We stayed here for 7 nights and had a very relaxing holiday. The Hotel is on Marjan Island, a group of man-made islands built out into the Gulf from the coast of RAK. There’s still a lot of building work going on (a Movenpic is nearing completion next door) but much of the ‘island’ is still to be built on. There’s a promenade opposite the hotel, great for a short walk, but it doesn’t really go anywhere and is somewhat a ‘work in progress’.
It’s a big hotel, but the only times we really noticed the number of people staying there was during meals in the main dining room that is very, very full at peak times, but an early breakfast or late lunch is recommended as the crowds soon dispersed, and if like us you are adults without children then the adult only zone is also recommended. Food varied in quality, but there was a wide variety of choices. We were on their ‘dine around’ package, so I’ve posted separate reviews of the a la carte restaurants, our favourite was the Italian, Vespa.
The selection of beers (Amstel or Kaiser) and one boxed red, white or rose wine on the all inclusive drinks package seemed more restricted that other hotels we’ve stayed at, and some cocktails were ruined with an over generous splash of bottled lime juice.
Our room was spacious and perfect for the week, but my wife wasn’t a fan of the wet-room style shower right next to the bath; and there was no mirror near a plug socket when using the hairdryer, something hotel room designers seem to miss regularly.
The beach is huge, large swimming areas each side of the water sports zone, but I did feel jet skis and other powered craft went too fast in that no swim zone.
We’ve stayed at several other 5 star hotels in the region, including twice at the Hilton Resort and Spa just up the coast, and whilst I can’t really pinpoint any real faults with the Doubletree, it just didn’t sparkle for us in the way some others have.
