Restaurants. Hotels. Experiences
Have you ever been to the Marriott, on Palm West Beach? Consider spending a pool and beach day there with the kids one day. We have been quite a few times now over the years and have always had a great time. Keep reading, to know what it’s like to do a pool and beach […]
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With so many resorts in and around the Dubai Marina, Bluewaters and Palm Jumeirah area, it can be quite hard to decide which ones to go to for a family pool day. We have rounded up a handful, that we have been – and loved. Note that prices may change so please call them before […]
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The following Pool and Beach Day Pass rates are for the resorts in and around Dubai Marina : Jumeirah Beach Residence, Bluewaters and the Palm Jumeirah. 🚨 March 2026 : Due to the current situation – a few hotels have adjusted their day pass rates, temporarily. These are highlighted in yellow. Follow us on Instagram […]
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We drove to the One&Only Royal Mirage one Saturday morning – just the husband and I for a spa date. Having been to the resort quite a few times now – it would be the first time heading to the spa itself. Interestingly, it’s situated in the same building as The Residences – which is […]
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It’s pretty hot in Dubai right now, isn’t it? I know it’s only June and it will only get hotter – but look, the great thing about summer here are the offers that you won’t be able to get the rest of the year. And what’s the best thing to do when it’s hot and […]
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If I were to sum up our staycation at Banyan Tree Dubai in three words, it would be : boutique, luxury and waves. If I had it my way I would just say waves, waves and waves…….. hahaha. If you’re considering this beautiful resort for a getaway with the kids, here’s our review on what […]
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The last time I was in JA Hatta Fort Hotel – I didn’t have any kids. The husband was off mountain biking and I took my mum over for a stroll and a coffee. It was winter-time and it was lovely. Fast-forward 10 years later – we came back here with not one, but three […]
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If you’re looking for a unique daycation – somewhere with a bit of peace and quiet, and not too far away from Dubai – do consider the Anantara World Islands. It’s breathtakingly beautiful there. Here’s 5 reasons to get a Day Pass to the Anantara World Islands Dubai with the Family.
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If you’re wondering what the drop-off age is for kids’ club in Dubai resorts, here’s a really handy list for most of the ones in and around the Dubai Marina end of town – to include JBR and the Palm. In general, most of them take kids from age 4 and above. Most allow parents […]
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We packed our bags for a little staycation – a short drive from home one weekend in June. The Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah is literally a ten minutes drive from home, which probably doesn’t make any sense to most but the experience as a whole, is completely different to what we can get – in […]
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Last April – we went to Rixos Bab al Bahr with the kids, together with another family. We stayed for two nights, all-inclusive and had such a good time. The great thing about going to an all-inclusive resort is everything’s already covered – food, drinks, and in Rixos’ case – there was so much entertainment […]
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I remember the first time we walked into Raffles the Palm. The grand chandelier in the lobby, the gold and red of Bluthner Hall – it was so elaborate, so luxurious. I know the design is not for everyone, but we love it. If you’re thinking of doing a staycation at Raffles, we’ve put together […]
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Waldorf Astoria at the Palm Jumeirah has introduced a Spa and Pearl Club Escape package. It’s one to look into, if you are looking like a peaceful getaway – with, or without kids. It’s completely up to you 🙂 Here’s what to expect.
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The husband and I have never been away – just the two of us, since having all the little people. So when the opportunity came to review Bear Grylls Explorer Camp – we jumped at it. We made arrangements, packed our bags and drove up to Jebel Jais on a glorious Saturday winter morning in […]
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One of our absolute favourite events at Rixos the Palm is Rixy Kids’ Fest. They do this every Winter – and I remember putting a reminder in my Google Calender so that we’ll take the kids over to join in 😉 You know how some places get one bouncy castle pumped up and that’s their […]
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We have been going to Waldorf Astoria at the Palm with the little ones for years now – be it for a daycation, or for a meal. Over the years, we have met a lot of amazing staff – which added to the overall experience, making us return to this beautiful resort again and again. […]
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Are you still thinking about a spa-day? Stop procrastinating, hurry up and book one! 🙂 The Ritz-Carlton Dubai in JBR has an ongoing spa-cation offer that might fit – if you want to do a spa day, get fed, and relax by the pool. Here’s what to expect from Spa-cation at The Ritz-Carlton Dubai.
