Arrival at the hotel
The Zabeel Saray is located on the West Crescent of The Palm. It takes approximately 15 minutes to reach it from the Jumeirah Beach and 40 minutes from the Dubai international airport.
While arriving, the eyes are immediately caught by the outstanding view over the Dubai Marina skyline and its iconic buildings, really breathtaking! The hotel facade is really impressive, typical of the Ottoman style. A friendly valet took care of our luggage and escorted us to the lobby desk.
The atmosphere of “the thousand and one nights” palace explodes directly while entering into the lobby. The atrium evokes a theater of gold plated columns surrounding the emblematic fountain topped with a masterful Byzantine chandelier. We would quickly discover all the splendor echoing to the Ottoman Empire. Gorgeous!
One convenient thing here is that there are separate desk areas for the check-in and the check-out, thus those are never really crowded. For the check-in, you can seat on a comfortable chair and take a first look at the awesome decor of the hotel while the desk agent registers you and prepares your key. A refreshing drink was offered to us while we were waiting.
After that, it is time to step through the large corridor, enter into the glass elevator and discover our junior suite on the 3rd floor.
Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Dubai
The majestic chandelier overlooking the lobby fountain
The Junior Suite
Our Junior Suite is located on the 3rd floor. It is nice because it allows going through the atrium basement. This atrium spans over 3 floors so you can imagine the effect it produces when you discover it. On a side note, we really enjoyed going through all the areas of the hotel as their decoration is always nice and refined. You’ll be amazed by every corner. Don’t hesitate to take a look at the 6th floor where all the suites are, it is amazing. In all the floors corridors, you’ll see gold panels, it gives you an idea on how much gold had been used for this hotel…
The main atrium
Elo on the other side of the atrium
A corridor leading to the rooms
The first feeling that comes while we entered inside our Junior Suite is the spaciousness. From the entrance, we have a nice perspective up to the terrace. There are 3 separate areas : first the corridor with the bathroom and toilets on the right, then the bedroom with the desk area and last the living room opening on the outdoor terrace.
The bedroom decoration is really refined, made of gold and wood tones. The bed is a real Royalty one. It is decorated with a gold panel underlined with sculpted black iron. The down bedding is one of the most comfortable we’ve ever slept in.
One thing that we need to specify is the fact that the soundproofing is excellent. We couldn’t hear any noise coming from the corridors or the neighboring suites, even if the floors are covered with wooden parquet.
The king size bed
The bathroom opened window
The bathroom is one of the best we have ever seen. Anybody would be amazed with the Turkish bath size and design. It is so nice and luxurious. You could spend hours there. Just imagine a bathtub with the size of your bed all made of marble. Simply amazing! The Turkish bath is nestled into an alcove with a nice ceiling and a glass window offering a view on the suite and the sea. Needless to say that we really enjoyed it!
Beside the Turkish bath, there are also a nice copper sink, a large walk-in rain shower and separated toilets. The perfect harmony between modernity and ancestral Turkish tradition.
The Turkish bath alcove
The wide Turkish bath
The bathroom
The living room features nice velvet sofas and chairs. Some pierced screens inspired by mosques and courtrooms are separating the living room from the bedroom. Unless the outside temperature makes it hard to bear, you’ll certainly prefer to spend most of your time enjoying the view from the terrace as we did every day. The view over the sea and the Dubai Marina skyline is breathtaking. In the evening, you could sometime even see some fireworks after a nice sunset that will create changing lights on the Dubai Marina towers.
The view over Dubai Marina from the terrace
Overall, we have been very happy with our suite. The suite ornament is fine. The view is outstanding. And it is serviced twice a day so it is always clean. The service staff will even match your shoes together on a little carpet and fold your clothes if you have left some unfolded in the room.
Catering
In the morning, you can have the breakfast in the comfort of your room, at the Club Lounge if you are staying in a suite (like we were) or at the Imperium restaurant. If you stay in your room, you can have the breakfast with the view over the Marina which is a nice start for the day. The Club Lounge offers an exclusive area for suite guests with a breakfast buffet. The Imperium restaurant has a very large buffet with a lot of options. The background is outstanding with crystal chandeliers, decorated ceilings and huge columns evoking Versailles Castle. Our preference was for the Club Lounge. The staff there is always the same, so day after day, they will recognize you and establish a relationship with you. They will know what you like. The buffet is smaller than the Imperium buffet but it was way enough for us and the quality is perfect. Then the decoration of the Club Lounge is so nice and refined that we really enjoyed spending some time there.
