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| Entrance Sign |
The
ParkHyatt Abu Dhabi is located on up and coming and secluded
Saadiyat Island.
Besides the Park Hyatt, the only other hotel
at the current time is the St. Regis Abu Dhabi.
There are residences located on the island, but it is slated to become
the cultural center of Abu Dhabi with a
Guggenheim Museum and a branch of the
Louvre to open in the future.
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| View From Entrance |
The
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi is located about 10-15 minutes away from the Corniche.
I
arrived at the hotel about 3:00 PM but was told that my room would not be ready
for another 30 minutes or so. It should
be noted that check-in time is 2:00 PM.
My
room was finally ready after 4:00 PM.
Unfortunately check-in was not as smooth as I had hoped. I asked about getting a 4:00 PM check-out but
was told that I would have to check with the manager on the day of check-out. I tried to explain that it was one of the
benefits of being a Hyatt Diamond member, but the front desk agent wouldn’t
hear any of it. After several more
minutes of discussion I realized that what she was trying to tell me was that
if I wished to extend my check-out past 4:00 PM then I would have to check with
the manager. Breakfast benefits were not
explained at the time of check-in. I
also was not given a choice of an amenity at the time of check-in, but the
front desk agent did see me later in the lobby and asked what type of amenity I
would like.
I was
shown to my room by another employee. I was
upgraded to a Sea View King. I tried
using a Suite Upgrade but the hotel was almost sold out and no suites were
available at the time of my stay.
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| Coffee Maker & Mini Bar |
Upon
entering the room, there is a hallway with a room divider. When walking straight, there is a sideboard
with a counter that holds the coffee maker and the mini-bar. There was also a bowl of fruit containing a
banana, orange, apple and plum.
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| Desk |
Past
the sideboard is the desk which also has a large glass countertop that is
useful for extra storage.
The desk is
somewhat on the small side but the extra counter space is a big help. Wifi was unreliable and slow when connected.
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| Chaise Lounge |
To the
left of the desk is a chaise lounge chair with a small table.
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| Bed |
Next
to that is the bed, which is super soft and comfortable. The linens are high quality as well.
To the
left of the bed is the bathroom. There
is a large sliding glass door between the bed and bathroom for some privacy.
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| Dual Sinks |
There
are two sinks with limited counter space.
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| Tub |
Directly
behind the sinks is a large tub.
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| Shower |
Next
to the tub is a dual shower – a rainfall shower head, or a regular shower
head. There are Le Labo bath products.
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| Closet |
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| Flashlight (Silver Cylinder) |
Walking
through the bathroom is the closet which is also fairly spacious.
One especially useful item in the closet is a
rechargeable flashlight that can be helpful when not familiar with a new room
at night.
There is also a sliding glass
door between the closet and bathroom.
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| Toilet & Bidet |
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| Sink |
The
toilet area has a toilet, bidet and small sink.
The Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi proudly features
Hans Grohe fixtures.
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| Balcony |
The
room also features a large balcony area with a chair, small table and large
lounge chair/sofa/bed.
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| View From Balcony |
The view
from the balcony overlooks the property and the beach.
Unfortunately the beach was closed during my
stay due to an oil spill.
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| Lagoon |
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| Upper Pool |
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| View From Pool |
The
property features a small lagoon, as well as two infinity pools, although the larger
of the two pools is for show only as no swimming is allowed.
The pool is only about a foot deep.
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| Additional Lounge Chairs |
There
are lounge chairs spread throughout the property.
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| Spa Pool |
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| Spa Pool |
There is
also a spa pool.
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| Hydrotherapy Pool |
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| Saunas |
The
spa includes a hydrotherapy pool and steam rooms.
I did not partake in any spa services so cannot
provide any further information.
Breakfast
is located in The Café.
Unfortunately
this is where a major service flaw arose.
Upon
being seated I asked the server what was included for Diamond members, was it
just the buffet, or the buffet and an item off of the menu as is often the
case. She said that I could either pay
for breakfast using Hyatt Gold Passport points or to charge it to my room. After further inquiry, she admitted that she did
not know the answer and went to get the hostess. The hostess did not know either and went to
ask a front desk manager. She came and
informed me that breakfast included either 1,000 extra Hyatt Gold Passport
points, or a food and beverage amenity.
Another
server, Putu came over and informed me that breakfast for Diamond member included
the buffet as well as an item off of the menu.
It is somewhat disconcerting that only one server seemed to know what
the breakfast benefit is for Diamond members.
Not the type of thing one would expect at a 5 star hotel.
The
breakfast buffet is expansive with fresh fruit, fresh juices, cereal, yogurt,
museli, pastries, breads, muffins, hummus, salad, vegetables, smoked meat and
fish, cold cuts, and hot items including boiled eggs, pancakes, waffles,
scrambled eggs, beef bacon, potatoes, and a cooked to order egg station.
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
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| Breakfast Buffet |
The Café
also serves a dinner buffet for ~$50 including tax and service charge, which I
thought was a pretty good deal. There were
two types of fresh fish, roasted chicken, leg of lamb, roast beef, steak,
meatballs, chicken tikka, Kung Pao chicken, as well as several other meat
dishes. There is an expansive salad bar,
veggies, rice, potatoes, fresh fruit and an expansive dessert spread. There is also a small section directed
towards kids with spaghetti, pizza and chicken fingers.
We did
run into several issues during our stay at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, which had
absolutely nothing to do with the hotel itself.
The managers and employees went way above the call of duty in helping to
deal with the situations.
One was
a medical problem. One of the managers,
Pablo, was an absolute super star in managing the situation. He and the staff handled everything with the
utmost professionalism and caring. We
cannot thank him enough for all of his efforts.
The
other issue was more of a personal one. Without
going into detail, I want to personally thank Kitty, one of the kitchen staff
for all of her help. My wife
and her family will be forever indebted for the caring and support that she
provided.
Although
this stay was a roller coaster as far as service goes, when it came to the
important things the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi showed why it is a 5 star hotel, and
why it has been named the Best Luxury Hideaway Resort.
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