Al Qasr one in a million

Absolutely stunning hotel. I was treated like Royalty start to finish. Facilities are second to none. Spa one of the best I've been to. Massive pool, private beach, attentive staff. Built on man made canals and ferried about by Abrha (water taxi). A little pricey but worth every penny. I would definitely stay here again.

Excellent resort hotel! Much better than Mina A' Salam

We stayed at Al Qasr and also Mina A' Salam at Madinat Jumeirah Resort. We found Al Qasr was much superior than Mina A' Salam in everyway. It is worth spending extra money to stay at Al Qasr for their excellent service and also room was much nicely decorated. We stayed at the Premier Leisure Club room and had access to the Premier Leisure lounge. The lounge was excellent for family with children offering free buffet breakfast (they have kids buffet corner), free afternoon tea, free evening drinks, playroom for small children, computer/video game room for older children, computer room for adults, lots of magazines and newspaper to read, 3:00PM late check-out and free limousine service from to airport for extra US$100 per night (very good value since buffet breakfast in a restaurant cost DH90 per adult and DH45 per child and DH50 for taxi from Airport to the hotel). We had most wonderful stay at Al Qasr and planning to be back again. We highly recommended!

Just Superb!

This is one of Dubai's newest hotel complexes, opened in August 2004 and part of the same group who operate the Mina A Salam and the "seven star" Burj Al Arab. The Al Qasr and Mina A Salam are interconnected, separated by a "souk" and you can walk between each or take one of the small boats that runs along the waterways between the hotels. The "souk" is a complex of about seventy shops and restaurants, which gives you something to wander around at night, but I wouldn't write home about it. It's an underwhelming mixture of small shops, Starbucks and Costa coffee outlets, but if you can't live without your wooden camel souvenir then this is where you'll get it.

The Al Qasr is a terrific hotel, simple as that. Yes, it might be verging toward Disney or even Vegas (except in the latter they build their canals in enclosed upstairs shopping malls, complete with fake Gondoliers) but it delivers on everything you'd want from a resort hotel. The pool is the largest in Dubai, and they have their own private beach within easy walking distance if that still isn't big enough. The temperature of the water in the pool is just right too, and you could stay for hours in it. Plenty of bars surround it, and the staff look after you with refreshments non-stop (although at a fiver for a beer or glass of wine, it is quite expensive). Staff, incidentally, are everywhere, always smiling and friendly, looking after needs you didn't know you had and keeping the hotel immaculate. The toilets, for instance, are cleaner and more luxurious than most hotel rooms I stayed in until about five years ago.

The complex has forty - forty - restaurants, but book early for the seafood one that sits out on the pier. When we were there in March it was fully booked a week ahead for dinner, and we were only there for a week so didn't get in! There's a good mixture of casual places and more formal ones and you can use the Mina A Salam's restaurants too, charging meals back to your room in the Al Qasr.

The best bar is the Kubbai rooftop one in the Al Qasr, where at night you get the best view of the changing colours of the Burj out on the bay. It must be galling to pay as much as you do for the seven star place but then miss out on the view from your room at night. There's not much evening entertainment that we could see, but we didn't seek it out either and, having a kid, were in bed early anyway.

The rooms are nice and spacious, and book one with a sea view if you can. Wardrobe space is a bit limited was our one minor complaint.

So yes, we had a great time, but I would say that the complex is very busy and there are constant security checks that can become annoying. This is because the souk is open to the public, and they want to ride the boats along the canals too (and they're not allowed!) And if you don't like lots of kids running and screaming around the poolside then best choose somewhere else. If we return to Dubai, however, I can't see myself choosing anywhere else.

Sheer Indulgence

Arrived at the Al Qasr on 8th March for a weeks holiday. From getting out of the limo on arrival to getting back in on our departure, we were treated like royalty, the staff anticipate your every need, and were so polite.

I don't normally recomend places, but I can with the Al Qasr with confidence. Superb holiday, I am definitely going back!!!!

Unbelievable

Very rarely do you travel to a hotel and it exceeds all possible expectations, well the Al Qasr did that in spades. We were a party of 8 and everyone was blown away by the quality of accomodation, service and facilities. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Christmas at Al Qasr

The Al Qasr Hotel is without doubt one of the best hotels I have stayed at with a level of service that one had long thought had disappeared. It was Christmas and the Hotel went out of its way to ensure that kids and adults alike, whatever their religion, had a part to play in the festivities. Christmas day brought forth an abra (water taxi) in the shape of a sleigh with Father Chistmas at the helm.

All in all, if you have to be away from home at Chistmas, there is probably no better place than the Al Qasr.

Disney meets Arabia but slow service

This is another hotel following the usual Jumeirah International theme of lots of glitz and facilities including canals and "disney" like Souk. The hotel is part of the Madinat complex which attracts lots of non hotel guests to the hotel, the hotel employs staff as "bouncers" to keep non hotel guests out of the hotel parts of the complex. The rooms have all the facilities you would expect. The restaurants are charging top end prices, the food is good but there are lots of better top end restaurants in Dubai which charge no more and are better. Service is hit and miss. We had slow service on several occasions ( 3 hours to have a two course dinner inluding a 1 hour gap between starter and main course - the table next to us complained and after waiting 50 minutes to see the restaurant manager they were still waiting and getting more and more annoyed when we managed to get our bill and leave). Potentially a good hotel if you want to stay in one place and not venture out however they need to sort out the service. At present the One and Only hotels and Ritz Carlton beat this hotel hands down in terms of service and intimacy although facilities are good.

Fantastic

The most amazing hotel we have ever stayed in. We booked the premium leisure club facilities. The extra service and pre dinner canapes and afternoon tea, make this really special. The pool is the largest in the arabian gulf. Excellent for our kids and safe, plenty of lifeguards. The pool is right next to the beach. The beach is safe for the kids.

The hotel is brand new and spectacular. The only let down was with some of the waiters in the restaurants not knowing the menus. I guess they have a lot of new staff.

Al Qasr..A step up from the Mina A Salam

Visited the Al Qasr in August when it First opened. Upon arriving, you knew that staying in this hotel was going to be a real treat. The entrance is magnificent and as you are escorted from your car, youre taken to a separate room to relax with a drink, instead of queing up to be checked in. The rooms are spacious and well furnished in Arabic Furniture. Restuarants are excellent, with some more expensive that others, but you get the choice of all of Jumeirah Internationals hotels to dine in.They were builing a new Seafood restuarant out on a pier whist i was there, can imagine that the views of the Madinat and Burj would be great...i'll be back to try it!! Connecting the Al Qasr to the Souk and Mina A Salam areas are Dows', small boats with friendly drivers to chat to. Both the Mina and Al Qasr are both fantastic hotels, but its the pool at the Al Qasr that really makes the place during the day. Its huge with pleanty of room for loungers, and comes alive at night with fibre optic displays. If you're taking the kids, the Al Qasr pool is the one for them!!

Service at the Al Qasr ,like all the hotels along the beach , is of the highest quality...

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