An old favourite...but some issues
Nov 18, 2024 TheOz1000 Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
We stayed at the Sofitel a few weeks ago, a hotel which has a special place in my heart as I stayed there many a time when travelling for business in Dubai.
What I liked about the hotel;
It's more like a resort than a hotel with multiple pools - social areas that are very much spread out, feels like there's a lot to see and do. The service is…
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We stayed at the Sofitel a few weeks ago, a hotel which has a special place in my heart as I stayed there many a time when travelling for business in Dubai.
What I liked about the hotel;
It's more like a resort than a hotel with multiple pools - social areas that are very much spread out, feels like there's a lot to see and do. The service is absolutely superb, everyone wants to contribute to your experience, everyone wants to make sure you have a good time. The beach is long and sandy, the main pool is large - and has character, the restaurants down on the beach areas are very good, had some lovely lunches there.
The gym is absolutely outstanding, everything you could possibly need and is extremely spacious! The air conditioning the rooms as you'd expect is first class, And the room cleaning staff do a superb job.
The rooms are spacious and very clean, I would however point out that the hotel is now fairly old, and you can especially see this in the original blocks away from the main building - in that I feel it's probably time for a refurbishment. That being said, they're still great rooms.
What I didn't like about the hotel;
What I'm about to say is pretty much uniform across Dubai - down on the beach they charge £10 for a plastic bottle of water (1.5L)...which they probably buy in four £0.50. For clarity I'm not a poor man, but this is really excessive…profiteering on water like this - a substance which fundamentally supports life, it just feels so wrong. Alcohol, do what you like… it's the consumers choice as to whether they wish to pay the price or not.
The steak house restaurant just off reception is very nice, I would recommend this - but, the oriental restaurant situated at the front of the hotel is not good - not only is the food not have a good standard, but it fundamentally lacks atmosphere.
We were half board, and in any other location in the world you would have soft drinks included with a meal – even if it was water. At the Sofitel, they were not... And you were restricted in terms of what you could order within the restaurants being part of a meal plan - In the restaurants down on the beach you had a £25 allowance, which bought you a burger or perhaps a salad.
The other big irritation for me was that right above the hotel, slightly Oceanside it is the helicopter highway, and they are buzzing backwards and forwards all day long… one every couple of minutes. I am absolutely stunned they allow this, especially as the hotel next door is the Atlantis Royal, arguably the premier flagship hotel of Dubai. Would I spend upwards of £1000 a night at the Royal just to listen to that all day long, no I wouldn't - very weird the authorities allow this.
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