Guest reviews Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi

by Leo Christopher H Melbourne, Australia

A marvellous hotel in transition

This was our second stay at Emirates Palace. The first stay was extremely good under the auspices of Kempinski hotel management. The incumbent Mandarin Oriental group have asserted a positive influence on the property. Renovations are ongoing to align the decor with the new brand. We were very impressed with the staff. From poolside barman, to butler, to reception and F&B staff, they equally understood MO’s ambitions for the property and modelled friendly and attentive behaviours throughout our stay.

by traveling1127

Best hotel I've stayed ever

Emirates Palace is the best hotel I’ve stayed at in all aspects of hospitality, luxury of the grounds, and the food. I proposed to my girlfriend at this hotel. They provided so great support from the preparation to the day of the proposal! It is no exaggeration to say that my proposal would not have succeeded without their support. For example, When I told them that it was difficult to procure roses while traveling abroad, they prepared roses and rose petals for us and they cooperated fully with the surprise. In addition, they served a delicious whole cake. Everything was like a dream for us. Thank you all of your staff with all my heart. I definitely want to stay here again in the future like when I have a children, when I get older, and at other milestones. If you are planning to propose, I strongly recommend Emirates Palace! Thank you !!!

by TrishyK Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Superb 5*

We have just come back from celebrating my husband’s birthday at Emirates Palace. Our stay was incredible. We were upgraded to a beautiful sea view room and were welcomed with lots of yummy birthday treats. The rooms have undergone renovation since our last stay and are beautiful. The facilities for kids are brilliant and are the main reason (as well as the awesome staff) that we will return. Special thanks to Man Bahadur by the kid’s pool for being so lovely with our girls and greeting them by name every time he saw us, and always checking in to make sure they were happy and having fun. The reception/ check-in staff were also super friendly and welcoming. The buffet breakfast and dinner was exceptional and again the staff were so helpful. I’ve seen a huge improvement in the level of customer service since our last visit . Thank you to all, we will be back!

by AnnabelleTh Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Not a 5 star hotel

This is not a mandarin hotel, the staff and service levels are nothing like a mandarin hotel. Having just stayed in the Mandarin in Dubai with flawless service, this was such a let down. We booked 2 large suites directly with Mandarin Oriental, they looked lovely online very modern. We arrived at 1pm having booked an early check in rate, official check in time was 2 the rooms were not available. I had booked 3 nights but Carren at reception repeatedly told me my booking was for 2 nights even though I showed her my email confirmation. Then the booking she amended was missing my fans of MO number, she didn’t even seems to know what this was. She announced at the top of her voice the rates and repeatedly asked if it was ok? Never had this before. 1 hour later at reception no room, so leave for lunch. At 3 rooms are ready, but they are not the suites we booked they are filthy and not renovated, stained carpets and furniture, no 180 degree sea view, balcony with no furniture etc. when we enquired we are told it was an upgrade, this was no upgrade . They had given our rooms to someone else even though we arrived well before check in time. They had no renovated rooms available, so what the mandarin website is selling is not what was offered. I paid a premium rate for the nice suites on the Mandarin website and was gives a filthy suite that was incredibly dated. The carpets were heavily stained, the furniture was stained, the bath was so old and stained yellow. Front desk just lied repeatedly, it’s now clear someone altered our booking as a day was missing and my loyalty number when compared to my email reservation. Not a place to be trusted. They absolutely do not care about customer service and the staff are rude and belligerent. We left and moved to a suite at the Rosewood. It’s false advertising to claim that this is a 5 star hotel and a Mandarin Oriental property. Having stayed frequently in Four Seasons and MO properties, this is nothing like that.

by monicagX4640CJ

NOT a 5 star treatment

I am from Miami and have been to different 5-6 star hotels all over the world. For the price we paid per night I didn’t expect that all of these issues would happen to us. First our min bar was empty and I called the receptionist area three times and still they were not able to refill it, but that wasn’t a big deal. Next they mentioned that the breakfast place would open at 8 and it opened at 10. Next they checked to see if we were staying in the hotel but to the point where it was borderline harassment. Then they called our room to tell us that we “ran out” on our bill. My husband became concerned and thought they stole his credit card and after they called a few more times we realized by the food they said we ate that they had the wrong person. It was complete disorganization, lack of empathy and regard and just poor human skills. When we complained to the manager he gave us a free drink in a restaurant and when we made it to the restaurant they had no idea we would be going. I would have expected more from a mandarin hotel and will continue to post how disappointed we were in my social media.