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For the summer season – Raffles the Palm have introduced a generous spa day offer, called the ‘Summer Glow Up.’ With mum in town, I took the opportunity to bring her along to review the offer, late July. Mum loves being pampered. Who doesn’t? 🙂 Here’s what to expect from the Summer Glow Up at […]
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A fellow mum of 3 kids had sent me a message recently : ” I would absolutely love a blog of hotels that fit 3 kids without charging you double for interconnecting rooms ! ” So this listing – is for you, and all of us out here who have three little kids, aka a […]
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When it comes to resorts in the UAE – we are very, very spoilt. With so many 5-star, grand, sparkly resorts all over – why would you want to stay in a smaller, 4-star resort such as the Radisson Resort Marjan Island? I was a bit worried as well what the staycation would be like. […]
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Having lived in Dubai for more than a decade – the thought of doing a staycation in a hotel attached to Mall of the Emirates would never, ever cross our minds. It’s literally 10 minutes from home and we go to MOE a lot. So why on earth would we even consider staying in the […]
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Summer 2024 : Rixos is currently having a fabulous summer offer – 799AED++ a night, for an all-inclusive family package. More info here. Rixos might have properly converted us to loyal fans now. Situated an hour and a half from Dubai Marina sits Rixos Bab al Bahr in Ras al Khaimah. As one of the […]
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One of the highlights of our staycation at Rixos Bab al Bahr was the room itself. There isn’t many resorts in this region that have created rooms specially for the little ones. Rixos, introduced the ‘Kids Escape Family Suite’ in 2022 – and if you have multiple kids – they will love this.
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Did you know that there is an Anantara in the World Islands? Did you know you could spend a day there, without having to stay a night? We had the opportunity to do a daycation at the Anantara World Islands Dubai with the family early February, when the weather was just bliss. Here’s what to […]
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Having spent a lot of time in Rixos the Palm, we were so excited for a staycation in their sister property located in Abu Dhabi : Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island. Similar in concept, Rixos Premium Saadiyat is also all-inclusive and very much family friendly. We packed our bags and drove down to Saadiyat Island one […]
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Tucked away on the second floor of The Dubai Edition sits Thia Skylounge – a lush restaurant and bar right by the hotel’s podium rooftop pool. We went over mid-July to review the venue, taking along mum who, just like me – loves discovering new venues in and around town. Here’s how Thia Skylounge is […]
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2025 Summer Offer : Adults get comp access to Al Janoub Pool when doing Lazy Sunday Brunch at The Beach Bar & Grill We returned to One&Only Royal Mirage, early July – this time to check out the newly refurbished Beach Bar & Grill, and to spend an afternoon at their new Adults-only pool : […]
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Mid April, a family from Mumbai reached out to ask for pointers whilst planning their holiday to Dubai. We liaised for awhile, and they ended up here in Dubai in May. Here’s a short write-up written by themselves on where they stayed and what they did. Hope this will be useful for those of you […]
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To add on to my previous piece on Resort Pools close to the main building, this piece covers Pools and Playgrounds in resorts which have shade – regardless of the time of the day. This means that they : Note that these are main pools, and not kids pools. To highlight for most of them […]
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A fellow mum got in touch recently to ask if there were places ‘with water or playgrounds, and lots of shade’, so she could join the kids over the summer months. Thought it might be better to quickly put this piece together as a lot of parents might be looking for the same thing. I […]
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Depending on how much time you spend on social media, you might have seen lots of coverage on the new family resort in Deira Islands that opened up recently. Centara Mirage Beach Resort, it’s called. This is our first time staying in a resort which is completely focused on the little people. They have literally […]
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You think W Hotel and you think Ladies day – Wet Deck. Ladies Nights – SoBe. Date Night – Akira Back. You have probably wondered if kids are welcome there? We have spent many days in the W with the little ones, cheers to our Privilee membership. And whilst the W and the brand itself […]
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Summer 2023 Update : This experience is now called ‘Sunny Glow Journey’ Have you ever been to the One&Only at the Palm? Did you know that there are rabbits running freely in their gardens? I know I share a lot about these rabbits and even wrote a piece. I also know the rabbits have absolutely […]
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A belated write-up of a memorable staycation that we had in Palazzo Versace one summer. We still talk about it every now and then. The level of detail that the Versace family have put into all the interior design is impressive. We took so many family photos in the lounge of our suite, my mum […]
