Atlantis, The Palm

A picky but (hopefully) helpful review. I want to provide a review that is thorough, contextualized and hopefully helpful to the discerning guest and of some value to Atlantis staff. Parts of this review may seem picky, though when staying at a premium resort, picky is hopefully not unreasonable. The overall 4 starts reflect this is a great place, however I cannot quite find myself able to give that final 5th star overall. Context is also key here, both in terms of what one might expect if paying full whack in premium season but also when considering what could be offered given the rather unusual circumstances of our stay. Context – we are residents. We decided that we needed an escape from the realities facing us in this present time. The background is during the Israeli/US way on Iran. There are no foreign tourists in the UAE at present. There is an ongoing conflict and during our stay we have received nightly emergency alerts of missile attacks including one night of actually hearing explosions nearby. There has been very unseasonal weather (? Related to the various environmental issues from this war) that led to an unseasonable thunder storm in the region (booms of a different nature – still something we are heightened to given the context). The review is therefore judged in part of what could have been offered given the context and in part what one might have hoped for had we chosen to stay during peak season. Personal context – having tried to do “cultural travel” with our young family before, we have learnt at this age that a quality resort with full amenities is easier than staying at a more budget resort and attempting to fill days with planned activities of natural interest. As a result, we have been fortunate enough to stay at some very decent all inclusive resorts in the past and are conscious about the value that can be offered at such resorts in comparison. I will separate the aspects that are done well at Atlantis compared to those that could be improved upon below. The good: - Atlantis is an icon. The building is striking and the setting in unparalleled. The resort almost feels like a “rite of passage” to experience whilst living in Dubai. The building is impressive. Whether it is the sea shell indentations in finished concrete or the overall impressive décor, if you are not impressed with the gravitas of the surroundings then you are frankly spoilt. - Check in for us what a breeze, probably helped by the lack of competition from international tourists. - The rooms feel premium, there is plenty of space and all the standard creature comforts are included - The service was attentive and all staff were ever keen to make our stay feel special, not easy given the context of our stay - There were some lovely touches that boosted our experience. These included a little box of treats on Eid delivered by the turn-down service and, having heard we were here celebrating one of our sons birthdays, the delivery of a birthday cake on another. These are the aspects that really add to the premium feel - Because of the situation, we availed ourselves of an excellent deal – stay 2 nights, get 3 – this means a huge discount on the overall experience - The food is good, saffron breakfast and the dinner feel premium in their food quality of themselves - The water park is impressive in its size and offering. Having unlimited towels as a hotel guest is great, I am not sure I will return rapidly as a non-guest though given the substantial additional costs that little extras like towels, lockers and fast passes would add (and honestly, waiting for 60 minutes for a water slide does kinda kill the vibe). The Picky: - The hotel was clearly well under its usual capacity (hardly surprising with the situation). We asked about a potential upgrade given we were celebrating a birthday and while a small discount was offered (around 450 AED), there wasn’t any option. This is super-picky but honest, it was clearly apparent from the occupancy during our stay that there were plenty of empty upgraded rooms (we were sometimes bouncing off the empty walls at times). This could have been an epic opportunity to mark the birthday in upgraded class given the context. - There is a general sense of penny-pinching. We have half board that includes soft drinks. We would have loved to include alcoholic drinks as an upgrade but could only do so if we upgraded all 3 days. We really only wanted one night to do this but this wasn’t an option and paying the premium for all days was honestly going to cost a lot more than the modest amount of alcohol we wanted to enjoy on just one night. - There are features on offer that feel like they should be included in a premium stay. The spa for example costs extra. Since a spa is increasingly the standard of a premium resort, the idea of paying 350 AED extra per person to enjoy a hot tub or sauna feels a little mean spirited. - We were on the beach one day, it was honestly completely empty. We sat on a bed and were promptly approached asking us to move on as this required a minimum spend. I might understand in peak season but we were literally the only people on such a bed on the entire beach. Perhaps just letting this slide might have felt a little more appropriate. - One night I opted for the “candy store” desert – basically a fancy pick and mix. The entitlement was a maximum of 100g and the server was diligently measuring this to the exact grams. I get that all inclusive culture makes some people go crazy (I have seem guests at other resorts fill their handbags with Turkish delight before) but honest, it is better optics to give a small bowl and say fill to the max-line than have a massive bag (with a logo of “go wild in the sweet store’ whilst the server promptly ensures you cannot go even mildly overboard, let alone wild. Sweets are after all not that expensive! - Little unexpected treats – I don’t care how rich you are, everyone wants to feel surprised with unexpected value. You can stay at a cheap holiday in and find there are free biscuits with the coffee and feel impressed. There is a nice minibar with treats and snacks but absolutely everything has a premium surcharge. Sure, that’s fine but the small touches like a mini-box of chocolates on the pillow when you arrive or a little surprise bag of salted snacks at turndown are what marks the really special feel of a premium resort from one that is counting every cost. It doesn’t have to be much, a few cans of soft drinks and a packet of crisps in the room as a quick “pick me up” snack are enough to achieve this - Upgrades to restaurants come at a heavy premium, up to 500AED per head (which itself buys a pretty decent meal elsewhere!). There was no discounting on this despite us visiting Nobu one night for cocktails and the place being empty (even then we couldn’t get outside as this was at a premium, again despite being empty). - The water park is great and the aquarium adds a wonderful vibe. We have been somewhat spoilt with Yas Islands sea world (which is frankly a modern marvel) but paying an extra 100AED for the plastic trident again feels a little cheap for hotel guests. The cost of avoiding long lines at the water park are also pretty steep, with 250 AED per head amounting to more than the cost of other quieter water parks. - Everything you purchase from snacks to soft drinks comes at a huge cost. If you were hoping to enjoy an “all inclusive” experience, whether grabbing a few drinks by the pool or ice cream on the beach in the afternoon, budget for a lot of extra cost. Even by Dubai standards, this place is pricey. Perhaps this is the intention – keep Atlantis for the wealthy who wont bat an eyelid at the cost. For me personally, I know I can get far better value without any noticeable loss of “Premium feel” in other resorts either in the region or in the UAE. - The kids club is great but I imagine it gets ridiculously busy at times. Even during our stay we found that it was packed at times (and as noted, this was not when the hotel was at capacity). It is best catered to primary aged kids, teenagers may struggle to find their home their but there are plenty of sporting activities they can engage with instead. We had one trip per day allowed, again slightly frustrating but honestly probably necessary given the space capacity would not accommodate the entire hotels kids in peak time. The take home Atlantis is a premium resort. It is internationally recognized and the staff clearly want everyone to have a great time. This review is pedantic but then again, a premium resort at a premium price tag demands it. As things stand, we had a bargain holiday that was a much needed reprieve from the stresses we are going through in the current times. Had I saved all year for this experience for a once-in-a-lifetime escape, I might have felt a little hard done by. Not because there isn’t all there needs to be, but because it feels like the purchase of a room and half board is only the entry ticket to experience all there is on offer. Because so many little add-ons come with an extra (and not insignificant) premium add on price that boosts what would be an expensive holiday into the territory of an extortionate one. Our experience of other premiums all-inclusive is that more can be included and still be profitable. This feeling of value will I am sure appeal to anyone, regardless of means. Better to raise the prices and give such unexpected premium surprises rather than have guests feel they are too cheap because they didn’t splurge on the presidential suite or cannot afford to splash out at one of the premium restaurants during their stay. Would I come back – sure, while these offers are still on it is very tempting. However I am less convinced I would make the journey at full price because honestly I much prefer to pay a hefty price upfront and know I can leave the wallet in the room safe for the whole week than worry about whether I can afford another cocktail or round of ice creams at the beach on the 6th day of the trip. Hopefully Atlantis staff find this picky review somewhat helpful and can add these little touches that will make their future guess feel extra special.

