Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara

Staying at Qasr al Sarab truly is an experience. Coming from Abu Dhabi city after a failry boring 2 hour drive you turn into a long winding road up through the sand until going through the impressive gates of the resort. We were booked into a one bedroom pool villa, which amongst its facilities included a butler who met us on our arrival. Check-in was quick and we were taken to our villa by buggy. Our visit was part of an extended holiday celebrating 50 years of marriage which the resort was aware of. A cogratulatory message, in sand was written outside our door, and a complementary bottle of wine and a cake were waiting for us for which we were very grateful. The initial reation to the villa was "wow" - a nice lounge area, good size bedroom and wonderful terrace with heated plunge pool. However, once we started to move in we did find some practical issues. Storage for clothes was limited, as was empty floor space for luggage, the lighting levels were subdued which whilst romantic perhaps not helpful at our age, and the toilet cubicle design was crazy with a very low toilet bowl, very narrow seat and toilet roll positioned directly next to the telephone. We wondered how often the phone was knocked off the wall. There were also some issues in the accommodation in that the outside lights did not seem to work, one bedside lamp did not work, and the battery powered table light on the terrace did not work. We would not expect these sort of issues in an expensive 5* hotel. Additionally, whilst the plunge pool was very nice it had obviously had problems at some point and the repair to the top tile I would have been ashamed of. Breakfast was included and was a very good buffet, with eggs ect cooked to order and coffee ordered from the waiting staff. Service I have to say was fairly chaotic and on one morning we waited for 20 minutes for coffee to be delivered to our table which was cold, as were the eggs we ordered. We booked 2 of the experiences which were both very good, with the staff running them attentive and knowledgable. One of the things to remember staying here is that you are pretty much captive and have no option but to use the resort food outlets where we had mixed experiences. Whilst this might sound like a bit of a gripe, we did enjoy our time here, but at times we did feel it was a case of style over substance.

I stayed here for a few nights before heading to Sir Bani Yas Island. It was a long transfer from the airport however it was worth it, the desert is unbelievably dramatic and the resort is a sea of tranquility within it! The rooms were lovely with a crazy huge bathtub. I tried a number of the activities the resort offers such as dune bashing (twice as it was so much fun), hiking up a sand dune to see the sun rise, a night time desert astronomy walk, and a visit to the spa! All were fantastic and I would happily head back there today to do it all again! I traveled alone and had no issues whatsoever, everyone was courteous and respectful. I traveled in August and it was hot! The resort is expensive to stay at and to get to but it’s unique and worth every penny in my opinion!

Activities in this resort is just the best! Definitely try the Polaris or the horse back riding. Magical place in the middle of the desert! Highly recommend to visit this haven to explore and relax. Arum, our butler in the villa made our stay extra special!

Amazing!! Everyone very kind and delicius food!! Thank you Vijith, Dheeraj and Levy!! Thank you a lot everyone!! My family and I realy want to come back as soon as possible. Cenrtanly we would do this increrible night again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps the single most incredible hotel I’ve ever been to. Stunning location and amenities, with absolutely world class service. Shoutout to our assigned “butler” Yassine, he was extremely attentive without being overly formal and made my wife and I feel very welcome. Being able to communicate through WhatsApp was a nice modern touch. Make sure to do the camel ride!