Fairmont Bab al Bahr

Absolutely excellent. A warm welcome. Friendly helpful staff like Fazeen, who always welcomes you with a positive energy and smile. clean, well presented hotel with loads of services available. The food was fantastic with lots of choice for all pallets and we didn't have a bad meal there. Rooms were lovely with plenty of facilities and we managed to get a pool and sea view. We will definately be returning here when we can and we highly recommend it. Read less

Ok, brace yourselves... We have visited several hotels in Abu Dhabi and Dubai over the years. The Fairmont has now moved to the top of our list for the following aspects, which will assist potential travellers in making the right decision in deciding to visit Fairmont BabAl Bahr! To start with, I would say most staff in the hotels in AD are usually very good, but the Fairmont staff were sublime, to name but a few. Laura (The Manager) Was a lovely person, and if it was only herself that was mentioned, we would return to this hotel. Ronaldo (Reception / front desk): the same as Laura. There is no problem too big for Ronaldo, and we had a few issues, small, but these were resolved with no quibble. I think next has to be a young lady named Asha, located in Bridges bar what a breath of fresh air and a great asset to your company. Benjamin at the poolside, this fellow enabled our stay to be extremely relaxed, and I decided to return in March partly based upon his attention and service. A mention for the rest of the boys at the pool and Simon, one of the lifeguards. Whilst on the subject of the poolside, a word of caution to Fairmont. On the Friday of our stay, there was an open day or holiday of sorts, and the pool was busy, which in itself is not a problem, but it was chaotic in the pool area where some of the children were acting feral with nanny's standing by having no influence whatsoever, only the lifeguards who tried to control their behaviour with no effect. Something to be aware of for the hotel. I would say most guests in our area were commenting on this. The staff did their utmost to control the situation. The food options at the hotel were excellent; we tried the Italian and the Mediterranean, and as they were so good, we returned twice. The Buffett's choices would suit most pallets, and the fish night, which I think was on Saturday, was one of the best that we have seen and eaten. :) A few shoutouts: Elisha went out of his way to ensure our dining was a lovely event on the evenings we ate in the Buffet. I was not well for a few days, and this chap went out of his way to check up and have a plate of fruit and water where taken to our room, thank you, Elisha. A young man, his name was Majid (main restaurant), needs to be thanked for his attentive manner; he would spot us as we arrived and would float in between other guests but would always ask if we needed anything. We had a room facing the canal and Mosque. The room was big, airy, and immaculate, and the turndown service was always a nice thing to come back to after dinner. We did not try the gym. The pool is an enormous 30 M long, clean as a whistle, and has a lovely temperature. We used poolside dining, which was very good. The beach is spacious, and the water in the canal is warm it is murky this is due to the sandy environment. It is clean. There is a jetty in the middle of the beach area where you can sit and take in lovely sunsets over the Mosque in the evening. There were always beds available; there was no struggle there, even with those who like to put towels on beds at 3 AM.. ahum.. We tried the coffee cafe opposite reception, and the coffee was good, and the lady serving was lovely, I got an additional biscuit. I have no name. However, I think maybe she was East European. The Hotel is only 20-30 minutes from the airport we used Booking.com for the taxi. Price. The Fairmont we found is more competitive than similar 5-star hotels. We had half board and we used Kenwood Travel whom we have found to be an excellent travel company with good prices. We stayed for 7 nights in October. I hasten to add we fully recommend this hotel to you. You will not be disappointed Read less

The first impressions on arriving at the hotel were excellent – a cheery bunch of lads keen to open the car doors, deal with our luggage and guide us to reception. Whilst my husband checked us in by the friendly and efficient Ronaldo, I had the pleasure of chatting with the delightful Reem who even brought some drinks for us. Check in was quick and we were given access to our room early. The room was lovely. Very large with a great view over the canal and of the grand mosque. We needed some extra hangers and they were delivered within 10 minutes. The bathroom area was spacious with Jack and Jill sinks – something I love on holiday. The shower was amazing and the supplied toiletries luxurious. The bed was extra large and extra comfy to boot. It was my husband’s birthday during our stay and on arrival we were met with a plate of fruit and some Arabic sweets. The room was cleaned every day to a high standard with the added bonus of a turndown service in the evening. We were half-board and were slightly disappointed (at first) to learn that the buffet-style restaurant was only open Thurs-Sun. That said, we were given an allowance to dine in the Italian and Lebanese restaurants. These two restaurants were absolutely superb and the allowance was more than ample. Nb the portions in the Lebanese are HUGE – one main each would have been more than enough. We really enjoyed our breakfast – what a feast! The Eggs Benedict were to die for. The evening themed evenings in the main restaurant were great – so many choices. There was one waiter who really stood out and that was Majid. He went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed and remembered our coffee choice at breakfast each day. My husband was unwell for two days and the restaurant manager Elisha went above and beyond to ensure he was comfortable. He arranged for some food and drinks to be sent to our room and even took time to call the room to see if we needed anything. We were really touched by his kindness. When went for breakfast the following day, Elisha headed straight to us, concerned to know that he was ok. On our final day, both Majid and Elisha arranged for cakes to arrive during breakfast – one “bon voyage” , the other “happy birthday”….WOW!!!!! And – the staff sand Happy Birthday. Days at the pool were delightful. The ever-enthusiastic Benjamin (we think the hotel must plug him at night to re-energise) and Parwej looked after us as though we were royalty! Thank you Parwej for the lovely mint mocktails. The lifeguards at times had a hard task with guests who didn’t seem to appreciate that they only had their safety in mind. I had a few lovely evening chats with Simon who regaled me with some funny experiences he had as a guard back in his home country. For those (including me) who worry about there being sufficient loungers – there are plenty between the poolside and the beach area. The pool was spotlessly clean and large enough to do some lap swimming. We found all the hotel staff to be very friendly and always received a cheery greeting whenever we passed housekeeping and gardening staff. We had a few drinks in the bar and we just fell in love with Asha, the lovely lady from Sri Lanka. She is such a hard worker and always with a big smile. We enjoyed talking to her when she had the chance. This hotel has got it right. It is the 5th we have visited in Abu Dhabi and far outshines the rest. They have customer service, F&B, cleanliness etc etc down to a fine art and clearly take great pride in what they do. We met the manager Laura while we were checking out – she is a lovely person (Scottish of course lol) and we told her that not only had we experienced a fantastic holiday, we had already booked to come back in March. We have never done this before. My only annoyance was one not caused by the hotel in any way. At the pool one day we were assaulted by loud shouting and stamping of feet – a local group of local children and teens had descended. The behaviour of this group was above appalling, and the two young and apparently inexperienced child minders were way out of their depth. For the majority of the day. this group shouted, jumped into the pool – sometimes on top of other guests and ran about noisily throwing cups of the (lovely) detox water at each other. The lifeguards were blatantly ignored when they attempted to gently admonish this group. Benjamin did get a handle at one point as they really were getting out of hand. It’s a shame that these untamed youths spoiled the day for everyone else. We are looking forward to coming back to the Fairmont in March. Read less