So after looking around for flights, we decided to stay put in Dubai this long weekend.
FOMO at its highest level (I haven’t been on a proper holiday for a very-long-time…. moan, moan, moan), we started browsing through the many apps and promos to see what we could possible use. Isme popped up. Thought we’ll give the beach access in the Elite membership a shot. Afterall, we’ve paid quite a lot (AED 3,900 worth…boo hoo) for this membership (and I’m still trying to convince G that it was more worth it compared to Privilee…..;) )
Moving on. How was it?
Ha, a day well spent 🙂
The more well-known/photographed Jumeirah resort would be the Madinat. That pool. The Burj Al Arab in the background. The romantic Pierchic. Bla bla bla. Then there’s Jumeirah Zabeel Saray which sits on the less-popular end of the Palm’s crescent. We decided to make our ‘money’s worth’ and got there after 10am (we were aiming at when the pool is open – 9am, but things aren’t so easy when you have a 6-month old). I asked one of the staff (well, he was in a suit..) to guide us, and so he did – brought us to the “counter” by the pool.
App entrance approved, we found ourselves on a very comfy recliner and ha, our “day at the pool” begins 🙂
Thoughts on the day, and on what we loved :
a) The pool, though not as large as the Al Qasr one, was big enough (59-meter, according to the website) and so beautiful! Great for a good swim, and waddle around with your very little one.
b) It wasn’t all that busy, probably not as popular as the Madinat’s pool.
c) Lovely shaded shallow area for younger children which we spent most of the time in with our baby (and a Sinbad’s Kids Club/Pool for the toddlers if you have one, or two, or three)
d) Free local water (packed in Jumeirah brand) given out in a clear plastic bag filled with ice. Woohoo.
e) Free lime ice-blocks (Note : Do not let your babies have this. They will love it, but they will keep you up all night later…)
f) You could easily order from Plaj (supposedly Italian?) if you were feeling peckish. Menu is typical – burgers, pizza pastas and mains (which you should save for a sit-down). I recommend the Plaj Beef Burger (110 AED) – supposedly 200 grams of beef, chargrilled, put together in a sesame bun. My chicken burger was nothing to rave about. Tip : Use your Entertainer 241. If you were in-house guests, children under 4 can order from a menu for free!
g) Great service – we were all in the pool and came back to our recliners, and there were three dry towels placed on our area for us. So cool 🙂
h) Point g) again – I had organised for a surprise for G (birthday) and not to go into too much details they perfected it! Shout out to the Plaj team (you know who you are 🙂 )
Things that could be better ?
a) Staff to double check, if we were in-house guests before letting us know that kids under 4 dined for free. This was a mistake on their part, but they were nice enough to waive the bill afterwards (as they should..) so no issues. It just would be good if they asked next time, to avoid the awkwardness 🙂
b) Absolutely, nothing else. Ha!
My new favourite hotel for a daycation or staycation : Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.
I can’t find the daycation prices on their website (someone fix this up..) but if you’re an Isme Elite member, use it! 🙂 I’m still trying to justify the 3900 AED cost that we have forked out for this membership (sigh..), I’ll save it for another post. For now, it was a fab day spent. Cheers to the Plaj team for surprising G well and for taking care of us! Shout out as well to the Jumeirah Reservations Team for putting up with me and my 101 emails/phone calls, as well as the Isme Customer Service team who helped me out urgently on the day.
How was your long weekend? Have you stayed at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray?
For the current day pass rate for Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, have a look at our Pool & Beach Day Pass Listing here
Disclaimer : We paid for our meals, and used the Isme Elite membership for the day pass (which we paid for ourselves as well). All thoughts are our own 🙂