The St. Regis is known to be an international symbol of luxury, and in the UAE where the standard of luxury is above and beyond, you can only imagine how great The St. Regis brand is upholds its name here. Abu Dhabi has not one, but two St. Regis hotels, and the one that we stayed in is located inside the city, right in front of Abu Dhabi’s iconic Corniche. My husband, Mohamed, our 1-year old baby, Khalifa, and I enjoyed a 3-day, 2-night stay at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi.

I’ve been to the hotel before (for the salon), but I have never stayed in any of the guest rooms, nor have I ever tried out any of their restaurants. However, during this stay, we tried out almost all that the hotel has to offer, and it was definitely the best hotel experience we’ve ever had in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi!

We pulled up to valet, were quickly helped with all of our luggage, and then we made our way to the entrance. Although I have been to the hotel’s lobby before, it never fails to leave me in complete awe.

My husband was seeing it for the first time, so just think of how his reaction must have been! It’s definitely one of the most beautiful (if not, the most beautiful) hotel entrances in the city. From what I’ve heard through the grapevine, the design was inspired by Titanic.

Everything about it is breathtaking– from the imperial staircase to the intricately designed chandeliers; every inch is filled with beautiful and detailed work.

The hotel’s reception desks has its own room, and this is where we handled all of our check-in procedures. After handing over our ID’s and signing a paper, we were given our room key.

We headed across the hall and up the elevator to our room. The St. Regis Abu Dhabi is housed in Nation Towers, and the guest rooms are all on the highest floors of the towers, which means that regardless of which room you get, you’ll have an incredible view of the city and/or the sea.

We went into our room, which was beautifully decorated, and we had a spectacular view of the turquoise blue ocean!

Unfortunately, I realized that there was a little mistake in the room that we got because were were actually booked for a larger room, the Grand Deluxe Suite. When I called reception to confirm it, they handled the situation very well and said that they were preparing our new room for us.

While they were doing that, we headed down to enjoy The St. Regis Abu Dhabi’s Afternoon Tea on the first floor’s Tea Lounge. The moment that I walked out of the hotel room, a butler came by and greeted me by name! How impressive is that?! After making sure that we didn’t need assistance with anything, he lead us downstairs to where we would be having afternoon tea.

Everything about it was charming and very impressive, especially since we were being served by The St. Regis’ own Tea Connoisseur himself. Read about the whole experience here: Afternoon Tea at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi.

After a lovely afternoon tea, we headed back up to the room, and a bellman came up to help us with all of our bags and move us to the new suite. If I had to describe this Grand Deluxe Suite in one word, its: WOW!

The entrance is a long hallway lined with closets and it leads you to the main area of the suite. The suite is split into two semi-private rooms; one room for the bedroom and the other room for the living room. The large floor to ceiling window encircles the majority of the room, so as to make the absolute most of the view. We had a full view of the ocean, as well as full view of the city. We were completely astonished!

The bedroom has a huge, comfortable king-size bed, two side tables, a large cabinet with a mini-bar filled with all kinds of drinks and treats, and there is also a tray full of teas, coffees and a kettle.

There is also another drawer cabinet with a large flatscreen TV placed above it. Above the bed is a beautiful chandelier and all of the lights and the curtains are controlled by switches on either side of the bed– very convenient and  well-thought out!

In the living room, there is a large two-seater couch, a spacious and comfortable chair with an ottoman, a work desk with a big chair, and a big round coffee table. Across from the seating area is another cabinet and flatscreen TV, identical to the one in the bedroom area.

The room has plenty of closet and storage space in both the hallway, as well as in the many cabinets around the suite.

This suite’s bathroom is a stunner, to say the least. It’s the most beautiful hotel bathroom that I have ever laid eyes upon, and the main attractions are the bathtub and the view. Words cannot describe how striking it is, so I’ll leave it to the pictures to show you:

The bathroom is split into three areas. The main area has the main attraction (the bathtub) and two separate sinks, each located on opposite sides of the room. Both sinks are similar, but one has a makeup mirror and the other one has a TV screen built into the mirror!

There is another private room within the bathroom for the toilet and bidet, and another room for the stand-alone shower, which also has a bench in it.

