I’ve always wanted to go to Dubai and around this time last year an amazing offer came up on Travelzoo to stay in Atlantis, The Palm so I couldn’t resist booking it!
I knew the weather would be ridiculously hot in June and it would be relatively quiet as it was Ramadan during our trip but we’d got such a busy year ahead (and only a few select dates were available as part of the offer) so the beginning of June was the only time we could go.
We travelled from Birmingham airport and flew direct to Dubai with Emirates.
At The Atlantis we stayed in a beautiful Ocean Deluxe room but were given the opportunity to upgrade to a different room for an additional fee if we wanted to.
The Ocean Deluxe room was beautiful and we had an amazing view:
You can choose an Ocean Deluxe room with either a king sized bed or two queen sized beds and the room has a minibar with cable TV, a walk-in shower and a separate bath.
The hotel really does live up to its reputation and is absolutely beautiful. We stayed on a half board basis which included breakfast and evening meal and there was no shortage of places to eat! The hotel has over 20 restaurants, the Atlantis Hotel website has more details but here are just a few of the restaurants you can enjoy:
- Bread Street Kitchen and Bar by Gordon Ramsay – We ate in here and really enjoyed it, although there have been mixed reviews on the internet. Find a copy of the A La Carte menu here. For my starter I had Tagliolini with lobster, spring onions, chilli & parsley which was lovely and for my dessert I had Chocolate Parfait with salted caramel icecream – perfect!
- Ayamna – Lebanese cuisine – Lovely friendly staff willing to talk you through the menu and recommend what they think you will enjoy, and the restaurant also has hookah pipes with a large menu if this is something you fancy!
- Ronda Locatelli – A delicious Italian, we ate in here and had three courses each which were all really tasty! The freshly made pizza and delicious tiramisu come highly recommended!
- Nasimi Beach – Closed when we went and throughout the summer, I assume because of the high temperatures. Nassimi Beach offers beachside dining in the cooler months and is an adults only beach which hosts regular beach parties and serves amazing cocktails. Private cabanas, sunbeds and tables are on a first come first served basis so get there as early as you can!
- Saffron – South Asian buffet restaurant with a huge choice of dishes and live cooking stations. Saffron is also one of the places you can go for your buffet breakfast and again, the choice is huge. Out of the two places you can eat breakfast, Saffron was my favourite.
- Kaleidoscope – International buffet with themed nights and the other restaurant to go to for your English and full continental breakfast. Kaleidoscope had a huge range of very good food, I just preferred the atmosphere of Saffron compared with Kaleidoscope.
- TBJ – aka The Burger Joint – Tasty burgers quick and easy if you fancy dining a little more casually, as there is no dress code in TBJ.
There are also other restaurants available, although some of them charge extra to dine in if you are staying on a half board basis – Nobu (Japanese Cuisine), Ossiano (you can eat with stunning views of the Ambassador Lagoon!) and Seafire Steakhouse are some of the restaurants which charge this uplift. Platos and Illy’s cafe offer coffees, teas, pastries and paninis but had very limited opening hours when we were there due to Ramadan.
Outside dining is also available in the cooler months at The Edge (casual poolside restaurants serving pizza, salads and burgers), The Shore (poolside restaurant serving fajitas, nachos and steaks) and in other selected restaurants such as Nobu. You can also dine under the stars on Royal Beach with champagne and a set menu if you want to push the boat out!
If cocktails are more your thing, Barazura is the place for you! I’d recommend the Strawberry Daiquiri, Pimms Royal and the Frozen Blue Sky!
The Atlantis has over a kilometre of beautiful beach front and two huge swimming pools (the Zero entry pool and the Royal Pool). We did visit both pools during our stay but couldn’t stay outside for very long due to the intense heat! Whilst we were sunbathing, staff members came out regularly to give us cold towels, ice creams and bottles of cold water which was a lovely touch. As it was so quiet whilst we were there, we even got extra ice cream! The Zero Entry Pool is designed for families and the Royal Pool has beautiful views of the Dubai Cityscape.
Included in the price of your stay at the Atlantis is unlimited entry to the Aquaventure Water Park and the Lost Chambers Aquarium.
The Aquaventure Waterpark is brilliant and well worth visiting – there’s something for everyone. We would have stayed in the park longer but the heat got pretty unbearable in the afternoon, to the point where the soles of my feet were burning through my flip flops!
There are waterslides and river rides and activities such as ray feeding, and there’s a relaxation beach as well. The waterslides include Aquaconda, the Leap of Faith, Shark Attack and Poseidon’s revenge (which looks terrifying – you climb into a capsule and the floor falls away so you drop at around 60km an hour! Hubby was brave enough to do it but I worked on my tan instead!) You can find videos of most of these rides on YouTube if you want to judge them for yourself before taking the plunge!
There’s also Dolphin Bay and Sea lion point to check out – dolphin encounters are available but are subject to an extra fee.
The Lost Chambers Aquarium is worth checking out (keep an eye open for their baby albino alligator!) In here you will find over 65,000 marine animals and they offer free hourly myth tours.
We were only in Dubai for 5 days so didn’t have much chance to explore, however on one of the days we visited the Dubai Mall. The mall is the largest in the world by total area and you really could spend days in here if you enjoy shopping! It was very quiet when we visited due to Ramadan, and the restaurants and food halls normally open within the mall were closed; however they had set aside a large area on the top floor in the food hall where you could still choose from a wide range of restaurants and fast food outlets. The choice really is endless!
The main reason I wanted to visit the Dubai Mall was to visit the viewing deck of the Burj Khalifa, known as At the Top, Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa is a metal skyscraper with a total height of 829.8 metres, making it the tallest structure in the world! The At the Top observation deck is on the 124th floor so as you can imagine, the views are spectacular. It is highly recommended that you pre-book, tickets are available here. You can either book tickets for levels 124 and 125, or tickets for the At the Top Sky which includes levels 124, 125 and level 148. Whilst you are at the Dubai Mall (and on the observation deck!), it is also worth checking out the Dubai Fountains, the worlds largest choreographed fountain system.
I really loved Dubai and I would definitely go back – I can see why people continue to go back year on year – it’s an ideal place for couples to get away for a few days and enjoy the luxury that Dubai and The Atlantis has to offer.
Travelzoo do have a similar offer on at the moment to the one I booked, although this latest offer is through a different company – happy holiday hunting!
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