One & Only Royal Mirage

We booked a night away in the residence to relax and recharge. We had high expectations but they were easily exceeded from the moment we arrived. The hotel is beautiful and the suite we stayed in was perfect. The staff looked after us so well during our stay, our host, the pool and restaurant staff and the amazing ladies in the Hammam were all so friendly, professional and attentive. We will be back. Read less

I have been to Dubai many times over the nearly 20 years or so, typically as a tourist but recently I decided (after 40 years of travel) to start my own Travel Agency so the purpose of this trip was to "check out" a variety of hotels. As clients are all different in their requirements/tastes and with over 150 5* hotels in Dubai it's good to have first hand experience in order to up marry clients with the best option for them. So, how was it: The One&Only Royal Mirage has been on the scene from 2007 and has a long standing excellent reputation -there are 3 separate hotels within the resort, The Palace, Arabian Court and The Residence which is adults only. Each has it's own restaurants and pool areas among very spacious gardens which are immaculately maintained and guests can dine around between the hotels however, The Residence and facilities are strictly for Residence guests only. In addition there is a separate Beach Club -Drift and an adults only pool Iliana both of which are at opposite ends of the resort. I stayed at the Arabian Court ((mid range of the 3) Rooms are very spacious by Western /European standards, Palace entry level 45m2 + 6m2 balcony, Arabian Court 50m2 + 6m2 & Residence 58m2 + 8m2 all in low rise, 3-4 storey Arabian style buildings dwarfed by the new skyscraper developments behind the resort. The Residence has been awarded Forbes 5* so my research also included a tour with the helpful Jessica Burtin (Sales Executive) - It has it's own pool, restaurant and exclusive gardens so it's like a boutique oasis with the benefits of being within a larger resort and access to all it's facilities. Pros+ Anyone coming here for the first time will no doubt be immediately impressed as they enter the hotel, the public walkways are like a genuine Arabic Palace. Drift Beach Club -good vibe/music and linked restaurant which serves al a carte breakfast and food throughout the day. Room -Arabic theme/influence, spacious with separate bath and shower cubicle + sofa (not in all grades of room & not sure if converts into a sofa bed) + large flat screen TV + tea/coffee making facilities + evening turn down service Service - attentive but can also be a bit OTT -not necessarily in a positive way. Adult only pool -decent sized infinity edge pool with beds for 40/50 and dedicated pool boys Grounds -very spacious and not overcrowded even at what seemed to be reasonably high occupancy levels Ice bucket for beers -simple but excellent idea especially in the summer months Beach Club Restaurant (BBG) (in association with Chef Mauro Colagreco) steaks are cooked over an Argentinian "Parilla Grill" -I went for the Bife de Lomo (MB5 grade) with Chimichurri sauce, the steak was excellent but the fries were disappointing. Service was attentive but marred by a few non food related issues -more on that later. Rotisserie Restaurant -Arabic themed main restaurant for breakfast and buffet dinner with the usual live cooking stations -the decor with its columns and arches is impressive for somewhere offering a relaxed less formal dining experience. Service and quality was always of a high standard. Cons - Manager at Drift -Greg/Ray/ French/Russian -enjoyed chatting with him, very personable but staff were not consistent in knowing his name or nationality "Crispy Ravioli" at Drift -was expecting it to be pasta based but it was pastry with hardly any filling, tasted "gooey" Rotisserie buffet dinner -waitress tempted me with wine "offers" but returned to say they were not available then came the "up sell" to one twice the price but not twice the quality. How can you "run out" of wine early on a Saturday evening? Whatever the story/excuse it was not how such an establishment should be operating. Some staff were toooo keen to please -it was at a level that is difficult to describe but came across as false/forced as opposed to natural/genuine. Bring it down a notch or two..... No concierge during my stay and directed to someone to the desk at the hotel entrance who did their best to be helpful but was clearly out of their depth. Club Sandwich -my best ever CS in over 40yrs of travel was at the O&O St Geran Mauritius so I had high hopes but in reality the offering did not even qualify as a CS. I did mention my disappointment to the waiter and to pass on my comments/feedback to the Chef but I heard nothing back. Last year I stayed at the O&O Palm where surprisingly it was a run of the mill offering with a score of 7/10 -the manager (unexpectedly) refunded the cost as he viewed it as below the standard expected . By comparison this definitely should have been refunded -you cannot state CS on the menu and provide something that is clearly not a CS. I can only suspect that due to cost cutting it's been reduced to a single layered offering but still charging the full price of a CS, this is not what one expects of a quality establishment -it's not a CS so don't call it that, it's misrepresentation and does not put you in a good light! Wagyu Bolognaise at the BBG restaurant -my best Spag bog many years ago was in a 3* hotel in Cairo. As I was having a large steak so didn't want to detract from my enjoyment by also having a beef starter, I asked if it was possible to get a small taster/sample as I was curious as to what it would be like, sadly I was told it was not possible. Was it asking toooo much? Maybe if it had been one of my ex neighbours like Messrs Ronaldo/Beckham then I suspect nothing would be too much trouble? Upon finishing my steak my waiter made a direct request for feedback/review and placed his details in front of me via a QR code to be completed. I have no objection in providing feedback but it came across more in desperation than a request -not sure if management is setting targets but clearly neither he nor I were comfortable over this request so overall the evening finished on a low note. App -a useful tool, if only the information provided was accurate -I made a simple request regarding dress code for the Rotisserie in the evening and was told that shorts were not allowed, fair enough. When I got there I immediately spotted at least a handful of men in shorts! I messaged back to advise of this fact, the response: sorry, it is possible to wear shorts! This is basic stuff that staff should know, is the service farmed out to a call centre in the Philippines /similar where they have no first hand knowledge of the hotel workings? If they are on premises then it's even more embarrassing.... Manager Marianne Fitzgerald -didn't see her "doing the rounds" and so despite asking at reception if she might be available for a quick chat I received no feedback even to say "sorry, we checked but she's too busy...." Not sure if the "gatekeepers" assumed I had negative feedback to share and therefore didn't pass on my request...... In summary, I like O&O but for me there were more negatives that positives and consequently it fell short of not only it's own standards but also comparable 5* hotels in Dubai. Read less

The hotel grounds are beautiful, and the restaurant team were fantastic — the food and service were excellent. A special mention to Binod Dahal in the Rotisserie restaurant and Hakima, who worked alongside him — they were both so warm and welcoming, and it was a real delight to stop and chat with them. They went out of their way to make us comfortable — thank you both so much. Thanks also to Sujith-P from housekeeping, who kept our room immaculate, and to Carlos, who gave us great tips about the grounds and surrounding area. On the less smooth side, our booking wasn’t initially located despite having provided all details by email prior to arrival. This caused some stress after an overnight flight, though it was resolved later that day. A pre-arrival check might have avoided this. For my daughter’s 18th, the hotel kindly provided a cake, which we appreciated — though it would have been nice to have been advised of a few more celebratory options to make it extra special. Overall, the setting is very nice due to the spacious grounds and the dining experience delightful. With some improvement in communication and pre-arrival organisation, it could be seamless. Read less