This review comes from spending not just one specific day at Rixos the Palm – but after having spent numerous afternoons and evenings at the resort with the family. If you are based in the UAE or otherwise flying in from overseas and plan on splurging for a staycation here, here are some insights on the property which may be useful to you :

• Googlemaps will tell you this already but if you have not noticed – it is located at the end of the Palm’s Crescent. This means that it is quite a trek to get to all the other attractions like Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, etc. Closest one would be be the Atlantis, the waterpark Aquaventure and then to the restaurants and shops at The Pointe, and Nakheel Mall. I would suggest if you plan to stay here – that’s what you’ll do – just stay. This is your ‘R&R’ destination.
• All-inclusive, which will be worth the money if you like your drinks. Any other 5-star resort in the Palm, you’re looking at 40-50aed for bottled beer or a glass of wine.
• Guests are predominantly of Eastern European origins, therefore most of the staff are also Russian-speaking.

How are the pools in Rixos the Palm like?

The main pool is the one right outside Ala Turca – their all-day dining restaurant. Nice big pool, music will get very loud towards the late afternoon.

If you want some peace and quiet, you can also go to the Adults-only Pool. To note – everyday there will be pool activities (that you can participate in for free) like aqua-cycling, aqua-mat and aqua-jumping being held in this adult pool and it is SO much fun.

Got kids and don’t want all that party music from the main pool? There’s the kid’s pool at the Kid’s Club, or otherwise keep walking and you’ll end up at another pool which is the quiet part of Rixos. SO MANY CHOICES.

Am I going to be bored if I stay in Rixos the Palm the whole time?

The reason we keep going back to Rixos, other than all the activities they have for kids (which I’ll get onto later) is that they have so many activities for adults. You’ve got Stand-up Paddleboarding (good friend of ours on the SUP, pictured above), Tabata, Taebo, Water Polo, Sunset Yoga. Biking around the palm where they will provide the bicycles. So say you’re bored of just sitting by the pool reading your kindle, you can turn around and join in to a session of Tae bo. Hop back onto your sunlounger and have a few more Heinekens. Then do a session of stand-up paddleboarding. Jump back into the pool for a swim.

The activities are organised by this group ‘Exclusives Sports Club’ – you can follow them here on instagram to see all their activities on their feed and stories. I’ve done a few of the classes and absolutely love the enthusiasm and positivity that exudes from the instructor Adel.

All-inclusive – that’s drinks as well?

So we’ve only done the all-inclusive daycation and not the staycation itself. Click here for details on their website. Other than access to their facilities – pool, gym, kid’s club, sport activities, you also get breakfast and lunch buffet, as well as unlimited drinks until 6pm.

You get your drinks from i-Chill Lounge which is the bar behind the main pool. They have an extensive drinks menu which I really would like to go back and try again, and again, he he he. It’s so convenient as the guys brings you a whole bucket of beers if you ask them to, so it’s not like you can just get one and then keep having to get your lazy arse off that sunbed.

What about the kids?

Click here to view Rixy Kids Club Timetable ^{Jan 2022} . Please contact Rixos directly for current timetables and schedules.

This is where I spend a LOT of time in the last few weeks or months – Rixy Kid’s Clubs. They’ve modified the timetable since Covid but it has enough activities to keep them occupied for hours. There’s about 6 to 8 staff in there – really patient young adults who are really good with the kids. Other than the usual arts and crafts they have fancy things like turkish marbling, acrylic painting, they take you outside for canvas painting. They take you to the kid’s pool for aqua gym. Also to the outdoor sports area for trampolining. They’re open till really late and even have a disco session at 8:30pm, it’s nuts. We’ve never managed to stay so late, I suppose it’s good for the jetlagged kids who wants to dance! Special mention to Maria, Karina, Afnan and the rest of the team – it’s really hard work for them I can see, handling all these kids from all over. Salute to you guys.

How are the restaurants in Rixos the Palm like?

Over the years I’ve only dined in L’olivo once (read here for my review back in 2013) and for breakfast at Ala Turca (click here). We returned for lunch a couple of since at Ala Turca since, and have had a few casual meals at Aqua & Seafood which is the restaurant behind the main pool. I’ll update this section on a later date once I’ve dined everywhere and can give you a better overview of food there.

Any downside?

• Well, as I mentioned above – if you choose to stay here it’s a long way to go to Dubai Mall and other attractions up north. Stay here to stay here.
• The sand in all the Palm is not as great as say the Jumeirah beaches – I think it’s simply because it’s a man-made island and whatever sand they had dredged, well, it’s just not as fluffy as nice as the supposed real beaches. Still beautiful though.
• The kid’s club gets really busy over the holiday period because of tourists, and also day users (Privilee = me, guilty). They do have a limit of numbers due to Covid so if it’s full you won’t be able to drop the kids off, you’ll just have to wait.
• The adult pool is a long (25-metre, maybe?) pool which you’ll pass between the main pool and Kid’s Club. It’s not the nicest adult-only pool I’ve been to – I would say the one at Waldorf or Fairmont is much better in terms of its location.

What about the rooms?

This – I’ll have no comment on as we have never stayed overnight before. I’ll update this section at a later date.

Overall Thoughts

Come here if :

• the budget suits (first and foremost..)
• you like somewhere with lots of sports and wellness activities to keep you busy
• or, you can always pick a sunbed and do absolutely nothing
• you like your drinks
• you like a bit of ‘vibe’ within the hotel ground i.e it’s never quiet when we’ve been

If you’re based in Dubai and you are reading this – you could do an all-inclusive daycation which is 399 AED on weekdays and 499 AED on weekends. Privilee members get a discounted rate of 250 AED weekdays, 300 AED weekends – that’s what we did 😉 Give it a try. You’ll most likely see us there every week.

2023 Update : This review was written in 2020 updated over time, until January 2022. As of mid 2022, Rixos the Palm is no longer part of Privilee.

• Rixos the Palm
• All-inclusive Daycation Offer
• Rixos the Palm’s Menu & Activities

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Note : Non-sponsored. We used our Privilee membership to access Rixos the Palm’s pools, beach, gym and all activities. We’ve paid for the upgrade to the all-inclusive daycation when we were there as well – that is 300 AED (weekends) and 250 AED (weekdays) for breakfast, lunch, all-day drinks till 6pm.