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IHG gains a Dubai beach resort from Accor overnight – and redemptions are good value

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IHG One Rewards has a real problem in Dubai, at least until the Six Senses resort opens. Whilst I personally like the combined Crowne Plaza and InterContinental at Festival City – and indeed spent New Year there over 2020/21 – it lacks a good beach resort.

We though that the opening of voco Dubai The Palm would solve this, but the property is in a very noisy area. The website actually says ““Due to the bars and beach clubs nearby, you can expect some noise in certain rooms. If you are a light sleeper, we suggest you use the ear plugs.” Happy holiday ….

Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort IHG Vignette

This is why the news that ‘Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort’ is switching from Accor to IHG is welcome. This hotel was known as ‘Th8 Palm by House of Originals’ and is one of the brands in Accor’s design-led Ennismore stable which could previously do no wrong.

Something has gone wrong, however. The hotel owner has parted company with Accor and appointed a new management company which has aligned the resort with IHG’s new ‘soft’ brand, Vignette.

Vignette is designed as IHG’s answer to Marriott’s Autograph or Hilton’s Curio – a way for 5-star hotels to join the IHG ‘system’ without adhering to strict brand standards. It is a step above voco, IHG’s ‘soft’ brand for 3-4 star hotels.

Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort looks good. It is very suite heavy with multiple two- and three-bed options, although standard rooms seem small at 27 sq m.

It does appear to be adult focussed or as least ‘was’ under Accor, although this is a weird thing to say about a hotel with lots of two bedroom suites and kitchens in every room. The Ennismore website says, when discussing the beach club:

“Fluid knows neither form nor conformity. This is where life is unrestricted, intuitive, and adaptive. Welcome to decadence at its finest. Let your hair down or follow your heart like the ocean’s ebb. This is where seamless service meets delightful cocktails, incomparable bites, captivating beats and a stream of unending merriment.”

You can already book – and indeed already stay, since the swap of brands was an overnight job – on this page of the IHG website.

Th8 Palm Dubai Beach Resort IHG Vignette

Redemptions look good value

As often happens with new IHG hotes, redemptions are attractively priced to drum up business.

For a random date in September, a standard room was Dhs 905 all-in (£193) or 35,000 IHG One Rewards points. This is 0.55p per IHG One Rewards point, well above our standard valuation of 0.4p.

The hotel also looks good value for cash in comparison to other beach options. Over October half term – although as I said I’m not sure this is necessarily good for children unless the beach club is chopped – rooms start at Dhs 1,006 (£214) or 39,000 points which feels cheap.

Remember that your IHG One Rewards benefits will be respected here, including free breakfast if you are Diamond Elite. The huge number of suites should also make this a good place to use a Suite Upgrade Award if you received one as a Milestone Reward.

You can see more on ihg.com here.


IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – November 2024:

Get bonus points:

Nights to do not need to be consecutive. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

IHG is running a second promotion for stays at five of its smaller brands. You will receive triple base points between 1st October and 31st December 2024 on stays at voco, avid hotels, EVEN Hotels, Atwell Suites and Garner Hotels. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (22)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Green Sheep says:

    Another Butlins in Dubai …….. when will people learn from others’ holiday mistakes?

  • Empers says:

    It is definitely a good base for having the ‘Atlantis’ experience, without actually spending the money on the Atlantis rooms. Th8 is a 5 min taxi from the Atlantis hotels and the excellent Aquaventure park. One trip advisor review said you can pick up a week Aquaventure pass for about £100pp. Also there are so many excellent restaurants at all the hotels on the palm and Taxi’s are not expensive in Dubai.

    Could be a great redemption for a family that want to spread out across multiple rooms.

    • Ashraj says:

      Never seen a week pass for Aquaventure but at that price would be great

  • Rob H not Rob says:

    Any idea if Emyr will have any deals on this one?

    • Rob says:

      It may join Leisure & Lifestyle but I don’t know how long that takes.

  • Simonbr says:

    Is there anything on the horizon to indicate a new credit card for earning IHG points? I’m sure I can’t be the only one whose loyalty to the brand has been made impossible following the discontinuation of the Creation mastercard.

  • JDB says:

    It looks horrendous in the photos. The ‘green’ space between the three cell blocks looks minute, with the chairs lined up like sausages on a barbecue, an as for the close up with all the people standing in the tiny pool it looks like anything but a good place for a relaxing holiday.

    • yorkieflyer says:

      Looks like Benidorm

      • AJA says:

        Benidorm is better than that!

        That pool looks like a large disinfectant bath. Grim!

        I’m with @JFB on the “green” space too. It wouldn’t surprise me if it is artificial grass. Or even painted concrete.

    • Rob says:

      It seems clear that a hotel which has a room structure (lots of suites) for families and a party vibe would fail. One of these things has to go. As the room structure is fixed medium term I suspect the beach club will soon be a kids club …..

      • TGLoyalty says:

        What makes you think girls/boys holidays don’t enjoy staying in suites?

        But I agree it needs to agree what it actually is and focus completely on that not half heartedly trying to cater for all

      • JDB says:

        Trouble is that if they were to turn this hotel into a more family place, there is just no space for the children in the hotel ‘grounds’ unless they can extend on to the beach. It would be miserable for children to be constrained in that way and where will they put more suitable pools?

      • ankomonkey says:

        Will Fluid Beach be renamed? It just sounds wrong, particular if the hotel becomes family-friendly.

      • jannis says:

        NOOO. No family resort 🙁

  • David S says:

    The pool looks good for children. It looks to vary from 1 foot to 2 foot deep. Had to enlarge the picture as it looked weird at first sight. An Adults splash pool

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    As you will have become something of a connoisseur of pretentious marketing bowlocks, I can fully understand why you cut-and-pasted that bit about the beach club as a particularly fine example.

  • Gordon says:

    When Rui opened in Dubai. The comments on Tripadvisor were “Benidorm has come to Dubai” Tbh once you have been to Dubai several times and seen all the sights the novelty wears off, I would recommend an AI property with Dine around, Had a meal at the Burj Al Arab for a supplement which was an experience!

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