Fairmont The Palm, Dubai

Very good experience the Fairmont really made everything easy for us. Our view was amazing. Special thanks to Emad Mahmoud, because he helped us very well coming in the first day and also when we we left. Kind regards to him and every staff member!

We have been to fairmont hotel on a official visit to a event of Sony playstation in the ball room the even we successfully completed and we all were happy to have meeting in Fairmont hotel the hospitality was remarkable Mr Mahmood and Mr Emad greeted us happily they explained about the place where the meeting is held. Lunch was awesome and tasty we never forget the trip of Fairmont hotel. Thank you

Location - great. We chose this as wanted a relaxing beach and pool option whilst not being too far from all of the attractions. Very happy with the location. We arrived after a night flight and were greeted beautifully by concierge and reception who brought out a little cold drink and fresh towel. It was interesting to see the focus on my husband…he was well and truly fussed over by concierge and had his case attended to first etc. It was funny to us as he takes little part in organising or booking out holidays or indeed the activities while we were there. Fascinating to see the gender difference in other countries. Our first impressions though were not great as at reception the man booking us in was very focussed on upselling - to gold status, drinks packages etc. it made us feel very uncomfortable and I would suggest that a simple sign was placed at reception “please ask us about our paid upgrades” or even a note in the room. For me, hard selling does not work at all, it makes me feel uncomfortable and suspicious! After we rejected the offer we were then told we were only allowed to get breakfast if we paid as our half board didn’t start until the evening! This was fine by us but didn’t seem the warmest initial welcome. I would recommend sending over night flight guests down to the specific lounge area or in reception tucked away and having a selection of pastries there with water. Barely a cost to the hotel but a gesture that would mean a lot to guests. Our room wasn’t available straight away so we were sent to the lounge area on lower ground. We didn’t find a lounge but found a couple of chairs to sit on. We got the kids changed in the bathroom and went outside so they could use the pool. There were sadly no sun beds except two right under the trees which had bird poo on them! Not the hotels fault, can’t help nature. Unfortunately the finding a sunbed situation continued probably due to half term and being busy however was annoying after spending such a large amount of money for a holiday where the kids wanted to be in the pool. One huge positive of the pool is the lifeguards. There are plenty and they do their job properly. Their attention is always one hundred percent. Fairmont if you read this - they are a top selling point of your hotel definitely add them into any financial bonuses you give staff. Safety is paramount and these staff members excel at it. Unfortunately I felt the pool toilets could be cleaner. There was a smell and often wet floors (floors understandable but perhaps a mat outside of the door and inside of the door would soak up some of the swim wear drips). There is a photographer that goes round the pool to take photos but considering we looked like a toe most days we didn’t take up the offer. Perhaps better suited to an evening when people are feeling more confident arriving for dinner. Bask beach which is Fairmont’s private beach is nice with sunbeds, towels, beach bar and clear sea! Our room was lovely with two queen beds and a large balcony with a great view. There was little noise from the corridor or inside the hotel but the beach clubs from nearby hotels on the Friday night could be heard booming until the early hours. Not of any fault to the hotel and didn’t stop my deep sleeping family from getting rest. Our room attendant Humish was a very gentle man who did a great job, was not intrusive yet made sure we knew he was there if we wanted him. He works very hard. The rooms are a little dated but still nice - certainly the bathroom would benefit from having the tiles re-grouted and would be of little cost or inconvenience to the hotel. We had a bath, shower and separate loo. The temperature of the water was hard to get right so the children got baths and I tried to use the shower attached to the bath to rinse hair after washing although sometimes got a squeal from either a too hot or too cold surge of water. Definitely check temperature if you’re bathing or showering little ones. As a family of 4 we found that the clothes storage was not sufficient. We had luckily used packing cubes and therefore set those out on the chairs in the room as there were not enough drawers or hanging space. The wardrobe are did have a slight musty damp smell which I felt I could smell on our clothes which had been hung in there so they got a dousing of perfume each evening. Bed linen was nice, crisp and good quality. Air con worked well. Water in the room which is cost free. Iron there too. Buffet for breakfast was excellent - lots of choice for all of the family. Evening buffet was plentiful although I didn’t think it was catered to children very well other than pizza and chips. There were lots of options featuring different country cuisines, the UK being roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. My husband loved the food. Myself and the children not so much but always managed to find something. The desserts were lovely - frangipani, tiramisu and raspberry sponge were sublime. We did eat at the pool bar one day and my daughter enjoyed the chicken burger very much so perhaps this option should be available in the evening to appease children who like relatively plain things. Praveen one of the waiting staff was exceptional. A really friendly chap who did his job promptly and with a smile. We used concierge to book tickets for the Burj and Museum of the Future. The cost is eye watering but not the hotels fault. It was simple to book and they promptly sent tickets via what’s app. If you are looking at trips then do check the Tripadvisor ratings. Burj was horrendous with some 4 hours just queuing with no seating available. We saw two people pass out. And the view whilst stunning was impossible to get to because of the sheer amount of people. We wished we had booked afternoon tea at the Burj or drinks in the bar instead. Talking of bars - the Fairmont didn’t have anywhere where we could sit on an evening with the children. The bar was adult only. I understand that this might be a culture thing. We headed out each evening as a result but which we enjoyed anyway. Dubai Mall has lots of bars around the fountains, Madinat too. We are not big drinkers at all, simply a couple of beers for my husband and a Sangria for me but would have been nice to do this at the hotel. The hotel can arrange for taxis however we used uber throughout and there were no issues at all. We didn’t use the free SIM cards from the airport we simply used WiFi wherever we went to get a signal for uber. Overall a good stay. We will return to Dubai and Fairmont the Palm will be a contender if the price is right because we like familiar and it ticked some boxes.

Where do I start Staff on arriving very pleasant Food was nice but not the best we’ve had on the palm but the service was absolutely terrible and the worst I’ve ever experienced attending a brunch while visiting Dubai. I was drinking alcohol and omg try getting a drink after I finished one within 45minutes was a miracle. Even to the point of asking for drinks soft and alcohol and not getting anything whatsoever never ever ever again

The Fairmont is a good hotel but we were slightly disappointed. The room faced the road. You could hear the fast cars in the early hours but it wasn’t too bad. We couldn’t fault the food and the room was kept clean by the lovely friendly cleaners. The disappointment was the competition of music during the day between the beach clubs near the beach while you were sunbathing. It was so loud!! Luckily I had earphones to drown the din out. Sunbeds had to be reserved early in the morning by placing spread out towels on the sunbeds. If you left it until the afternoon there would be no empty sunbeds. Little Miss India was excellent as well as the buffet in the hotel. Overall it was a good holiday but if you want a peaceful lie in the sun without music blaring, go another hotel. Perfect for families with small children