Baab Al Shams Desert Resort Dinner
Dubai, I have found on the whole is a marmite kind of place – you either love it or you hate it! It’s a pretty showy place and every time I have been I have stayed on the palm! So this time we needed something a little extraordinary so we booked ourselves into the Bab al Shams betray resort and spa! Meaning passage to the sun, we were seeking after something unique from our stay at the betray resort – Bab al Shams!
One of the things I like when staying in a luxury hotel is getting a real sense of place. Personal touches and things unique to the place. To be honest, the hotels I’ve stayed in Dubai previously have been lacking in this! There a lot of chains (nothing wrong with that) but on the inside can feel like anywhere else in the world. My favorite hotels always have something unique about them and this was my hope for Bab al Shams and it didn’t disappoint! All the luxury and 5* treatment that you expect f a great middle eastern hotel coupled with a taste of tradition and heritage!
We flew into Dubai maktoum airport which is much closer to the resort than dxb but offers only regional flights at the minute but was perfect for us! Dubai is a city in desert and from here it was about a 40-50 minute drive. When we arrived we were greeted with a lovely Arabian welcome and some fresh lemon mint and baby e was given a soft camel which she became very attached to!
Baab Al Shams Desert Resort Dinner
After a slight confusion over booking details we were shown to our room. The resort is laid out like an Arabian fort. The buildings are low rise and you walk down winding corridors and alleys with quaint ‘historic’ objects littering the walkways! On the way there are many areas to sit and unwind such as reflecting pools and nighttime fire pits! The only downside to the traditional layout was that it could be that a little dark. However, I think the ambience it created more than make up for it! As we arrived late in the evening we went straight out to dinner in one of the five onsite restaurants. Night one we tried masala the Indian offer and were very impressed with the quality. There was a nice mix of traditional and more contemporary dishes and a live band which baby e enjoyed dancing the night away too. Of all the restaurants we tried, this was our favorite. On other nights we tried the Italian, Le Dune and Arabic, Al Forsan, which are nice and have lovely views across the desert especially for sundowners. There is also an Arabic buffet restaurant, Al Hadheerah, that has a live show and has a firework display at weekends. Since wandermust daddy was sick and the child has an earliesh sleep time I didn’t get the chance to do this yet is something I’d love to return and do!
As we went half board we had our breakfast at the smorgasbord eatery.I am not always a buffet fan but was really impressed with the breakfast, especially the live cooking stations. Due to illness, I mostly experienced the resort on my own, I was concerned about the mix of baby and buffet while solo parenting but the staff were so helpful. I had a great time even if wandermust daddy was shut away in the hotel room for most of the trip! At least we had a nice bed!
The whole resort was perfectly set up for families of any size and age. Baby E enjoyed the heated pool and there was plenty of space around the three pool areas.
Baab Al Shams Desert Resort Dinner
