We were booked for a weekend stay at the hotel and it really blew me away! The decor, the setup, the service, the technology… all of it was so incredible. It’s a beautiful combination of arabesque modernity.  I honestly don’t know how in the world this hotel is considered a 4-star hotel, because its better than some 5-star hotels that we’ve been to!

Manzil is located on the Boulevard, right across the street from Souk Al Bahar, Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa. It’s such a great location, especially if your a visitor to Dubai, because everything is so close by! I’ve passed by this hotel a million times, and besides going there to enjoy their Courtyard restaurant, I really didn’t know much about the hotel.

We pulled up to the valet and they swiftly helped us with all of our luggage. The decor and flowers of the lobby are gorgeous. They even have a table filled with Arabic sweets, just like any good Arab host would have. We were welcomed with lemon and mint juice.

Check-in was very easy, and they were quick to give us our room keys and show us the room. By the time we got upstairs, our bags were already neatly placed in the room.

We had a beautiful view of the pool and courtyard area.

The room is has a modern minimalistic decor, but is spiced up with an Arabic touch.

In the main area of the room, there is a large bed, two side tables and a comfortable chair with a foot stool and a small coffee table. The closet is large enough for a few days of clothes. In the closet is also a safe, an ironing board and iron. There is also a mini-fridge.

In a hidden corner of the room, there’s a long work desk, chair and a separate table with a station for coffee and teas, along with mugs and a kettle. They even have my favorite TWG teas!

The bathroom is split into three areas, with one room for the sinks and the bathtub, a separate room for the toilet and another room for the stand up shower. The bath products they provide smell amazing!

Now, the coolest thing about this room is the TV. This definitely not your average TV–  from it, you can flip through food menus and order room service, check out your social media pages, and  receive messages. There’s even a full keyboard and mouse built into the remote control!

After checking everything out in the room, we headed down to Boulevard Kitchen for lunch. To see how lunch went, check out Lunch at Boulevard Kitchen.

After lunch, we walked over to The Dubai Mall, which is only a 4 minute walk from the hotel.

We spent most of the evening shopping before heading back to the room to relax.

We came to find that they had done turn-down service during the time we were away; they dimmed the lights and left little dark chocolates on the pillows.

Since we were parched from all of the walking by the time we got back to the room, we decided to give ordering through the TV a go. It worked like a charm! Within a few minutes our drinks (a Cinnacolada and a fresh strawberry juice) were presented to us at the door.

We relaxed for a bit and let my little Khalifa take a nap. After he woke up, we headed down to dinner. Although we were meant to try Courtyard for dinner, we opted for Boulevard Kitchen again since Courtyard has shisha and its not so good for the youngin’.

Although Boulevard Kitchen has shisha as well, it also has a smoke-free indoor area. The restaurant’s menu was completely transformed for the dinner service, and we really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere that they have! Read about it here: Dinner at Boulevard Kitchen (make sure to go down to where it says “Dinner“).

After such a hefty meal, we went upstairs and did nothing but laze around in our pajamas. Khalifa went to sleep immediately, while my husband flipped through the TV and I took a bubble bath. I loved the bath products; they have an incredible, light, honey-floral scent to them.

After the bath, I went straight to sleep. The pillows and bed are like clouds, like really, where could I find those pillows for sale?! They were amazing!

The next morning, I woke up quite early to go through my emails and get some work done. By the way, the internet is fast and free (nothing to be furious about here), and that’s honestly more than I can say about the internet at a few of the 5-star places that we’ve recently stayed at, believe it or not.

While  going through some work, I ordered a cafe latte (through the magical powers of the TV), and it came up very quickly. I got my caffeine fix, was able to finish some work, and also took a shower– all before the hubby and baby woke up! That to me, is about as successful as a morning can get.

When my sleeping beauties finally decided to rise, we got ready and headed down to the breakfast buffet at Boulevard Kitchen. Again, the restaurant’s menu once more was completely transformed for breakfast. It was definitely different from any other hotel breakfast buffet that we’ve tried; there are so many things that you can choose from that are made to order, just the way you like it. To see our experience of the breakfast, take a look at Breakfast at Boulevard Kitchen (scroll down to where it says “Breakfast“).

After breakfast we took a lovely morning stroll around the Boulevard and then headed up to the pool. After a quick dip, we came back to the room and packed up and got ready to go.

We requested a late check out and they were happy to oblige. Check out was easy and we were on our way home in no time.

I was so impressed by everything at this hotel. Honestly, there was no part of it that I didn’t enjoy, and I would gladly come back and stay here any day! Like I said before, the fact that its considered a 4-star hotel is beyond me, because every detail of it is so thought out and the service is impeccable. I would really recommend it to people who are looking for a wonderful staycation or vacation here in Dubai.

No joke, we almost booked a stay there for the week of National Day (even though we were just at Manzil last weekend), but my husband opted for a place on The Palm, since he didn’t want to be too close to Dubai Mall traffic during that week. It’s worth every penny and I can’t wait to go back!

The price for one night is around 1,200 Dhs (November 2015). 

Ratings (0-5): 

• Location: 5
• Hotel Ambience: 5
• Staff (Friendliness and Helpfulness): 5 
• Rooms: 5
• Amenities: 4.5
• Room/Bath Products Provided: 4
• In-Room WiFi: 4.5 (Fast and Not Chargeable)  
• Housekeeping: 5
• Value for money: 5 

Overall Rating: 4.7

To book at Manzil Downtown, call +971 (0) 428 5888.