Reply To: Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah

[blenz101]

As I know there was a fair bit of interest in this brand new Hilton in Dubai following a stay for the past few days I’ve put a quick summary review together.

Location: The hotel sits as part of the new West Beach development on the trunk of the Palm Dubai. The development itself is a straight 1.5km promenade home to a wide range of hotels, stand-alone bars and restaurants. For those that know the area Dukes hotel sits at top end of the development and the infamous Five Palm hotel sit at the other end. Hilton West beach sits roughly in the centre over the development and is neighbours to another identically designed Marriott currently under development which is under common ownership. The hotel is resort size in proportion and as such there is no impact from surrounding properties.

Check in: I had booked a standard king room and was upgraded three days in advance to a sea view one bedroom suite as a Diamond member. Check in was a little slow with staff clearly inexperienced but none the less enthusiastic. I would have thought the hotel would have brought in experienced staff from other properties but they are all seemingly brand new. I checked in at 10.30am without issue and my room was ready.

The reception area itself is huge and in keeping with other common areas is finished to a very high standard with an art deco design theme throughout. Everything is well sign posted and there are plenty of staff to assist with luggage, valet service and hailing taxis etc.

Beach: There is currently construction in what appears to be an expansion to casual bar / restaurant Jones the Grocer on the beach and as such there are currently no loungers on the beach itself. There is a notice on the website to this effect. Each hotel on the strip generally has a roped off area on what is effectively a public beach and this hotel will no doubt do the same in the future. Given the weather is still very warm the chilled pool was always going to be my preference so this was no loss.

Pool: This is the real star of the hotel. The pool must be around 75 meters in length and has a large swim up bar in the centre. Pool staff are excellent, you are escorted to a free lounger which is made up for you, cold towels offered and staff constantly on hand to adjust the shade level. The swim up bar is standard Dubai prices for drinks although the food is very expensive (75 AED for a Shawarma, 100 AED pizzas) and only has one kind of draft beer which they ran out of on the Saturday. There were a lot of day guests using the facilities as Dubai residents are clearly also keen to try out the new property. Aquamats and inflatables are provided and restricted to one area of the pool. There is also a warmer hot tub area as well. Bar staff are also new to their role and currently following printed sheets when making mixed drinks but there are more than enough staff that there is never a wait.

Room: The one-bedroom suite was amazing with photos on the website being accurate (I do have photos but no idea how to share them). Views are stunning with large wrap around windows although the construction on the beach itself does mar it when looking directly down. A single lounger is provided on one of the two balconies but gets no sun and isn’t ideal for a couple. Toiletries are the standard Crabtree & Evelyn which felt a bit cheap compared to the standard of the property. Perhaps I am just used to getting them in a DoubleTree day room and expected more. Plenty of well thought out plugs and USB-C chargers, a desk, walk in wardrobe, stocked mini-bar, slippers and both bath and walk in shower with rainfall head. Everything was working and there were no teething troubles. I was also given a 7pm checkout on asking for a late checkout.

Lounge: This is located on the 13th floor and is open. Afternoon tea is 3-5pm and happy hour 6-8pm. The happy hour buffet is on the small side with little option get anything substantial, single dim sum, mini shawarma and mini pies. Drinks are served at your table (no free pour) with a choice of soft drinks, tea/coffee, beers and wine. Staff are currently pouring wine in 100ml free pour measures but were happy to pour double measures when asked. Lounge has great views as you would expect. The only breakfast is currently in the main restaurant but is free for Diamond members.

Bars / Restaurants: Currently open is the pool bar (zing), main restaurant and Factory by McGettigan’s (in soft launch, branch of the popular Irish bar chain). Claw BBQ (US style dive bar but with Dubai prices) opens this week. Trader Vics, Barfly by Buddha Bar and a Tiki restaurant are all due to open later in October but look complete and no doubt waiting for the tourist season to pick up. Breakfast is a good spread with everything you would expect (Western, Middle East and Asian) but unlike the Hilton JBR, West Beach is halal only currently so its chicken sausage and beef bacon.

Despite masks still being notionally required indoors in Dubai the hotel was not actively enforcing this (I think the last time I was told to put one on was the Apple Store who remain strict for some reason).

I hope that has covered most things for those considering staying or with a stay planned. Happy to answer any questions you may have though.