All of the bath products are by Remède, which also happens to be the brand of the in-house spa. Along with the typical shampoo and body wash, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi also provides face wash, face soaps and even Fisher-price baby bath products for our little Khalifa!

After getting settled in our room and putting our things away, we logged on to the hotel’s Wifi. It worked like a charm during our entire stay, regardless of whether we were in our suite, or anywhere else around the hotel.

On the first night our stay, we were booked to have dinner at Villa Toscana, which is The St. Regis Abu Dhabi’s Italian restaurant. The restaurant has a beautiful elegant setting with delicious, homely food. Check out what we thought of it here: Villa Toscana, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi.

When we were done with our hearty Italian dinner, we came back up to the room, and found a few surprises waiting for us on the coffee table. There were two large fruit baskets, a couple of SPG and St. Regis-branded goodies, and even a lovely personalized welcome letter from the team. It’s things like this that really differentiate luxury hotels from each other; this kind of service is what makes a stay even more memorable.

We were quite tired, so all three of us fell asleep soon after.

Day 2

The first thing I did when I woke up that morning was press the button to open up all of the curtains and see that gorgeous morning view! Even my husband, who is not much of a morning person, didn’t object to the sunshine streaming through into our suite. I could wake up to this every morning… a girl can dream, right?

After my little Khalifa got up, we headed down to the breakfast buffet at The Terrace. The restaurant is large, and the entirety of the indoor area’s counter space was lined with all kinds of food.

There were traditional Arabic items like foul madames and manakeesh, along with various Indian breakfast items, and a large array of Western and other dishes, including crepes, waffles, quiche and frittata.

There was also a large display of breads, a  salad bar, many kinds of yogurt parfaits and plenty of different cereals. Along with that, there were also fruits and fresh juices.

We selected what we wanted from the buffet and then sat down at our table. The waitress came by and took our egg and coffee orders. I had Eggs Benedict and a cafe latte, while Mohamed and Khalifa both had omelettes.

By the time Khalifa finished his breakfast, he was aching to go out and play, so we took him across to The St. Regis Abu Dhabi’s kids play area, Treasure Island. It’s located across the street from the hotel, and there is an underground tunnel that takes you directly there. And of course, in true St. Regis fashion, even the underground tunnel is luxurious!

Treasure Island Children’s Club is the perfect kids club– there’s arts and crafts, face-painting, coloring, sports, a Nintendo Wii, and even a beautiful sand area that leads to the beach. Its completely supervised and there is even babysitting for children from the ages of 4 to 12. Although its more catered to this age group, there are also plenty of toys and things for younger kids to play with.

That day unexpectedly became a bit cloudy, and it even began to drizzle so we couldn’t enjoy the beach that morning, and had to save it for the next day. However, we weren’t complaining at all about the weather because rain is a rare sight here in the UAE.

We headed back to our room and Khalifa, exhausted from his playtime, was all ready for his nap. After putting him to bed, I indulged in a bubble bath in this glorious bathtub!

Speaking of bubble bath, there is a special menu of baths that The St. Regis’ butler service provides. You can choose from five different kinds of baths, including one thats even meant for children before bedtime. If you choose to take advantage of this, a butler comes up and prepares a bubble bath for you, using special oils, herbs and scents crafted by their Remède aromatherapists. Some baths even include a side of chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne (there’s even halal bubbly)!

While I took an incredibly relaxing bath, my husband got ready and headed out for Friday prayer. One of the great things about The St. Regis Abu Dhabi is that its located right in the center of the city, and is only a few minutes away from several different malls, the beach and many mosques.

By the time he got back, Khalifa was wide awake and I was ready to go down to The Terrace for Friday Brunch, and wow, Friday brunch is a lavish affair here!

It’s the best and largest variety of food that I have seen at any brunch in Abu Dhabi. There is even an entire room filled with desserts! Check out the full review here: Friday Brunch at The Terrace, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi.

When we were stuffed to the brim from brunch, Mohamed and Khalifa went back upstairs to hang out it in the suite while I enjoyed some much needed me-time. Luckily there is a Sisters Beauty Lounge salon at the hotel, right next to Remède Spa.

It just happens to be my favorite salon chain in Abu Dhabi, so it was especially convenient that I didn’t have to go far for a really good pampering session. To know more about the Sisters Beauty Lounge here at The St. Regis, you can check out my review of the treatments that I had here: Sisters Beauty Lounge, Nation Towers [Salon Review].

