The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai

This was the best hotel experience of our life. The place was absolutely gorgeous, the rooms were perfect, the staff was incredibly thoughtful, kind, and helpful. The best service we have ever experienced. The breakfast buffet was excellent. The grounds and gardens were great. There were fresh flowers everywhere. Our suite's shades were motorized. It was an easy walk down the street to dozens of restaurants, and the beach. The only thing I hope they change in the future is the pool hours. Their pools all closed at sunset, including the one with the swim-up bar. Given that the sun goes down there between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm we would have loved to spend evenings enjoying the pool.

Very mixed feelings on this holiday. I visited in November for a rest after a stressful trip to New Zealand, I stayed in an executive club room with an ocean view. Pro's Firstly the Ritz Carlton is a nice hotel, the biggest plus is the employees, they are amazing, can't do enough for you and truly provide a 5 star experience. The food is very good and the public areas of the hotel are nice and clean. The spa is small but functional and I had an excellent massage by a very professional therapist. The food in the Club lounge is very good and you really don't need half board if you choose a club room with lounge access. Cons NOISE: Oh my goodness - now let me be clear I am very partial to summer in Ibiza, DJ's and quality dance music - however, the only quiet you get in this hotel is in the bedroom with the doors closed, even then you can hear the thumping of dance music at 3.30am. I actually got up to check I wasn't imagining it (and I had ear plugs in). There is competing music from multiple venues nearby and it's honestly just a racket. My ultimate impression was that it is like a five star hotel in Blackpool with sun!!! The adult pool has a DJ from 13.00 and in the other pools there are screaming kids! even in the club lounge there where kids screaming and running around, not what you want when you have paid extra for the facility. CONSTRUCTION: - Combined with the racket from competing dance music venues you also had the clanging of building work next door, it also doesn't look great, very built up and not peaceful at all. SPA: The showers aren't great in the spa, in fact some of them didn't work and not sure about the plunge pools which didn't look very well maintained. (One of the jets had come out and hadn't been replaced which made it look grubby and the hot pool definitely wasn't hot, more tepid water.) BEDROOM - Executive Club with Ocean View The rooms definitely don't have the 'wow' factor, they are very traditional brown and beige, the bed was very comfortable, however the 'ocean view' was debatable, I could just about see the ocean through palm trees from the side of the balcony but my immediate view was the rooms opposite and the FIVE hotel tower! The bathroom was nice, with a big bath and plenty of space, however the fittings in the sink / taps could do with replacing and the shower in the bathroom was poor, the water pressure wasn't great and the fittings weren't easy to use, after an 18 hour flight from New Zealand the last thing you need is to not have a decent shower. I was so disappointed with this holiday and to say it wasn't cheap was an understatement, (4k plus business class flights).

This review is based on the alleged 5 star rating and cost of stay. Although the building and rooms are of a high standard there are so many unacceptable issues ,which for us, would negate any return to this particular hotel. Two particular points that are positive are the hard working teams that keep the hotel communal areas and rooms immaculacy clean. Secondly, the upgrade to club allows access to the lounge, where breakfast, and snacks, meals can be taken, very nice setting and Albert the manager is outstanding . The negatives, and we stay globally in other 5* hotels including RC , and therefore compared . 1. Noise levels, very intrusive and bad. We had a ocean club room view, partly chosen as I like to sleep with window/balcony door open. From early evening through to dawn loud music from a beach bar further along the beach, so door had to be closed on balcony. When questioning with staff why why RC and other hotels don't jointly complain to have this stopped we were informed the owner of the beach bar was a cousin of the Royal Family, so basically can do whatever he wants. 2. There should be a warning when booking that you have the sky dive school next door, which means small plans are taking off and landing frequently from around 8am. Just awful. 3. Blue Jade restaurant, don't bother. Appalling service , badly managed and average Asian food. The staff do not enforce any dress code, we had to endure a drunk loud scruffy couple in dirty Jeans, shirts undone to the waist, chain smoking, and talking on their mobile phone with the speaker on. When initially complaining we asked for the staff to ask this couple to control their behaviour, staff refused , as they were ordering expensive wine. We were moved to another table but could still smell the smoke and hear the conversation on their speaker phone. Another complaint, restaurant manager and staff did nothing so we left. Dreadful experience and complaint made to hotel management. 3. Pool area , despite the signs and information not to reserve beds with towels completely ignored by staff. So the usual dawn rush to reserve beds . 4. Life guard beach. Hopeless and uninspiring with regard to safety. Whilst in the sea, there was a brief couple of minutes tidal surge with exceptionally high waves which we knocking people over. Despite the fact you could see this developing the life guard gave no warning and when people were knocked over just sat in his chair instead of coming to help, we guided an elderly couple back onto the beach who were struggling to maintain their balance! 5. On reading some reviews, whoever from the hotel that responds to any complaints issues the same generic vague response, this compounds the issue not resolves, and shows a complete lack of regard to clients. Overall, not a 5 * hotel when it comes to service, attention to detail or a relaxing stay. For the price just avoid, there are better in Dubai , and we shall defiantly not be returning to RC.

We love the ritz. We have been here quite a few times and never once had a bad experience. The staff is great , always friendly and helpful. The facilities are always clean and readily available. Special thanks to Kamal and Edi, who are always happy to welcome us back.

Our stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai was beyond extraordinary and something we would highly recommend! The service is exactly how you would expect it from such a hotel, genuine, warm, and personal. The hotel is very family friendly, even the standard room is very big, they have a big playground, a wonderful kids pool and the staff really gave our son the feeling that he is more than welcomed. Since you don’t need to think of anything and everything is taken care of, you can really enjoy your vacation as a family. Big thanks to Philip and Shiva at the pool, who always provided us with water, towels and ice cream, Intan, Muthyam, and Karan from house keeping, who made an excellent job in keeping our room tidy as well as all the remaining staff members that made sure we have a wonderful stay. It’s location in Dubai Marina is really nice too! While the hotel itself is rather tranquil with a massive private beach, it’s also only a few minutes away from the JBR Walk, allowing you to go exploring the city, go shopping or having dinner somewhere else. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and although their are tempting alternatives, we would definitely choose to stay here again!