First Impressions:

Roda Al Murooj has an amazing location. Its right across the street from Dubai Mall, very close to DIFC, and right in the middle of Downtown Dubai. You know whats even better than the location? The fact that it feels like a resort! The grounds of the hotel make you feel like your a world away from the busy streets of Dubai. The architecture is such a contrast to the glass buildings just across the street from it.

The property actually is comprised of both hotel and residential units. Its been around for years, but just recently made the switch from being managed by Rotana, to Roda (hence the change from Rotana Al Murooj to Roda Al Murooj).

Check-in:

Check-in was easy, and we didn’t have any issues at all. We were given the keys to our 2-bedroom Premium Suite and went directly upstairs to our suite.

Rooms:

Roda Al Murooj has a variety of different rooms and suites, but we stayed in a 2-bedroom Premium Suite. We were told that there are only 2 other suites like the one we stayed in, so its definitely one of their special suites. The entrance of the suite opens up to the living/dining room. The design is classic, and the space is really good for a family of 4, which is perfect for us.

The bedrooms are both master bedrooms, and the bathrooms inside the bedrooms are amazing in space!

In the suite, there is a small kitchenette, which can be closed off. There are also 3 bathrooms– one in each bedroom and one common one located near the living room.

Now, the real selling point of this suite is the balcony. Its HUGE! You have a gorgeous view of the entire property, as well as views of the city.

The staff were amazingly thoughtful and laid out fruits, sweets and nuts for us on our coffee table as a welcome treat!

Dining:

Roda Al Murooj has several different restaurants, and we tried out two of them during our stay. The first one that we tried out is their newest restaurant, Tabule.

Tabule is amazing if you want to enjoy a relaxed evening with friends. They have a nice selection of Arabic mezzes and loads of different kinds of shisha. The atmosphere is really beautiful– an oasis in the middle of the city. It’s definitely a little hidden gem.

The second restaurant that we tried out during our stay at the hotel is Pergolas. I’ve been to the restaurant (years) before, and so I kind of knew what to expect. We went there for Friday Brunch and it really exceeded my expectations. First of all, they have a huge variety of great food– all different kinds of cuisines, an outdoor grill station and a plethora of desserts. They do not joke about desserts– there were literally tables (yes plural) full of cakes, tarts, mousses, Indian sweets, Arabic desserts, candies, etc.

Whats really amazing about this brunch is that they are so family friendly! There’s a supervised kids play area, which has toys, games, movies to watch and a whole kids buffet set up! Also the brunch is really well-priced at 220 per person. Trust me, its worth it!

Activities/What We Did:

There are some gorgeous pools on the property but we didn’t really go down to enjoy them because we had a Jacuzzi right on our balcony, which we made the most of! However, if you’re staying at the hotel, I would definitely suggest you try out the pools because they looked beautiful.

Roda Al Murooj is so perfectly located that you can literally walk across the street and be in the biggest mall in the world. So, thats exactly what we did. We spent one of our evenings at the mall, and it was literally just a 5 minute walk (thats 5 minutes with 2 kids, a stroller and a carrier– if you’re going with older kids, its even easier)!

I also had some errands to run at City Walk, and it literally only took me 10 minutes by car to get from the hotel to City Walk, which is just more proof that the hotel’s location is perfect!

Drawbacks:

The hotel has been a landmark in Dubai for ages, and its definitely one of the older properties in that part of town. Everything is maintained beautifully, but you can see that the style and some aspects of the property (e.g. furniture, design, etc.) are a little bit dated. It doesn’t take away from the quality of the hotel itself.

Also, if you are booking the 2-bedroom Premium Suite with smaller kids in tow, the hotel does have a safety policy that doesn’t allow children on the balcony. It can be a bit difficult to keep a toddler from wanting to go out to the balcony.

Best For:

The hotel is perfect for families. If your traveling to Dubai with kids (or are looking for a very kid-friendly staycation hotel), this is definitely it! The space in our suite was really good, and the balcony has plenty of space as well.

Also, the hotel can provide specialized baby sitters! That is seriously a huge plus in my book! For our dinner at Tabule, two baby sitters were arranged to take care of our little ones. It was a very special and rare treat! I would book this hotel again just because of that service!

Price:

The 2-bedroom Premium Suite is going for an average of 6,000 Dhs per night.

Contact Information:

Roda Al Murooj- Phone: +971 4 321 1111; Website: www.roda-hotels.com/al-murooj