Absolutely brilliant holiday from start to finish.
What can I say, having travelled to Dubai 5 times in 6 years, mainly for the Dubai Rugby 7s, I've never ventured as as far up as Lapita or the resort as a whole, so a brand new experience.
As a family, we wanted to visit Dubai but have something to do (on tap) with our children (9 and 4). This is the place to go!
We had an initial issue with the room booking and included tickets for all theme parks (a travel agent issue and not hotel) but this was resolved during check in without fuss.
We travelled for the last week of August and 1st week of September. The low season!! Yes, the hotel mid-week was generally quiet and on both weekends, a noticeable change in capacity. However, in both cases, the staff were always attentive, food was always 4/5 out of 5, and the hotel was, in typical Dubai fashion, always immaculate.
We had Half Board Plus, providing us with unlimited tickets to access all four parks close by. All very quiet due to the summer period (averaging around 40 degrees each day) but honestly, with the AC and a lot of attractions indoors, it wasn't that bad. Also, as the parks were quiet, we practically went on rides without any queues, this alone was a massive bonus. Im not sure what its like during peak season winter months) but speaking to other guests, they said the parks are never overly busy.
Just on the parks, they're not too big, but certainly have some good attractions and collectively give Universal orlando a run for its money. They, too, are spotlessly clean and very well looked after.
Back to the hotel. The rooms are very spacious, immaculate, and again, staff are attentive.
The food was also very good, a choice of 3 places to each, Ari (Mix of international and Mediterranean) Al a carte, Hakina (Japanese) Al a carte and Lani (International Buffet) the main buffet was closed for refurbishment, however just nosing at this, the improvements look very appealing and I'm sure will suit most people's appetites. What we enjoyed was the ability to go to any restaurant without being limited to one Al a carte per stay (typical with lots of European hotels). Our issue was that because we were staying for the best part of 2 weeks, it does get repetitive. So on occasion, we would elect to have a light lunch (choice of lunch or dinner) and go out occasionally to a restaurant in the city.
Drinks - as is the case with all of Dubai, alcohol is typically expensive. However, we expected this, and being a family hotel, we didn't want to be around drunks. In a way, this was a bonus. We had 2 drinks vouchers per person per day to use (which was nice for a wine at dinner) and if you really want to supplement this and save some money, buy a bottle of vodka at the airport and have an occasional drink in the room. If I'm honest, no one comes to Dubai to get drunk! Unless you go to a day brunch elsewhere or attending the 7s or similar event, for example, then it's not a drinking destination, as expected in the middle east.
Were there any negatives??? No, honestly, for us, it was a perfect mix. For most people, it may not be to everyones liking. There was no evening entertainment and being overly critical, the hotel is a good 25 minutes from JBR (the closest busy area to explore) 40 minutes to Dubai Mall. However, taxis are generally cheap £15 to JBR, £25 to the Mall (avoid Uber), or take the free shuttle down in the day. Is the distance from the city that bad, again no! Because of the close proximity of parks, some of which open until 9pm, the use of Riverland, close proximity of the outlet mall, there is something to do in the evening if you need to go out. If you want to explore Abu Dhabi, then its 45 minutes or about £40 in a taxi.
Overall, I'd give this hotel a 9/10. It's not the best 5 star I've stayed in, but with everything included, the cleanliness, staff attentiveness, and general feel, we are already looking at 2026 to stay again.
Would I travel again in August?? I was apprehensive at first, but if you can go to Turkey or Florida in the summer months, then honestly, the temperatures are no different.
Big shout out to the staff, I didn't write names down (my fault) but everyone we had interactions with were always so polite and couldn't do enough for us. They made it extra special and a real asset to the hotel and brand.
