the Palm Dubai lies the Andaz Palm Hotel. While not close to downtown Dubai or the main tourist attractions, the hotel does offer a respite from the hustle and bustle of the town with complimentary beach access, spacious suites, and an enormous buffet breakfast that will satisfy even the most picky of eaters.
As a category 5 hotel, the hotel starts out at 25,000 points a night. Cash rates vary, but if you’re looking for a little bit of luxury mixed with a great attention to detail, you’ve hit the jackpot.
Check-in
We arrived a little past check in at 5pm, but were informed that our room wasn’t ready. Normally, we’d have raised a fuss since we were a full two hours past the check in time, but the front desk let us know that it was because the wanted to upgrade us to a suite as Globalist members, and they had a late checkout in the room.
In order to properly clean and sanitize the room, they needed a little more time.
The manager came over to sincerely and profusely apologize, especially since we had informed them of our check in time) and offered us to take a seat in the restaurant and have a coffee and snack while we waited for the final room prep.
Considering the amount of food that we ate at the Al Maha resort, we opted for a simple coffee and cookies.
He did offer us the chance to order something from the menu which was quite extensive with local options.
I’m not one to order a “club sandwich†when I go to a foreign county. I was glad to see quite a selection of “pide†or local sandwiches on the menu, but still, we opted for a simple cappuccino.
Remember the conversion rate from Dirham to USD is fixed at 3.67 dirham per dollar. For easy math, I divide by 4. So, something priced at 36 AED is $10. Again, for simple mental math, I round up to 40. 20 = $5, 40 = $10, etc. This means that an espresso is $6 and a cappuccino is $7.
Before you scream bloody murder, Starbucks wanted to charge me $6.25 for a grande sugar free vanilla latte soooooo….
We finished our drink and were escorted up to the suite.
It should be noted that the hallway to the rooms was adorned with some sort of modern sculpture art at the entrance to each room. Cool, but odd.
The Suite
Wow.
Marble tiles and hardwood floors at the entrance show you that this isn’t any normal suite.
Immediately to the left of the entrance is a guest bathroom, because you can’t possibly have your guests blowing up the fancy bathroom that YOU have in your room, right?
It was so large you could have a party inside… if that’s your thing.
Entering into the main living and dining area there was a large table with seating for 5-6 people. A small refrigerator and coffee/tea station was behind.
I’ll admit, I’m not really sure what was going on with the side table and one chair. Either this was a piss-poor attempt at a desk or this is where you can send your child to eat for time-out. It seemed like a slapdash effort to have more space in the room.
Off to the other side was a curved sofa and chair with glass coffee table.
Here you could sit and watch TV or just relax.
Double frosted glass doors open to the master suite, lined with stained glass windows overlooking the grounds.
Two pool towels were waiting for us on the bed in case we wanted to head out for a swim or to soak up some sun.
The bathroom in the master suite came with a soaking tub, a full walk in shower, and two sinks.
And a closet with safe, luggage rack, robe, and plenty of hangers for your clothes.
There was even a small “smoking balcony†which didn’t offer much other than a nice area to sig and enjoy a shaded outside view of the area.
Breakfast
Prepare your second stomach. You’re going to need it.
Instead of using my words to describe the IMMENSE selection of breakfast options, I’ll let the photos do the talking.
The “Vegan Cornerâ€
The Local Bakery with freshly made pastries daily
Donuts (The Homer Simpson Corner)
“Condiments†including homemade apple butter and plum jam. WHAAAT!
Chef Shalu’s Waffles and Pancakes
The healthy section including greens and AMAZING fruits.
Look at these dragon fruit and granadillas. The options changed every morning.
Yogurts
Dried fruit and nuts
Cereals including “sultan bran… poop like the Sultans?!â€
Arabic Mezze with pickles
OH WAIT WE’RE NOT DONE YET… KEEP GOING
Cheese
Meats
English Breakfast section
Indian Breakfast section
Not to mention that you could order made-to-order eggs any way you liked including poached, scrambeled, fried, or more.
We chose to sit outside to have some fresh air and a view of the water/city.
If I had to nitpick one thing about breakfast, it was the nickel-and-diming that the hotel did with their coffee.
You want an espresso, latte, or cappuccino? No problem. You want a flavor? That’ll be 5 Dirham.
Really. 5 Dirham…
After all of the free food and ridiculous amounts of breakfast thrown our way, you wanna charge me $1.50 to get some flavor in my coffee?
Come on now guys… just put the damn pumps of flavor in there and call it a day.
The Grounds
Leaving the dining area and walking straight out you’re at the pool/waterfront in under two minutes.
If you need any last minute foodstuffs, there’s a small supermarket on the right hand side. It’s kind of hidden, so here’s a picture for you to spot it better.
On a sunny day you can see both the Burj’s, Khalifa and al Arab, from the grounds.
The hotel itself has a pool which is more shaded from the sun than the actual beach itself. In the background you can see the new St Regis hotel that just opened.
Just like on ground level, the views from up here are ridiculous.
There’s a pool menu and the prices are average to high. Water is free in your room, so unless you enjoy paying $7 for bottled water, bring it for free from the room.
The Bar and Lounge
Just at the front entrance to the hotel is a speakeasy that only opens at night. Note and long pants are required, no shorts or sportswear.
I did find the “hiding from wife†rates quite funny!
The Andaz lounge is on the second floor and during the afternoon offers complimentary coffee/tea/juices. During the day it doubles as a fun chill place to relax and get work done.
Bottom Line
The Andaz really took customer service to the next level. From the suite upgrades to the over-the-top breakfast, clean rooms, and perfect location, the Andaz Palm was a great choice.
It did cost quite a few Hyatt points, so if you can find a great discount cash rate this is a quality offering for your next Dubai adventure!
October 10, 2022
Jon, thanks for the wonderful review of the Andaz. Wish I had stayed there when in Dubai.
October 10, 2022
Great review and wonderful photos. I think you gonna have a future at this.