By the time I was done, my husband and baby were at Marina Mall, ready to do some shopping. Since they had taken the car, I took a taxi from the hotel. The St. Regis doorman quickly assisted me in getting one, and I was at the mall in less than 5 minutes! Again, how convenient is that location?!

After some shopping and plenty of walking, we came back to The St. Regis Abu Dhabi and were ready for our dinner at Azura. My little Khalifa was exhausted, so we first went up to the room to change him and get him ready for bed. When got upstairs, we saw that the staff had done turn down service– they closed all of the curtains, dimmed the lights, took off all of the extra pillows on the bed and left little chocolates on the bedside tables.

They had also replenished all of the used bathroom products, and organized our room. Housekeeping here is amazing, and they pay really good attention to every single element of cleanliness and neatness.

When Khalifa finally fell asleep, we put him in the stroller and headed to a peaceful (AKA toddler harrassment-free) dinner at Azura. Its a beautiful rooftop restaurant with a great view and some of the best sushi in town! Read about it here: Azura [Restaurant Review].

After dinner, my husband decided to run himself a bath, and I must say, the evening mood for a bath in that bathroom is almost as great as the daytime one. And, you know, if you ever get bored of looking out at the incredible view, there’s always the bathroom’s built-in TV that you can watch!

I was exhausted from the long day (of complete leisure), so I went to sleep.

Day 3

I woke up once again to that gorgeous view. While Mohamed and Khalifa still slept, I enjoyed a coffee in complete solitude, which for me is a luxury in its own.

Khalifa soon woke up and we were all ready to go down for another breakfast feast. The Terrace’s breakfast buffet items remained the same for the most part, with a few variations here and there. I decided to go for a light breakfast of fresh fruits and eggs, but Khalifa and my husband wanted no part in that. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and the chef even made waffles just for Khalifa.

After breakfast, my husband headed to the third floor for a customized massage at Remède Spa. He loved his treatment and even said that it was one of the best massages because it focuses on whatever you need it to focus on, and its very personalized. He’s actually a very picky person when it comes to spas and massages, so his stamp of approval means that it must be good! See the full review here: Remède Spa, The St. Regis Abu Dhabi [Spa Review].

When he was done with his spa treatment, we were almost ready to check out. I decided to get some help with packing from The St. Regis Abu Dhabi’s Butler Service, and that made life so much easier! I’ve never experienced a hotel service that actually helps you pack your bags– genius!

Before heading downstairs to finally check out, I took one last long look at the view and was sad to be leaving it.

We went downstairs and handled checkout procedures, but we weren’t yet done with The St. Regis Abu Dhabi yet. We headed across the underground tunnel to enjoy the private beach at Nation Riviera, and also had a delicious lunch at Cabana Bar & Grill.

Luckily, this day was very sunny and perfect for the beach, so we were really able to make the most of it. Check out the review for Cabana here: Cabana Bar & Grill [Restaurant Review]. The fresh fruit mocktails and delicious food served at Cabana was a great way to end an amazing 3-day stay at one of the city’s (and country’s) most beautiful hotels.

We’ll definitely be back to The St. Regis Abu Dhabi. Everything about it was absolutely spectacular, from the moment we walked in, to the moment we drove home. The hotel is beyond beautiful– not only in the lobby, but also in the rooms.

They are very clever in designing the room so that you can really enjoy the views that Abu Dhabi has to offer. The service is unmatched. I mean, where else could you find a hotel with a service that runs you a bath in your room and even packs your bags for you?! The fact that almost every hotel staff that we interacted with knew our names without us having to say it, shows just how much effort each person on the team puts into their work. Even when we had a slight issue in the beginning of the stay regarding the room, they immediately took care of the issue without a single fuss.

The hotel, location, service, spa and the restaurants are all impeccable!

The price for one night in the room we stayed in (the Grand Deluxe Room with Sea View on a full board basis) is around 2,600 Dhs (February 2016). 

Ratings (0-5): 

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

Overall Rating: 5 (*out of nearly 30 hotel reviews, this is only the 3rd one to get a full score of 5, so it really is worth trying out!)

To book at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi call +971 (0) 2 694 4444.