Fairmont Bab Al Bahr

We returned to the hotel in March, following our first visit last July, this time taking our parents. Check in was super quick after an overnight flight, we were able to have breakfast in the gold lounge before heading to our room. Being Ramadan we were able to experience Iftar,...

We returned to the hotel in March, following our first visit last July, this time taking our parents. Check in was super quick after an overnight flight, we were able to have breakfast in the gold lounge before heading to our room. Being Ramadan we were able to experience Iftar, this was a great experience with a huge selection of food. Durning our stay we also ate at Marco’s Italian & Marco’s steakhouse multiple times - the service at all being fantastic. We made use of the gold lounge daily which provided great snacks throughout the day & had the most spectacular view of the mosque which you can never get bored of! The service we received from Stephen and his team was spot on & they really made our stay. We all had a wonderful time & will be returning again later this year.

A great short stay at a lovely luxurious hotel. The room, service and experience was excellent The outside de space, the pool and the beach were spot on and the sea very safe for bathing Staff were excellent Breakfast had an overwhelming choice of fresh tasty food Ate at Marco’s...

A great short stay at a lovely luxurious hotel. The room, service and experience was excellent The outside de space, the pool and the beach were spot on and the sea very safe for bathing Staff were excellent Breakfast had an overwhelming choice of fresh tasty food Ate at Marco’s Italian and food and ambience were great with a excellent due playing jazz to add to the scene

we celebrated our wedding anniversary they ensured we had a great stay here, kudos to them team. Food ambience room and all the services were upto the mark, must visit the location is also very nice must stay, amazing services and food, service also

Couldn’t fault this hotel at all. We had the best holiday here. The room was beautiful with a lovely view of the Grand Mosque. It was lovely watching the sun set every night. Staff were so helpful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble. Bed was so comfy & the...

Couldn’t fault this hotel at all. We had the best holiday here. The room was beautiful with a lovely view of the Grand Mosque. It was lovely watching the sun set every night. Staff were so helpful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble. Bed was so comfy & the bar downstairs was great.

The Fairmont was one of four hotels we stayed at in Abu Dhabi including the Hilton Yas Island, The St Regis Corniche and The Emirates Palace. See my reviews for these elsewhere on TA. Plus points: Amazing view of the Grand Mosque from our room. On arrival into our room,...

The Fairmont was one of four hotels we stayed at in Abu Dhabi including the Hilton Yas Island, The St Regis Corniche and The Emirates Palace. See my reviews for these elsewhere on TA. Plus points: Amazing view of the Grand Mosque from our room. On arrival into our room, we received a complimentary platter of fruit and another platter of mini cakes which were very tasty and much appreciated. Unfortunately the empty platters were not removed at turn down service. In these hot countries ants will find their way to leftover food very quickly. The room layout (Fairmont View room) was very well presented. Modern and luxurious, with plenty of high end finishes. Really, one of nicest rooms we have stayed in, as due to curved fixtures and fittings it feels a bit different from the standard "box" you get in most hotels. The bath and shower were installed together in a wet room. The bath was placed right in front of the window, with a view onto the beach, and the grand mosque in the distance. There is an electronic shutter in front of the bath that is auto switch operated. The bathroom has double sinks, with 2 massive mirrors over the top, very classy indeed. The Italian restaurant on half board was off the scale. Really excellent meal, with brilliant wait staff. Experience was totally enhanced by the singer/keyboard player. Not a fan of this at dinner, but they really were good. Not too loud, very talented. Unfortunately for the buffet team, this restaurant just blows them out of the water in terms of decoration, ambience and food quality. To be honest this Italian is as good as any stand alone restaurant at home, and getting it included (even with limited choice menu) was a complete bonus. Cons: Swimming pool was advertised as 'heated', and the temps were displayed on a board each day. However, the water itself was actually cold and uncomfortable until you'd been in for a few minutes. All other hotel pools we visited were substantially warmer than this one. Bath towels were on a shelf over the top of the bath. If one person had a shower in the wet room area, the next person had to get wet feet/socks to access the towels. There were large permanent stains on floor around the toilet bowl. This means the floor is probably real marble, (synthetic marble is more durable), but it looked pretty terrible. The cleaners laid towels on the floor below the cistern each day to hide these marks The toilet flush was violent - tended to spark out of the bowl if the lid was not down. I'd suggest this water pressure could be locally regulated down. This likely contributed to stains mentioned on last bullet point. Plugs and USB sockets on one side of the bed only. Come on Fairmont, you can do better than that in this environment. Master light switch at bedside was redundant, no e.g night light or bathroom light available once master switch operated. Restaurant buffet was OK (it was Mexican night), but limited choice compared with the other hotel buffet dinners we tried. Couple of food items we tried were just below tepid. The band did not really add to the ambiance (and were the same band that played in the Italian restaurant), although the chefs raised more than a few laughs when trying to salsa along with their massive sombrero's on. The waiter's serving area at the pool bar resembled a pop up take away ice cream shop, with a couple of umbrellas to shade the waiters. Looked pretty cheap and quite at odds with the rest of the public areas. Other points: We picked the Fairmont as a hotel that would allow exploring the 'middle' section of Abu Dhabi, and to visit The Grand Mosque (well worth it). We originally had planned on a bed and breakfast option at the Fairmont and eat at the nearby shops/restaurants that cross the Al Maqta channel. In the end, the half board price looked reasonable, so we opted for that. However, on our single visit to the Al Maqta area, we were very conspicuous by our lack of dishdashas. This just might have been the time we visited (9pm), and of course all this means is that it is an area more appreciated by the locals. However, we did feel somewhat out of sorts in this area, and many people did 'look' at us (and No we weren't in our swimming costumes lol). We never felt unsafe (and indeed statistics show UAE is incredibly safe), but as part of our own experience I would say that either Yas Island or The Corniche would be our preferred areas to return to. We never visited any of the restaurants at Al Maqta. We also went to the Shangri La hotel (along the road) for drinks in the evening, which was nice but slightly more old school opulence, and we also visited the Ritz Carlton for drinks, which on the surface might have been a better choice for our purposes, although this is at a different price point. All told, it was a pleasant stay, let down by minor niggles that could easily be corrected.

