Middle East, Travel

Hotel Review: The Taj Dubai

An inspiring blend of sophisticated luxury, authentic Indian heritage and contemporary style – Taj Dubai is a world-class destination. Experience great Indian hospitality at the shores of modern Arabia.

I had the pleasure of staying at the newly opened Taj Dubai. The Taj exudes decadence from the second you walk in the door, with marble floors, a gigantic crystal chandelier and an array of fresh orchids in the lobby. The staff were always very friendly and attentive, and the service was excellent from start to finish.

The hotel is filled with luxurious nods to their Indian heritage through their decor, food and services offered. No one feels great after hopping off a 14 hour overnight flight, but as soon as I arrived at the Taj Dubai Hotel I immediately felt at peace – their offer of a cold towel and rosewater juice was greatly appreciated, as was the speedy check in!

Located in the heart of the Downtown and Burj Khalifa precinct, the Taj is a perfect choice for travellers visiting Dubai on business or leisure. The convenient location is near all of Dubai’s major sites – the world’s largest shopping mall (The Dubai Mall), the world’s largest aquarium, the world’s highest fountain and the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa) are all just a short walk away from the hotel. (And have you started to notice Dubai’s obsession with being number 1 at everything?!)

The Rooms

I was lucky enough to stay in one of their Luxury Burj View rooms and got to enjoy awe-inspiring views of the world’s tallest building. The luxury rooms are spacious and come with everything you would expect from a hotel of this calibre – a huge, comfy bed, lounge area, walk-in wardrobe (!!), fluffy robes and a large desk to catch up on some work.

The bathroom has a huge spa bath and a window into the room – you can watch TV from the bath if you so desire. All of the bathroom amenities were from Molton Brown – one of my favourite brands.

The mini bar is pretty extraordinary. It looked like an innocent cupboard sitting in the hallway, but open it up and you’ll find everything from a Nespresso machine and tea-making utilities, to top-notch spirits, snacks and amenity kits.

Pull the draw out below and you get to the refrigerated section and I was definitely eyeing off the Moet and chocolate snack pack!

The View

Can you believe that was my view every day?! That’s the Burj Khalifa – tallest building in the world – literally outside my window.

Watching the sunrise every morning over the Burj was totally worth the early wakeup!

Breakfast

My love for buffet breakfasts is no secret, and the quality and range of food provided each morning was incredible. I dined daily at Tesoro, the Taj’s Peruvian restaurant, which offered a huge array of Peruvian, Indian and Middle Eastern specialities at their buffet style breakfast. The restaurant also offers an à la carte menu of Peruvian inspired dishes for lunch and dinner.

There were the usual suspects – croissants, pastries and French madeleines, and then more unique options such as turkey bacon (obviously as the UAE is Muslim) and divine Middle Eastern spinach pastries.

There was also a pancake bar where they topped up the freshly cooked pancakes regularly and provided every kind of topping you could dream of. And you better believe I covered my pancakes in Dulce de Leche!

I loved all of the Middle Eastern breakfast options too – this is what I eagerly wolfed down for my first breakfast after stepping off the plane. Moutabel, baba ganoush, labne and hummus, along with flat bread, pickles and kibbeh.

The Pool

I had an hour spare one morning and seized the change to relax by their gorgeous pool for a while. There’s cute yellow deck chairs to sunbathe on, a swim up bar and waterfalls to enjoy. My only regret was not spending longer there!

The gym

I’m not going to lie, I only made it to the gym once (in my defence, our itinerary was very busy!) But the elliptical trainer is made that much easier when you have a gorgeous view of the pool area as the sun comes up.

The gym had a huge array of state-of-the-art equipment, and each machine came with it’s own bottle of water and fresh towel.

And if you’re in need of a little pampering, then the Jiva Spa is for you. Inspired by traditional Indian therapies, guests can sample a range of Jiva’s signature treatments.