First Impressions:

A couple of weeks ago, we stayed at St. Regis’ newest property to open in the UAE, The St. Regis Al Habtoor Polo Resort. Its a one-of-a-kind place and there is literally nothing like it anywhere across the globe– this is the first polo resort by The St. Regis. We’ve been there before for the Friday brunch so we knew a bit about it before this specific staycation. Its located about 15 minutes outside of the city and has plenty of space for polo grounds, horses, spacious villas and gives an all-around ‘getaway feel’.

We drove up to the main hotel, went in to check-in and process all of the formalities. The staff were so warm in greeting us (in true St. Regis style) and we were on our way to the villa in no time with keys in hand.

Our Villa:

This 4-bedroom villa is the most spacious hotel villa that I’ve seen in Dubai. Its a proper home! We could’ve stayed there for weeks and weeks and still felt all of the comforts of home. Its spacious– living room, dining room, a full kitchen (even including a washing machine!), 3 bedrooms upstairs, 1 bedroom downstairs, a maids room, a 2-car garage, a backyard with a good-sized pool and BBQ– so it had it all!

Just to explore it took more than half an hour. The St. Regis puts so much detail into everything that they do and this property was no different. Almost each room had something special waiting for us. The staff laid out special sweets, fruits and treats in the dining room, a chocolate and date box in the living room; upstairs they filled the bedrooms with balloons, coloring books and cupcake/icing set for Khalifa to create his own cupcakes with (which he absolutely LOVES to do)!

The decor is beautiful– its very classy but also very homely. Since its a polo resort there are horse details everywhere and they truly make you feel that you’re at a luxury polo resort, all while making sure all of the comforts of home are there.

All of the bedrooms are en suite, which is great if you are looking to book with friends and want to have a bedroom each. All of the bedrooms upstairs have balconies. Out of the four bedrooms, 3 have king-sized beds while the other one has 2 twin-sized beds. Its a wonderful layout for a large family, or even 2 small families vacationing together!

Dining:

The resort is quite new but they do have some really good dining options and I was very impressed. As I mentioned before, we’ve been to the Friday brunch before staying here and it was lovely. They had a kids play area, plenty of delicious food without being too overwhelming and a huge selection of desserts. They now also have polo matches to watch while brunching!

Another restaurant that we tried out while staying at the resort was their Argentinian steakhouse, The Grill Pit. Its got a very warm but edgy vibe and I really liked it. Its great for a date night and also for groups. We went with the whole family and they were kind enough to keep 3-year old Khalifa busy with crayons and coloring papers, keep 1-year old Jude seated with their Stokke triptrap chairs. They have really delicious steaks and the staff know the items very well and can make great recommendations (which is also very pleasantly surprising for a somewhat new hotel).

The breakfast is a buffet at their all-day dining restaurant, Andalucia. Its a good spread of different cuisines and the service is also very good.

What I really liked about the dining aspect of this resort is their in-room dining menu. Its the most extensive in-room dining menu that I’ve come across. Hungry for Indian food? They’ve got it. Want an authentic Italian pizza? Coming right up. Need to stick to your diet and order healthy items? Done. Need to order special baby food thats not on the menu? Yupp, also possible! Its an amazing menu and honestly we ordered most of our meals from it while staying at the resort.

Its also a very nice place for in-villa dining because you have a spacious dining table  and can enjoy delicious decadent meals from the hotel with all of the privacy of your own space. They also have an option to have the chef come and grill meats and seafood on the BBQ in your own backyard, but thats something that needs to be booked 24 hours in advance.

Also, the fridge is full of complementary drinks. The kitchen has a stove and oven that can easily cook meals to feed plenty of people. If you’re feeling up to it, you have all the equipment that you need to cook meals for your entire family!

We also enjoyed a lovely Afternoon Tea at their Equestrian Lounge. It was a relaxing experience and the food and sweets were beautifully served!

Activities/ What We Did:

You might think that there’s not much to do because its not inside the city, but they have plenty to keep you busy! The entire 3 days were packed with activities.

My absolute favorite activity was horse-riding lessons. Khalifa, my husband Mohamed and I spent one of our mornings there taking horse-riding lessons. Our trainer was amazing and normally I would be so nervous to put Khalifa on horse (after all, he’s still just 3 years old), but the trainers and staff are so competent and know what they are doing. He had a blast and so did we! Jude still too small to ride, but after our lessons were done, she had a chance to go hang out with some ponies that are more for her size!

They also have an outdoor playground for the kids and both of my little ones enjoyed running around there.

For mommy, me-time was spent at the spa. I enjoyed a lovely facial at their Iridium Spa and oh my god, the therapist was a miracle worker. I felt that my skin was so refreshed and so much clearer than before. She did a great job of exfoliating, extracting blackheads, closing pores, and dealing with a bit of dryness. The spa also has a very nice shower and wet area that you must take advantage of! There are forest showers and thunder showers– its a definitely different from a shower at home.

Aside from all of the activities we did around the property, we spent a lot of time at the villa, just hanging out by the pool and watching polo matches from our balcony. It was a truly relaxing time because we could enjoy so many of the benefits of the hotel (pool, dining, etc.), all while staying in the villa.

Drawbacks:

None– Not a single drawback that I can think of. Its amazing. Honestly I was expecting some things to go wrong here and there because the property is quite new and the staff might not be as accustomed to it, but that was not the case at all. It was an impeccable stay from the moment we walked until, until we drove off.

Best For:

This villa is, without a doubt, perfect for families– LARGE families! Its also great for 4 singles because there are 4 wonderful rooms and plenty of space! Its so spacious and theres so much privacy. Its also great for hosting private parties, which the hotel management is completely fine with! Also, the price is amazing– it starts at 2,900 dhs per night, and for a 4-bedroom villa at a St. Regis property in Dubai, thats completely unheard of.  I would highly suggest you book it soon before it becomes a better-known property and the bookings drive the prices to go up!

Price:

The 4-bedroom villa at The St. Regis Al Habtoor Polo Resort starts a 2,900 dhs per night (November 2017).

For more information, check out their website here.