The Imperium restaurant
Complimentary teatime at the Club Lounge
For the restaurants, you have a lot of options at the Zabeel Saray! We had planned to stay for few days to have a chance to try a number of those. Our favorite is Lalezar, the Turkish restaurant. We had a perfect evening there. The food is delicious, the staff is so friendly and the decoration offers a complete change of scenery. We have tried the assortment of mezes and then some mixed grills. This was the right choice, gives you a selection of the best and the opportunity to try a portion of several different dishes. Lalezar is definitely the best Turkish restaurant we have ever had.
Beyond the typical cuisine, the restaurant offers an impressive decor, all made of ceramic tiles from floor to ceiling. Those thousands of crafted pieces were imported from Turkey.
Lalezar restaurant
Turkish refinement
Traditional cuisine
Lalezar main chandelier overlooking the marble fountain
We have also tried two others restaurants : Al Nafoorah and Amala. Al Nafoorah offers a refined Lebanese cuisine while Amala specialties are coming from Northern India. In both cases, we have been delighted with the atmosphere of those restaurants. They are so exquisite and significant. You easily see how much care has been brought to the decoration when you enter into those dining rooms. Both have a terrace if you prefer to have an outdoor dinner. We decided to enjoy the indoor luxurious atmosphere. At Amala, the food is really spicy but the staff will adapt as much as possible the taste of the dishes to yours. This was a nice experience.
Once again, those restaurants atmospheres offer a real enchantment for eyes. From several meters high sculpted doors to the thousand meticulously hand painted details, all immerse you in an uncommon atmosphere.
Al Nafoorah monumental room
Lebanese delight
Amala fine Indian restaurant
When you stay in a suite, you can enjoy the Club Lounge. It is available for the breakfast. Then you can also get there for lunch and enjoy several salads and light meals à la carte. In the afternoon, you can have the tea time (same as the one delivered in the others areas of the hotel). Before dinner, you can have a drink with some appetizers. The Club Lounge decoration is cozy and refined, really luxurious. This is a really good option if you take advantage of it. We got there for breakfast and lunch almost every day. The select atmosphere evokes the Colonial homes reminiscence all dressed in wall paneled and wooden floors.
There are few others restaurants such as the Rib Room (steak house) and Plaj (outdoor Italian restaurant) but we haven’t got enough time to try those. We will need to come back!
Rib Room steak house
Activities
At the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, there are a lot of activities that you can enjoy. Let’s start with the classic ones. There is a large heated swimming pool. Then, there is also a private sand beach with a view over the Palm. The sea was a bit cold in February for us but the pool temperature was pretty good.
The pool with the beach in background
Children have access to a closed area with a lot of attractions for them thus making this Dubai hotel really family friendly.
You can also play tennis or beach volley if you want.
Inside the hotel, there are a lot of luxury shops where you can buy fashion clothes, jewels and carpets. Walking through the gallery and the hotel corridor appears to be a real activity. You will feel the impression of visiting an outstanding Arabian palace. We were delighted by the discovering every corner of the hotel. 165 chandeliers illuminate the interiors. From the metal-lace lamps overlooking the Avenue of Indulgence to the luxurious masterpieces of the Sultan Lounge, you will not stop admiring the decor and architecture details.
The Avenue of Indulgence
3 of the 165 chandeliers adorning the hotel
The Talise Ottoman Spa is one of the best we have ever experienced. As a hotel guest, you have a complimentary access to it. We really enjoy spending some time there. The decoration is outstanding, Ottoman style. Then, the services available are going way beyond what you could imagine. Just think about it, there is a room with snow! Then, you have all the classics just as the jacuzzi (in a very nice room with alcoves), a hammam, a sauna, an indoor pool, a sensory shower, etc… The perfect match between ancestral tradition and state of the art equipment! All those are available in dedicated areas for women and men. This spa is really large but never really crowded. I got there on a morning and there was nobody, I had the full spa for me, amazing experience!
An alcove at the Talise Ottoman Spa
The spa restroom
The spa main pool
At the hotel, you can also take advantage of the movie theater. All made of warm red colors, you can watch different kind of movies in the afternoon.
The private cinema
Conclusion
We had a pleasant stay at the Zabeel Saray. The hotel decoration is a permanent enchantment. Here, all is pure luxury!
We loved the restaurant diversity available at the Zabeel Saray. The Lalezar restaurant is a must try. The Club Lounge is also definitely worth the extra cost.
Then last but not least, the room is well decorated and the Turkish bath will stay in our memories for a long time!
Chandelier detail