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It’s pool season in Dubai now, isn’t it? There’s a handful of hotels in Dubai that has their own waterslides. These are a few of the ones that we have been and our thoughts on it 😉 Just in case you wanted to plan a pool and beach day with the little ones, or otherwise […]
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If you’ve been stalking following Address Beach Resort’s social media stories, you would have seen endless videos of the infinity pool itself. There is a lot of coverage of the pool, and for good reasons. It does make you think though – is the Address Beach Resort more suited for the adults-only crowd then? Or […]
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How many photos can you take at hotel pool? How many silly poses can you possibly do? If you’re one of those who swear “I’ll never pose for a photo at a pool,” – once you get to Address Beach Resort’s rooftop pool – I guarantee you, you will change your mind. So, is it […]
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This post is written for a couple who will be here in Dubai very shortly. I was going to send it via email but hey – if it will be valuable to them – it will be good to share it with everyone else, ay? So, if you don’t have kids, you are coming to […]
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I literally could not find my way back down after having my tea and that customary post-massage snack all spas in Dubai provide – dates, apricots and peanuts. I walked out of the relaxation room and turned, and turned, and turned. And then realised I was back at where I started. Maybe I’ve had too […]
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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 […]
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I’ve gotten somewhat addicted to a certain exclusive membership. You know, that membership that gives you unlimited access to most hotel pools and beaches in the UAE. If you know me personally, chances are I’ve tried to get you to join it as well. If you don’t know me, you’ve probably seen this same person […]
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Off we went mid-week, a 5 minutes drive to one of the more exclusive resorts in our neighbourhood and the UAE – the One and Only Royal Mirage. It has always been known by most as a place to go for a special occasion – anniversaries, proposals, birthday getaways, and typically where you want to […]
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I watched that building as it was constructed everytime I drove into work. “Wafi Hotel” – we called it. So when Privilee announced that they had a new hotel onboard (yay!) and it was Sofitel The Obelisk – hmm…. looks very familiar? It’s really quite easy to recognise the Sofitel – it must be the […]
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Here’s one place to go to if you want to hide away from the little ones for a couple of hours – White Beach, aka Nasimi Beach re-vamped.
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As temperatures drop to the early 30s in the mornings, as well as late afternoons – we’ve been back at the resorts and beach clubs quite a lot with the family. Had a little playdate this morning and I think Riva Beach Club may just be my new favourite go-to spot for a school day […]
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Whilst we’ve been to the Address Dubai Marina countless times … oh the many ladies nights in my previous life, brunches, afternoon teas, summer camp for the little ones, massage – literally everything the hotel had to offer, we’ve never stayed there. I mean, we live down the road. Plus, we have access to the […]
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I pushed the buggy towards the restaurant counter and smiled at the lady. “It’s that way,” she pointed to the bathrooms behind me. Confused, and trying to contain my offense, I told her that we actually wanted to have dinner here. “Can we?” I added, with a smile. It must be the pool hair, make-up […]
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It was a really hot day yesterday. I don’t think the husband was very pleased with my fabulous family plan to head towards Ras al Khaimah (again) in the sweltering 40 degrees summer heat and 80 percent humidity. The Ritz Carlton Al Hamra was the destination I told him – “A stunning beach resort, ‘complimentary’ […]
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Whilst we’ve always had the impression that the Ritz Carlton Al Wadi in RAK is more suited for “grown-ups”, we were glad to find that it is definitely a family-friendly resort. We managed to spend the rest of the afternoon with the little ones, after a relaxing spa date at The Rainforest 😉 Here’s a […]
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I remember reading about the Rainforest Experience a few years ago when the property was still under the Banyan Tree brand. I also remember driving to the entrance four years ago, on the way home from RAK, hoping to have a bite but were politely turned away as entry was only available to in-house guests. […]
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Whilst we live on the other side of town, we ended up at the Palazzo the other weekend after a Dragonmart excursion – check out the 10aed matching jandals 🙂 Palazzo Versace – it’s different than the rest of the resorts here isn’t it. The level of detail put into every piece – the cups, […]
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So if you want to bring your mum to one spa during her trip to Dubai, or your sister, or a good friend – I highly recommend So Spa. Such beautiful interiors, and it’s huuuuge – a whole ‘2500m2’ according to their website blurp. I’ve been to so many spas during our time here in […]