I had a great experience with fairmont especially Mr.Lorenzo was a very kind and helpful in our needs. I appreciate his dedication and I would definitely recommend them and would love to revisit again and again. Thanks for the wonderful experience!!!!!!

Nicest bed we’ve ever slept on. A cloud of bubbles. Reem at the check-in was outstanding. Catered to all of our needs, made us feel welcome and could tell that she’s just a lovely, kind person. Another 25 years of saving and we’ll be back 😂 probably the most comfortable...

Nicest bed we’ve ever slept on. A cloud of bubbles. Reem at the check-in was outstanding. Catered to all of our needs, made us feel welcome and could tell that she’s just a lovely, kind person. Another 25 years of saving and we’ll be back 😂 probably the most comfortable hotel stay we’ve ever had.

We absolutely loved our stay, we choose a Fairmont Gold room, the room was spacious and the bed extremely comfortable, had a few minor issues regarding no water or towels being replaced. The pool is lovely with friendly staff always on hand to help,pool bed covers and beach towels could...

We absolutely loved our stay, we choose a Fairmont Gold room, the room was spacious and the bed extremely comfortable, had a few minor issues regarding no water or towels being replaced. The pool is lovely with friendly staff always on hand to help,pool bed covers and beach towels could do with being updated as lots were stained and ripped . Bridges bar is lovely and chilled can sit inside or out with daily happy hour. We had brunch at the hotel that was amazing and will definitely go again when we return, we also eat at MARCOS Italian, food and drinks were fab, but what made our stay was the gold lounge and its staff, the lounge has stunning views of the Grand Mosque and the nightly sun sets are not to be missed. We had breakfast every morning at the gold lounge, the chief made fresh pancakes and what ever eggs you wanted all fab, there’s daily afternoon tea and evening snacks and drinks. With the lounge being quite intimate we met some lovely people. Stephen runs a fabulous team and we were always greeted with a massive smile off him. Alfam made the best cocktail I’ve ever had. The service we had off Mark, Phoo, Paolo, Alfam and Christian was second to none. Mark, Phoo, Paolo, Christian, Alfam thankyou for making our stay so enjoyable and keeping my glass topped up!! we enjoyed so much so we have booked again for November. See you guys then.

We had a fantastic stay, room was excellent, view spectacular and the amenities are spot on. Great food too. With so many excellent hotels around, it's the staff that can make or break the experience. We were so well looked over. Akmaral the stand-out customer service agent checked us in...

We had a fantastic stay, room was excellent, view spectacular and the amenities are spot on. Great food too. With so many excellent hotels around, it's the staff that can make or break the experience. We were so well looked over. Akmaral the stand-out customer service agent checked us in and took care of us, with no request from us too big. Checka made our dining experience great, being friendly and attentive. Both just great, thank you. We look forward to returning!