Lodging:
We originally were going to stay all four nights at the Park Hyatt Dubai. I reserved points and cash 10,000points +$125 per night. We ended up staying the first night at the Ramada Jumeira, because the first night was going to be only a half day and because I wanted to take advantage of the Wyndham “three stays for 15k” promo.
The Ramada was very nice. Maybe a 3-4 star place. Not a spacious room but not tiny either. They were happy to store our polar cooler in their room service freezer overnight. We didn’t ask them to do any reheating for us. We arrived and checked in around 9pm. We went for a walk...not the most scenic place to walk. Big city blocks, not much to see, except that we walked to Jumeira Mosque and saw it at night. Pretty. The bathroom was clean and Beds comfortable. Total cost including taxes was 500AED.
We spent the remainder of the trip at the PH. From my initial emails with them two months prior, I was already getting the sense that they would take great care of us. Here was our first email exchange (maybe the language will be helpful to others?):
Attention: Mr. Mattheos Georgiou, General Manager, Park Hyatt Dubai
Dear Mr. Georgiou,
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be visiting the Park Hyatt Dubai in November. As an avid follower of travel blogs and travel-related social media, I know that PH Dubai is one of the finest properties in the Region. For me, this trip is a special opportunity to travel with my daughter, to celebrate the commencement of her high school studies. Everything I have read online and heard from colleagues leads me to believe with great confidence that you and your staff will make this trip unforgettable.
I write with a special request. Because of specific dietary restrictions (at the level of serious food allergies), we must travel with our own food. We will have approximately 20 individual meals, triple-wrapped in aluminum foil, that have been deep frozen. We will bring them in a specially designed, super-insulated travel bag that is designed to keep frozen food in its frozen state for more than 24 hours. When we arrive at the Park Hyatt Dubai, we would request that your staff store our insulated travel bag in the FREEZER. Then, as our meal times occur during our four-night stay at the Park Hyatt Dubai, we would contact your designated staff member and ask that the meal be heated in a conventional oven (typically one hour at about 200C, but this could vary from oven to oven) and then delivered to our room.
Having communicated with some of my friends and colleagues, I am under the impression that you and your staff at the PH Dubai have responded very favorably to similar requests in the past, so I am hoping that this request is not unreasonable. I would appreciate hearing back from you with confirmation that this request can be honored, and if there is any specific person for whom I should ask upon arrival, please let me know.
With sincere thanks in advance,
—-
And their response, the next day:
Thank you very much for your e-mail and please allow me to respond to you on behalf of our General Manager, Mr Georgiou, who is currently out of the country.
We are delighted that you have chosen Park Hyatt as your residence for your upcoming stay in Dubai, especially as you are celebrating a very special occasion, the commencement of your daughters high schools studies.
What a great achievement and congratulation on behalf of our entire team. Please rest assured that we will do our utmost to provide you with a memorable experience.
Regarding your request, we can certainly assist you with the requirements and the preparation of the food. As you had mentioned, we had similar requests in the past, so I am very confident, that we can arrange the necessary to your fullest satisfaction.
Our Head-Chef Daniele will oversee the preparation and I will personally ensure that our staff is fully briefed. Upon your arrival, we will store the bag in one of our freezers and the meals will be heated and served through our Room-Service department.
We are all looking forward to welcoming you and your daughter in November and in the meantime I remain at your entire disposal in case of any further questions or concerns.
Yours sincerely,
Fritz
Friedrich (Fritz) von Schoenfeldt
Director of Rooms
______________________
I did have some second thoughts, though, despite this wonderful first impression. You see, I had been in touch with the Chabad shaliach, who told me that there was a Shabbat morning Minyan that meets in an area closer to the Mall of the Emirates. From awardmapper, I realized that my only points hotel option within walking distance would be a Sheraton at the Mall. And even that would be at least two miles each way. Given that I would need to abandon the PH, and given that we might have a long-ish walk and could be pretty hot, I elected to stick with the PH. Would have been great to spend time with the Shaliach and/or minyan, but can’t do everything. Now we have a good reason to go back!
So, the PH was amazing in all respects. The property is beautiful. It is located adjacent to a private golf course and adjacent to the marina/yacht club, both of which are surrounded by an upscale residential community — nice houses but not palaces. . All of those are accessed through a guard-protested gate. Given this set up, we found that there are lovely places to stroll, but you can’t really walk anywhere outside this gated community. All the grounds are immaculate and expertly groomed and landscaped. The PH itself is stunning. Sort of Moroccan appearing, with blue domed roofs and lots of off-white stucco. As is typical of PH, I think, the interior decor has lots of wood and decoration that is tasteful without being garish. In various public areas, the famous PH aroma —sort of perfume-flowery — is noticeable but not overwhelming.
The lobby is a rotunda, sort of understated. The have Arabic Coffee and dates out for self serve in the afternoon, as well as bottles of water. There are lovely sitting areas inside and out. We didn’t patronize any of the restaurants or even the espresso bar, but all the places to sit looked very inviting.
The pool was beautiful. Daughter might have pix and I will post later if she has. Palm tree islands interspersed in the pool. Still could do laps if that’s your thing. Ample lounge chairs and great service by the attendants who come and set up towels on them for you. Manu people were ordering lunches and drinks at the pool.
The fitness center was excellent. Very new equipment. Plenty of different cardio, strength, free weights, stretchy stuff, boxing equipment, with apples and water for the taking. Couldn’t ask for anything better.
The room itself was terrific. Pretty sure we just had a basic room with two twin/double beds. We had a nice mirpeset with two wooden chairs and a small round table. We noted that some of the balconies were larger and had a square table that was better suited for dining al fresco. We will make a note to request it next time.
They had a welcome fruit plate and bottle of wine for us in the room on arrival. How to handle the wine, I wondered? I knew they wouldn’t have any kosher wine but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to explain that I couldn’t have The room had a Nespresso machine that the housekeepers kept well stocked and restocked. There was a fridge /mini bar. In retrospect I could have and should have asked the hotel to empty it for me, but I just did it myself and reloaded when we were done with it. Was able to tape the light easily for Shabbat. The bathroom was awesome. Even nicer than the PHP, IIRC. Stunning soaking tub. Toilet with bidet separated by a glass door. Not ideal for privacy but wasn’t a problem. The shower was probably the best rain shower I have ever had. Think the heaviest downpour of geshem you can imagine, and then concentrate it in a 12 cm diameter area, and wow. The bathroom was separated from the main room by shutters.
The room and the grounds were gorgeous, but what really distinguished the PH for me was the service. As soon as we checked in the agent said, yes, we know about your food and we will put it in the freezer immediately. Then, about 10 minutes after getting to our room, the chef and his assistant come up and introduce themselves, review how they will heat and deliver the meals. Every time a staff member brought the food, it was exactly at the appointed time — you could set your watch by it. And they all had a lovely combination of professionalism and deference. They always seemed genuinely appreciative when I gave a gratuity. The room service staff was even proactive in asking us if we wanted to plan ahead to have meals heated and delivered, so we wouldn’t need to call back.
They had no problem giving us late check out at 2pm. They did not charge us a penny for any of the room service. They heated and brought food to us about 6 or 7 times. I figured they might charge $25 or something. Nada.
Definitely one of the best hotel stays I have ever enjoyed.
Next up...the actual activities and sights of Dubai.