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This one’s our local hangout. Been here so many times as we live in the area – pre-kids and post-kids 🙂 Now that we’re on Privilee, and that we have two extra people to entertain, we’ve been coming back to The Address a lot, lot more. Whilst it’s not one of the more exciting ‘resort-type’ […]
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We’ve done Waldorf Astoria the Palm with the kids a couple of times now. We like it because of the few times that we’ve been – it’s never really too packed. With summer properly here, it’s even quieter – yay for us 🙂 I mean really, not many people are crazy enough keen to be […]
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Here starts a series of mini reviews, of our Privilee daycations 🙂 We rejoined after they launched the Summer Deal just before Eid – works out to be 100AED a week over 15 weeks – what a bargain! So happy and so excited to be ‘Privilee-ing’ again….. So, we headed to Atlantis The Palm late […]
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The following post was written in January 2019. Having been using it on and off for over 2 years now, Privilee is worth it depending on a lot of things – how often you go, how much you’ll spend on F&B, what you will use it for. If you would like to discuss, feel free […]
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I’ve never been to the Emirates Palace. Seen it from above when we stayed at the Etihad Towers, but that’s as close as I’ve ever been. So when it was heating up this summer (you never get used to the heat…), and I was itching for a getaway with the family – I figured it […]
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So… it’s been a long time since we’ve been to a couples spa treatment. My neck and back has been aching since no.2 came along. I gave the Entertainer App a try, then went onto Cobone… and found this. 60 minutes spa treatment, plus pool and beach access for AED 229. That’s AED 460 for the […]
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Address Boulevard Dubai opened its door earlier this year. Yes, I know – another Address 🙂 So everyone knows the infamous Address Downtown Dubai which made headlines news NYE 2016. It’s not that one – this is the brand new beautiful property, which is located opposite Fashion parking, and you got it – along the Emaar […]
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Back home from a short getaway to the capital. We used the 2nd, and last of the staycation voucher in our Isme Elite app this time – a “city getaway” – at Jumeirah Etihad Towers Hotel in Abu Dhabi 🙂 It was either that, or Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai (too close to home, the […]
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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 […]
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First “holiday” away from our apartment last weekend. Social media has been driving me a little nuts lately with photos of everyone on their summer holiday (insert sulk face) . So after a lot of research on the newly launched Isme Elite app, we decided that it was pretty worth it, went ahead – bought it, […]
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Quite a few weeks ago, we were looking around for somewhere to go for a, what people would call a ‘babymoon’. Now most people (in Dubai) would go to somewhere exotic like Thailand, Maldives, maybe Sri Lanka – but I was past my ‘okay-to-fly’ safe date so we opted for somewhere local. A few clicks […]
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What better time to relive our stay in Al Yamm Villas a few months ago, just in time for those planning on where to go for Valentines 🙂 We checked out of Al Sahel Villas ( read about it here ) , and was driven to Al Yamm on the other end of the island. […]
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I woke up early on Thursday morning, eventhough I had taken the day off work. Last day with mum before she flies home! Rang a few hotels that served breakfast and was in the Entertainer and most don’t accept vouchers for their brekky deals. Finally found one – Ala Turca in Rixos The Palm. Yay! 🙂 […]
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Hope y’all have had a great long weekend 🙂 Been getting lazy to blog lately. Here’s a mini post on one of the more active things you can do other than the highly recommended nature and wildlife drive (click here for info). Archery G got into it, I decided to be photographer / supporter / […]
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I would say, the one bedroom pool villa is perfect for couples who’re looking for a bit of a romantic weekend getaway – for that special occasion, or hey, just any other weekend that you feel like spoiling yourselves 🙂
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I thought of doing the write-ups sometime this week, but as we were sitting here in the lounge going through the photos I felt the urge to share it, or at least just the ones on the safari from this morning…… So here’s the first of many posts to come, of our getaway to Sir […]
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Why don’t we have a bathtub in our bedroom? Now if your wife asks you this, an easy way to make her happy is to take her to a Beach Suite in Sofitel the Palm 🙂 So, picture this. The bellboy takes you to your suite and you try your best to keep calm when […]
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And to end a busy week of work (no Ramadan hours for me…) – what better way than to complete it with another spa date in the palm – a lil visit to Waldorf Spa 😉
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Home from work drinks at Iris 🙂 In blogging mood. So here’s one, specially written for Nada Al Ghowainim from Undefined Declarations. We met briefly at the Coffee Club Middle East launch many months ago. Very sweet girl, and recently she was on twitter asking for somewhere to recommend for a staycation to Abu Dhabi for […]
