Recently I stayed in Dubai at Amwaj Rotana. Let me know in the comments below if you can totally relate to my check-in experience!
10 Things to do when you Check-In to a Hotel:
- Shoes Off or On?! From a Chinese family I am always accustomed to taking my shoes off and putting on my slippers! Whee, branded Rotana slippers, I’m going take them home.. is that a crime?!
- Claim a side of the bed! I dibs it by putting my purse on it! Shall I jump on it?! no no.. I am an adult… maybe later when no ones around.
- Check Out the View! Woo huge balcony!
- Scout through the hotel room products. Look through the Price-List. Wow look at all the free goodies! They have something called Vegetable Soap!!
- Determine where all the outlets are in the room. Good thing I have my trusty travel adapter.
- Go Channel Surfing! Rotana has personalized TV dashboard with my name on it!
- Look through all the drawers and closets, you never know what you find! (I’m just kidding I haven’t found anything ever) I love to use the safe to store my passport.
- Look through the provided booklets for the hotel amenities. I hope I brought my bathing suit.. steam room, sauna, jaccuzi, pool, OK ill have to make a day out of it.
- Take off your clothes. Some people love to lounge around in their underwear but I love to take a shower and wear the hotel branded bath robes! Now I feel fancy.
- Take a nap. Maybe just a power nap… zzz
Amwaj Rotana Hotel, Dubai, UAE
I was invited as a blogger to Amwaj Rotana for a 2 night stay. Read on further for my detailed review of the hotel.
Location & Check-In
Visiting Dubai on a Monday afternoon, I found it quite easy and stress-free to find our hotel. Situated near the end of the Jumeirah Beach Road, the roads to be clear and accessible. Living near JBR is the place to be for vacationers! I found it to be so relaxing to be staying close to the beach and all the restaurants. The best part was to leave the car with with hotel and not think about driving and parking in Dubai. Amwaj Rotana offers free shuttle buses to Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and the Outlet Village. There is paid parking lots in close proximity to the hotel, but if you stay there, valet parking is free of charge. Just head to the front entrance and leave your key with the valet. I thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality when I arrived. You can leave it to the bell boy to deliver your belongings to your room.
Remember to bring a piece of ID for check-in, they accept Emirates ID or Passport.
(required for all guests staying)
They have ample staff greeting you as you head in for your check-in (and they did not even know I was a blogger). On the side, you could sit at the lounge and enjoy Arabic coffee and dates. My check-in was very friendly, informational and quick! I headed to
my room on the 16th floor.
The Room
Once I had arrived in the room, the bell boy was just delivering my suitcases. I was a bit worried he would not know which room I was in since I just checked-in but they really have it all under control. 🙂 We were provided a Standard Room with a King Size Bed. Since we were 3 persons (my mother and sister were visiting), they had also delivered an extra bed cot. Surprisingly, it did not take up a lot of room and fit perfectly against the side-wall. This room can most definitely comfortably fit 3 persons.
The wanted to highlight the best features of the room:
- It had a huge foyer! Our room was #1616 which was a corner unit.
- Lots of storage space. It had more closet space than I have in my bedroom at home and we have His and Hers closets.
- The view and the balcony size. We ended spending quite a lot of time in the balcony admiring the beach view. On the balcony they have 2 patio chairs and a table.
- Complimentary Washroom Amenities – everyday they actually refilled these items for us – dental kit, loofah, vanity kit, shampoo, lotion, conditioner, shower gel, soap and shower cap
- Complimentary Beverages – everyday they would leave minimum 2 bottles of water. As well they have a tray of complimentary tea and coffee supplies such as – Dilmah Tea & Nescafe Coffee. Hot water kettle and a mini fridge is included in the room.
- FREE wifi! I would be miserable without wifi. I enjoyed the fact that they allowed as many devices to be connected on their guest Wifi. At other hotels I remember having to disconnect my iPad first before I can utilize the wifi on my phone and vice versa.
- The bathrobes! It really does make me feel relaxed when I’m lounging around in a bathrobe! Rotana bathrobes are so popular, you can purchase a new one for home.
Amenities
I really enjoyed the Amwaj Rotana Amenities during my stay. You must check out the private Jacuzzi they have. It is gender specific and you can find it inside the Change Rooms, free of charge to hotel guests. In the Jaccuzzi area I spent at least an hour there. 20 minutes in the Jacuzzi and 40 minutes lounging on the chairs there. I love the privacy and I was surprised there were no other guests at that time. With 3 lounge chairs in the room complete with magazines,towels and serene music, it was the perfect place to relax and unwind.
You can also check out the Sauna and Steam room while you are here. They are clean and comforting. I think most of the guests were spending time at the beach and pool so it felt like we had the spa to ourselves. I enjoyed the fact that they provided us with a wristband key so we did not have to worry about our belongings when went out to the beach and pool area.
During the same day, we decided to head to the beach on JBR. It was around a 7 minute walk to the beach, however I found it to be a longer walk than normal when we had to carry a heavy umbrella and cooler to the beach. Amwaj Rotana offered a great beach kit deal, for 25 dhs you could rent an umbrella, cooler with complimentary water, beach towels, beach bag and a beach mat! I thought it was a great idea but carrying it all the way to the beach myself was more of a journey, haha! Another option they offered was to borrow just their beach towels and beach bag, this option was free of charge to guests.
Food
Amwaj Rotana is in such a central location, there are so many food options on JBR. Within Amwaj Rotana itself they also house some of the best restaurants on JBR like Rosso, JB’s Gastro Pub and Benihana.
They have Ladies Nights at their in-house restaurants (JB’s and Rosso), ladies can enjoy up 2 complimentary standard drinks on selected days!
I love to highlight their breakfast as it is included in the hotel stay. There is complimentary breakfast located at their in-house restaurant called Horizon. They have a large spread of breakfast food items ranging from pancakes, donuts, omelettes, yogurts, fruits, cereal, etc, you name it! What I enjoyed the most was their fresh fruit juices! As well they have stations where the chefs will cook your eggs any way you want it. I always like mine over easy.
Check Out & Recommendation
We checked-out of the hotel 2 days later. Quick and easy process for a simple check-out at the counter. Super friendly staff as always. Just be sure to call ahead for bell boy service ahead of time to ensure all your luggage gets to your car promptly.
My family and I had a great stay at Amwaj Rotana. Last year, I stayed at Beach Rotana (in Abu Dhabi) for 2 months so the Rotana brand always resonated with me. Similar to other Rotana hotels, their service, cleanliness and offerings to guests are always top-notch. If you are looking for an exceptional stay in Dubai along the JBR with a breathtaking view, Amwaj Rotana would not disappoint, they have the largest rooms with balconies facing the beautiful Gulf and Palm!
