Reviews Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Undefined Declarations

Dubai Beach Club Review: Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa

Last Friday, I decided to check out The Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Although the beach was flagged on that day, I still managed to go for a nice swim at two different times, with each lasting for around an hour. Yes, I’m a cancerian and we just love to be in the water 🙂

Facts About the Beach Area

For anyone who has never been to the beach in Dubai Marina (I honestly haven’t until this time!), you will notice that the loungers are located at a far distance from the water. I was told by a staff member that it is a government rule and that all of the beach clubs on that strip have a similar setup. It was a bit of a disappointment to me as I had previously gone to the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa where the loungers are situated close to the sea shore. You can read that review here.

Resort Facilities

The resort has a wide number of facilities including:

Tennis and squash courts
Spa and state of the art gym
Fitness studio and classes
Junior Jungle Club for kids
Private beach with various beach activities
Water slides, outdoor Jacuzzi and pool bar
Main pool and a kids pool

Where to have Lunch

There are many options for lunch at the Habtoor Grand.

If you are alone or want to have a light lunch at the beach or pool area, then you could order a shawerma, burger or hot dog and other snacks from the “Al Manarah Beach Bar” or the pool bar.
If you want to try the famous Dubai brunch with barbeque and all, then you could have a nice outdoor brunch at XL Beach Club. That will cost you 260 AED per person. The brunch timings are from 1 to 4 pm.
If like me, you want to have a healthier meal at and sample one of the restaurants at the hotel…there are a number of cuisines to choose from. “Villa Romana”, “Al Basha”, “Fish Bazaar” and “Luciano’s” are some of the restaurants surrounding the beach and pool area at the resort.

Upon reading Pinay Flying High‘s tempting review on Luciano’s, I decided to go there for lunch and a break from the Dubai day in the sun! I’m glad that I did because the food was so delicious that I found myself looking for more tomato sauce on my plate when I finished eating 🙂

View from my table at Luciano's — View from my table at Luciano’s

My Must-try Tip

After my second hour in the water, I felt like I needed to have an energizing drink to keep my body hydrated. While standing at the beach bar, my eyes couldn’t stop staring at the tall glasses the couple standing next to me had. When I asked the lady what it was, she explained that it’s an iced-coffee with ice-cream and that it’s really good. So, that was what I decided to order to quench my thirst. And another couple who saw the bar tender make my drink ordered it as well! It was the perfect ending for my long day at the beach. As the coffee wasn’t too sweet (vanilla ice-cream only was used to sweeten it), and it was so refreshing after a day out in the sun.

Pool and Beach Entrance Rates

On Week Days: Adults – 150 AED, Children – 100 AED

Children ages: 4 – 15 years old, below 3 are free of charge.

On Weekends: Adults – 250 AED, Children – 125 AED

Weekends are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Club Memberships are available and special membership rates apply.

Link

http://grandjumeirah.habtoorhotels.com/site/general/

My Dubai Beach Recommendation: Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa

I had previously written a review on the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa UAE residents weekend package. You can read all about it here. Today, I was delighted to visit the lovely beach property again (yes, I rarely go to the beach) and spend the day at this relaxed and revitalizing beach.

I arrived to the beach at around 11:30…the weather was a bit windy today, but it was great for swimming and lounging by the sea.

It’s always a great feeling when you sink your toes into the warm grains of sand…

At around two o’clock, I decided to have lunch at La Fontana restaurant. You have the option of taking a cold or a hot buffet. I went for the cold buffet which includes a selection of salads. It’s unlimited so you are allowed to refill your plate 🙂

The salad selection includes a variety of Arabic mezzas such as hummos, mtabbal, and baba ghanouj, in addition to other Western salad dishes. This is what I had in my first round of salad 🙂

And finally, no trip to the Jebel Ali Beach Resort and Spa is complete without seeing our friends; the magnificent and outstanding peacocks!

Even if it’s on our way out; after a long day spent unwinding and relaxing at the beautiful pristine beach.

The resort offers a number of outdoor sport activities, such as horse riding, tennis, golf and various water sports. You can find all the information on their web site:

http://www.jaresortshotels.com/Hotels/Home.aspx

The day pass for the pool and beach access is AED 220 for adults. And AED 325 including an extensive lunch buffet with live cooking stations and an outdoor barbecue station.

Whether you are someone who is looking for a quiet day to relax by the beach and read a book, or if you are more adventurous and would like to try a new water sport or outdoor hobby, or are simply looking to chill by the pool on your day off of work, I assure you that Jebel Ali Beach Hotel will do its best to meet your leisurely needs.

Organic Therapy

I was getting a manicure at Nails; an organic beauty salon and spa conveniently located on the other side of the road from where I live…the nail therapist suggested that I go for the November promotion of a full body scrub and half or full body massage for a fairly reasonable fee. It was the perfect therapy following my dad’s visit and our usual running around the malls, restaurants, cafes and this time, exhibitions!

As I went into the dimly lit treatment room, the therapist held a chart with different colors to me and asked me to choose the color that I disliked the most. After a quick glance at the cards, I chose a bright yellow. I always hated the color yellow. It tends to get on my nerves! My lovely therapist then explained how that color represents the element that my body needed the most at this very moment! Yellow was meant to heal the stomach and it is the color of emotions. She later rubbed the oil from that element onto my hands and I was laughing shortly after that. That’s when she said: see, now you are happy 🙂

The white oil scrub from organic French brand Eminence was used and applied in a gentle scrubbing motion all over the body. As we all know, a body scrub specifically helps in getting rid of ingrown hairs, as well as the obvious skin regeneration benefits. Once the polishing was done, I was directed to a modern shower just a hop away from the massage bed. Where I took a quick warm shower in preparation for my soothing back massage. I went for the half body massage only, which is what I usually request whenever I decide to go for a massage treatment anywhere. The therapist applied just the right amount of pressure; strong yet soothing and relaxing. A quick scalp massage was the perfect addition to the treatment. All I could think of during the session was that I must go back for another massage treatment since it was so comforting and since I always suffer from tight knots on my back that don’t seem to ever disappear!

After my highly rejuvenating and gratifying therapy, I headed to a nearby Starbucks for a light tuna sandwich and a decaf Caramel Macchiato. All in all, I’d say I had a pretty chilled and rewarding afternoon/evening.