DoubleTree by Hilton Resort & Spa Marjan Island

Overall this hotel hits a lot of boxes for young families. I would say its perfect for children up to 14/15 and then for adults only. The waterpark, pools, beach and playground are the hotels best features as well as its hardworking staff. The waterpark is brilliant for children up to early teens and perfect for younger children. The slides are monitored by the lifeguards who do a fantastic job, it is enclosed for safety and has provided hours and hours of fun during our stay. The beach is lovely and sandy and the pools are kept clean and there is a vast amount of them. I did feel at times the hotel was a bit crowded but was always able to get a sunbed. The kids pool which is shaded is a brilliant addition as I didn't have to worry so much about the children getting sun stroke during our stay due to the out of season high temperatures we experienced. The lobby bar needs improving, we once waited 45 mins for some desserts and had to leave as my children had had enough, note one of my children has severe autism so finds any sort of waiting difficult, 45 minutes was a triumph for him. There is no entertainment which is a let down. They do a kids mini disco in the evening and karaoke, a live band in the anchor bar but that's all. I'd expect more from a hotel of this calibre. Feedback Need to adopt QR code to tables for drinks service to make it a true 5 star resort. Also increase the amount of drinks available, it seems unfair for those on ultra to pay for milkshake for example. Unsure of the different between all inclusive and ultra, other reviews said you couldn't get chips for example but that's not the case. Apart from drinks before 12, mini bar and ala cartes I don't see the biggy and you can definitely do all inclusive instead. The whole ultra and all inclusive system needs a re-do in my opinion. We paid over £1k extra for ultra as we didn't want to take the risk of anything being unavailable for our son and had read mixed reviews with what was included. The hotel needs to be clearer on this but also change the way it is done. We tried our best to get the most out of the ultra but don't think we did. My son normally has several ice pops during the day at home however was only able to have them between 3pm and 5pm at the resort despite having ultra. The beds on the beach came at a charge, the room service is only available during the middle of the night when we are asleep 2am - 6am. In my opinion there should be more available on the ultra as well as the fact that there shouldn't be any additional charges for anything other than the spa etc. There is a coffee shop outside by the villas and a ice cream and smoothie kiosk next to the waterpark that are chargeable - why? The mini bar provides basic drinks and nothing diet except water. Apart from the ala cartes we used there wasn't any advantage to us and even those that drank alcohol did not see the benefit as there wasn't much variety. You can definitely save yourself a lot of money and disappointment by sticking with the standard all inclusive instead. Staff Customer service from each staff member has been absolutely brilliant, all so happy to help and will do whatever they can to accommodate you. Allergies For context my son has multiple food allergies. Brilliant service from restaurant staff and the chefs who came out to meet us to accommodate combined allergies to gluten eggs and nuts. Special meals were made as well as showing us what we can eat in the normal buffet. We were even able to eat in the ala cartes and have our sons allergy free food brought to him which is something we've never been able to do so that was just fantastic. The buffet gives a wide variety of food which was suitable for all ages. The food was fresh and tasty. The desserts especially were very nice. Autism The waterpark staff were also brilliant with my son who has severe autism and learning disabilities. The lifeguards recognised he didn't understand the concept of queuing and he would wait on the side for everyone to finish before moving towards the slide instead of getting in the queue. The lifeguard saw this and held his hand and let him go before others as he'd been waiting. I was so so thankful for this the interaction brought tears to my eyes and I'll never forget it. Overall in fact the autism awareness is high in Dubai and RAK so this is a destination I would definitely return to based on that . My son has severe autism so with this comes a lot of stares, this was limited to be from other guests only though as all staff at the resort and also around RAK were fantastic and so inclusive. Milk Hotel wouldn't provide milk for toddler. Said it was hotel policy despite giving it for the first week of our stay. This was a definite negative and created an unnecessary amount of upset. Special shout outs: Indri - al marjan restaurant for her excellent service throughout our stay meeting all requests for special meals and being thoroughly understanding. Abilash - lifeguard who recognised my son needed additional help and allowed him to experience the best time hes had at a waterpark to date. In conclusion I would return as the resort hits a lot of boxes for our family however I would do so on all inclusive only unless significant changes were made to the Ultra option. Read less

I was here last week. The staff are very polite here. A smile or an hello and thank yous are free for those who found the staff rude. You get back what you give and these people are thousands of miles away from family and loved ones to make your holiday perfect for you. Rooms were clean. So grateful for the adult pool as this was very chilled and loved how the lifeguards were strict with not allowing children in. There is more than plenty of room for families. Food was okay. The Indian food was phenomenal. So delicious. I was half board and then upgraded to all inclusive half way through as worked out cheaper for me. I will say I find the difference between AI and Ultra AI a bit weird as this is the only hotel I have ever stayed at (and I have stayed at many) and All Inclusive does mean just that. Where you get all drinks and access to all restaurants however for this hotel you have to purchase Ultra which includes all benefits. Each to their own. Special shout out to Zin, Rabinder, Helena, Shakeel, Moses and Mukesh and his partner (sorry I forgot the names) in housekeeping who did an amazing job with my room every single day. There are others that I forgot. I used the spa too for a massage and facial. Big shout out to Sonya who was incredible and made me feel very relaxed and comfortable. I will definitely be back. Read less