Dubai Part 1

So i recently told you I would be jetting off to  Dubai for 5 nights Courtesy Royal Caribean. Royal Caribean treated 15 of its top sellers to one hell of an amazing trip!  Only reinforcing the fact I really do work in an amazing industry!

Having only ever transited through Dubai airport before it’s been on my list for a while so I was really little excited to see what all the hype was about and I have to say it didn’t disappoint.

Flying from Manchester with Emirates our trip started off in style in the Emirates private Lounge, I have flown Emirates before and I have to  say their economy seating  is absolutely  fantastic really good in seat entertainment, free wifi at 40,000 ft I was an overnight flight which is not great as I always struggle to sleep but I can defiantly recommend them.

So there’s so much to say about the trip I though id just tell you a little  about the Hotel itself this week

Our Home for the 4 nights was the  World renowned Atlantis Dubai Palm, arriving very tired from the Overnight flightseeing out of the minibus soon lifted our spirits to finally see what an absolutely amazing Hotel. After a quick check-in in a private check-in area for Imperial club guests, the rooms were not ready as it was only just 9 am so off to the buffet for some breakfast before we headed out for the day’s activities.

So if your a fan of food the Atlantis buffet will not disappoint by far the biggest buffet I have seen in a Hotel with a vast choice and i guess this is where you start to see the similarities of this hotel/ Resort and a Cruise ship. Anything you wanted was pretty much there including some unusual choices for Breakfast including a variety of Pizzas, Chocolate fountain and a range of sweets to get the kids high on sugar ready for the day ahead. You have the choice of inside seating or outside in a little shady garden which is perfect to enjoy the Heat.

Now if you don’t know much about the Atlantis Hotel it’s not really a hotel it’s a resort you could quite easily never leave your Hotel. The Hotel has the usual Pool area and also private beach or should I say beaches you have several beaches in front of the hotel overlooking the city each with a Different vibe, There is Nissi beach a cool Ibiza Inspired section, a beach with water sports, etc.

There is also an amazing water park which is free for Hotel guests during their stay and this was our first stop on our first day so thankfully nothing too strenuous after our flight. The water park is within walking distance and I have to say its one of the most beautiful water parks I have ever been too. There is a lazy river, River rapids and FlowRider, Slides to suit all ages and tastes so you can easily spend several days here without getting bored. There is a kids water park also so the younger kids are well-taken care off. we tried out a few of the slide and they were excellent,  after lunch it was time for the AquatreK now I was a little apprehensive about this if you have not seen this is where you put one of those helmets on and walk underwater amongst 65,000 marine animals including fishes, sharks, and rays!!! now I’m not fond of fish swimming around when you see the size of the rays these actually worried me more than the Sharks as they seemed to have no fear of human contact. If you have seen the photos of the Aquarium in the Atlantis this is actually where you do the trek in theirs. After getting into the wetsuit the instructors put on your helmet and  you go under the water not too far down maybe 12ft its really easy to breathe I didn’t feel  claustrophobic and it was absolutely amazing to see all the fish and thankfully the rays didn’t come too close but even when they  did the guides were on hand to stop them getting to close . I would definitely recommend this.

You can also swim with dolphins but that was not on our agenda.

So after a day at the water park, it was off to get changed for the evening. If you choose an imperial club room you get access to a private lounge with a terrace which has amazing views out to see.  and is the perfect place to have a pre-dinner drink and watch the sunset. As part of the imperial club benifits, you get free drinks every day between 5 and  7 along with snacks throughout the day.  You can also eat breakfast here which avoids some of the Hustle and bustle of the main Buffet restaurant.

That evening we ate in one of the Hotels many restaurants. As I mentioned this is a resort so there are many restaurants including top cheFS Gorden Ramsey etc who have eateries here we ate at Nobu and the food was amazing.

After dinner, we went to the Wave House bar which would become our regular late-night haunt for the trip. The wave house is new and was built so familys had somewhere to go on an evening.  Now don’t get me wrong this is no wacky warehouse this is such a cool hang out are slit up into separate section, Bowling, soft play, restaurant, Sports bar and outside areas with live music and just a really chilled place to hang out.

Also in the hotel is the Aquarium, Shops, Spa and several bars.

If you love cruising and like the resort idea of everything being in 1 place this makes the perfect pre-cruise hotel for a few nights but also I could easily stay there for a week, and i am already planning on going back with My wife and Daughter.

So here are a few pictures of the Hotel and I will tell you more about what I got up to outside the Hotel in my next blog.