We stayed at Atlantis The Palm from February 25 to March 2 for a family holiday, paying over USD 850 per night because this is marketed as a premium resort experience centered around facilities such as Aquaventure, the beach, and the pools. When the regional security crisis escalated on February 28, key facilities were closed for several days. We understand that safety must come first, and we do not criticize the decision to close the waterpark, beach, and pools. What was deeply disappointing was how the hotel treated guests once the crisis was already affecting travel and normal hotel operations. Our checkout was on March 2. At that point, the security situation was still uncertain, flights had been heavily disrupted, and most of the facilities that define the value of this hotel were still unavailable. The hotel’s position was essentially: pay or check out. To be fair, they did offer what they described as their “maximum discount,” bringing the additional night down to around USD 500. But that still meant paying a very high rate for a resort whose main attractions were largely unusable at the time. Aquaventure and the beach only started reopening the following day, after we had already checked out following a one-night extension. That is the core problem: we paid a premium resort price, the resort experience was largely unavailable, and when we needed flexibility during an exceptional situation, the response was not support, but a demand to either pay more or leave. What made this even more disappointing is that after leaving Atlantis, we moved to a much much cheaper family hotel outside the city centre, and despite facing similar facility closures, their management approached the situation in a far more constructive and guest-focused way, offering meaningful compensation options. That contrast said everything. So this review is not about the fact that facilities had to close. It is about how a luxury hotel behaves when things go wrong. In our case, there was: no refund for the lost resort experience, no meaningful goodwill gesture, and no response that matched the level of care one would expect from a hotel of this category and price point. If everything goes perfectly, Atlantis may be a nice stay. But our experience showed that when a real crisis happens, the service culture behind the luxury branding is far less impressive.

Amazing experience, room, spa , restaurants, gym . EVERYTHING

Loved our stay! Best service, great for families with kids as there is so much to do here. Our room attendant Nasir was so kind helpful as well, absolute dream!

Thank you for baby shark 🦈 and San for make us happy today 😍😍😍😍😍