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I like Vida’s concept. They do things simple, and minimal, and they do it well. Over the last year or so we’ve reviewed quite a few of their outlets as part of an invitation, and would honestly recommend it to friends and workmates. Just recently, we were invited for a staycation at the hotel (yay!). I […]
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How to get there? I don’t know how to do this insert Googlemaps into blog business so here’s as good as it gets. Search ‘Al Qudra Camping Oasis’ and it’ll pop out. Easy, right? The GPS coordinates are 24.837536, 55.376665. For some reason the lakes don’t show up if you’re in ‘Map’ mode so change it to Satellite […]
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Somebody tell me who did the interior design for Meydan Hotel’s rooms? I love it! The rooms are rectangular, but they managed to fit it out in such a way that when you open the door, all you see is an curved alleyway leading into your grand home away from home. You feel like a […]
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What a weekend 😀 So, G picked me up from work on Thursday, and off we went up north, driving along the west-coast of the UAE towards Ras Al Khaimah 🙂 We’ve only been up to RAK once since moving here , and honestly never had any reason to go back up since. Good thing […]
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A photo-post of our early morning trip to Hatta, located south-east of Dubai 🙂 G was meeting up mates at the Hatta mountainbike meeting point and since mum was here, thought we’ll tag along and make a mini trip out of it. “See some mountains” 😉 Keen mountain-bikers probably see this every weekend, but for […]
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Where the heck is Khorfakkan, you ask me? 🙂 Back in June when I first heard about Oceanic Khorfakkan I stuck it in google and realized that it’s on the east coast, just underneath where all the other Fujairah resorts are laid along the coastline. We have never been to the east coast, so I […]
Read MoreNice to be back in Fairmont The Palm again 🙂 Nice to be pampered again, as well 🙂
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So here I am sitting cross-legged on my red carpet, all excited to blog about my random weekend rendezvous at the Le Royal Meridien 🙂 Not to be mistaken as the other SPG resort with a similar name on the same stretch about 5 minutes drive away. I’ve always wondered why the other one (where Barasti […]
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I took M to Fairmont The Palm two weekends ago. We checked into the Fairmont Gold View Room on the 10th floor, and to our nice surprise found a pot full of bloomin’ red roses and a personalised note to me. Opened it up and in it was a hand scrawled note ‘Dear Ms. X, […]
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Sitting in the Fairmont Gold Lounge, glass of bubbly to my right, Viva magazine on the left with the oh-so-hot Diane Kruger staring back at me. A group of expats are sitting outside on the verandah having drinks, overlooking the marina. It’s beautiful here. I feel like I’m on holiday, yet again. And it’s literally […]
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Not too bad for a sandstorm weekend ay! Hehehe! This has been a getaway that we had been planning on and off for months. To Amish whom took care of our reservations and numerous ‘changes’ – Thanks for your patience and understanding!
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Had the opportunity to stay in the newly opened JW Marriott Marquis over the weekend. Before checking in on Thursday, the only few things that we’ve heard about this place were from the scattered FB newsfeed stories of its opening ceremony, hosted by Simone with special guest Leona Lewis, the sports bar Velocity (from Dubai92’s […]
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Apparently, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose was staying in St Regis as well when we were there last night. We didn’t know that until were leaving! Grrr! Should’ve gone down early to have breakfast and just sat there allllllll morning ay! Damn. Least we got to see them play at the HSBC Golf […]
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Definitely, the best, Asian fusion, that we have had. Being of asian backgrounds ourselves, we’ve never really wanted to go for Asian fusion because, a) authentic asian food it always, better (and cheaper) and b) half the stuff we can cook it at home, anyway! Now we’ve definitely had our minds changed after an amazing […]
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Jul 2014 Update – Note that Rocco Forte Hotel is now called Hilton Capital Grand Abu Dhabi. Home from another weekend rendezvous 😉 When we first booked our night at Rocco Forte, we were (as always) a bit sceptical of how it’ll turn out. As you get into Abu Dhabi City from Dubai, you’ll pass […]
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Back from a wonderful holiday in Muscat, Oman. Cheers to the troupe – we all had an amazing time. Didn’t even know that there were so many dolphins in the Gulf of Oman! We didn’t pick the Radisson. It was one of those – “Where are you guys staying? – Oh-okay, we’ll do that too” things. […]
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Grand Millenium Hotel : Our First Home in Dubai Ah, finally it’s okay to write about the place where we stayed for 3 whole months, as we’ve moved out to our new home 😉 This little article is for the families who have been put in Grand Millenium as their ‘first home’, having flown from […]
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