Firstly, let me mention some background details. I live in Dubai, and have plenty of experience of 5 star hotels and restaurants, and the service levels they offer. I travel frequently and clock up around 80-100 nights in hotels worldwide in a year. I have reviewed many hotels on TripAdvisor, and am (I believe) generally balanced and fair (see my previous reviews to decide for yourself).

Having said that, I will now explain why the Bab Al Shams was one of the most disappointing hotel experiences I have ever had. My wife and I had booked a one night break, as it was our wedding anniversary and my wife’s birthday the previous week. It was a chance for us to get away from home and Dubai for some relaxation and pampering. We chose the Bab Al Shams as it was only 30 minutes drive from home and appeared to offer exactly what we needed – a relaxing weekend break.

The problems started when we arrived at the hotel around 2.30 pm. We were kept waiting for around 20 minutes before we got to the check in desk. Warning bells were sounding when we heard other guests complaining about long waits for rooms and luggage that had not been delivered to their rooms. One helpful member of staff did offer us water, chocolate and a cold towel. When we finally reached the reception desk, at around 2.50, we were told that our room would not be ready for “about 1 hour”. This was despite the advertised check-in time of 3.00pm. We were told that we would be called on our mobile phone when the room was ready. When we booked the room, we had also booked at the Al-Hadheerah restaurant – we tried to confirm this booking after checking in, to find that the hotel had no record of it! Fortunately there were still tables available. After unpacking our luggage in the reception area to find swimming costumes (during which time we were approached by a newly appeared member of staff to ask if we “needed any help!”), we went to the pool area and relaxed with a bottle of beer, although we were disappointed that this was not properly chilled. The pool facilities are excellent, really nice pools at the correct temperature. Sun loungers are plentiful and comfortable. A little later we ordered a bottle of water (temperature was over 40 degrees C), which had still not appeared after 30 minutes. By 4.30pm we had still heard nothing about our room, so we called the reception desk from the pool bar (the pool bar staff being unwilling to assist). We were told that the room was ready and we should “come and collect our keys”. We asked for the keys to be brought to us at the pool, which was agreed…. but never happened! We finally gave up around 5.30pm and collected our keys from reception. We were shown to our room, where our luggage had already been delivered.

The rooms are excellent, as is the design of the whole hotel. The theme is that of an Arabian village, with lots of natural materials. The room had a huge bed, all the facilities you expect from a 5 star hotel and a nice “balcony” area (although we were on the ground floor – the hotel is a “low rise” design with only two floors). The bathroom was also very nice, with a huge sunken bath. The only negative point about the room was that there was some mould growing on the walls around the bath – again this is not what you expect in a 5 star hotel.

After changing and relaxing for a while, we headed for the rooftop bar for “sundowner” cocktails. The service was initially very helpful, and our first order of drinks was delivered to our table promptly. The cocktails were excellent, and we wanted to order some more…. but could not attract the attention of any staff member for more than 30 minutes… by which time we simply asked for the bill.

We headed for the Al Hadheerah restaurant, walking through the dunes. First impressions are very spectacular – it is a very nice setting, with a huge selection of food and live entertainment throughout the evening. We enjoyed the food, although it is extremely expensive for what is basically an Arabic buffet – many places in Dubai offer much better value. The evening was again spoilt by the service – we waited ages for a bottle of water that never arrived. The final straw was when my wife was at the bar chasing aforementioned bottle of water, when she turned round and was hit on the head by a waiters tray, receiving only a cursory apology. We decided to leave at this point; the evening was ruined by this incident. When we returned to our room, we had been sent an anniversary cake, which was a nice touch however it was a little late in the evening to enjoy it!

The following morning we enjoyed the breakfast, which was of a high standard with a good selection of food. We relaxed by the pool again and enjoyed the facilities, although whether it was really necessary for the gardeners to be cutting the grass at this time is debatable! We should mention again the member of staff that showed us where the breakfast restaurant was (the same gentleman that offered us water when we checked in) – he was the only person who really showed that he cared about us as guests in the hotel. We tried to find out his name as we were leaving, but none of the other staff appeared to know! He wore a white dishdash and headdress. We would like to thank him for his efforts.

When we checked out, we were reminded just what an expensive “treat” this had been – very nearly US$1,000 for one night, one dinner and breakfast. The room rate is one of the highest in Dubai, and the fact that the breakfast was not even included in this made things seem even worse. Another bugbear of mine – hate dealing with reception staff who do not focus on the job in hand, and answer phonecalls at the same time as trying to check a guest out of the hotel. No one asked whether we had enjoyed our stay…. except…. yes, our man in the white again!

In summary, the Bab Al Shams is a very nice hotel, in a nice location. The concept is great, the facilities excellent. What let’s the place down is the lack of attention to details, and the frankly shoddy customer service. There appears to be a real problem with a combination of staff shortage, and staff that are either not trained properly or just don’t care about customers. This is a serious issue for the management of the hotel.

We have stayed at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and eat there regularly, including on Christmas Day last year. We know that the Jumeirah Group are capable of much better standards, which is why this bad experience was both a disappointment and a surprise. I only hope that the shortcomings will be addressed to make Bab Al Shams the great hotel it could and should be.

We had a wonderful stay at the bab al shams. The food was fantastic and the rooms were very nice. My one request would be that they require the children to stay in the kiddie pool, or at least have one adult only pool. On the weekends, there are many children in the pools.

We stayed for 3 days at the Bab Al Shams. The place is manicured and beautifully built. The architecture is based on old Arabic fortress with a few sand dunes.

The huge swimming pool(s) are kept at a cool temperature which in the heat of the desert is a blessing. The sun beds are numerous which means nobody has to sit next to someone if they do not wish to.

The service was outstanding and we could not fault even the room service. We sampled the desert open-sky restaurant and – despite the extra to be paid – is worth it with a belly dancer and other shows.

We also sampled the spa and would highly recommend the hot stone massage as well as the ear candle. Professional and respectful women are treated by women only and men by men.

The camel ride must be done before the sun starts burning as out of the resort the heat takes its toll very rapidly.

An outstanding location for “getting away from it all” or as part of a stop over (our case) but we did not feel more than 3 days would have been appropriate as you really are far from anywhere else.

As this was our second visit to Dubai and we stayed on the coast first time round, we wanted to find something a little different for this trip and we certainly did with B.A.S!!
This was the 1st part of our honeymoon, with us moving on to Banyan Tree Maldives after.

We arrived at BAS around 10am, and although I had requested an early check in, I wasnt that hopeful and sure enough the room wasnt ready. This was not a problem and we made use of the pool for a few hours. (When we checked out though, we stayed on resort until late as we had a night flight, and one gripe is that the hotel does not offer courtesy rooms. For a 5 star resort this was pretty poor to be honest. There is a decent changing room by the pool, but inevitably you need to sort out a few last minute bits of luggage etc and we had to do that on the floor in the luggae store room).

However.... on the plus side, as we were there early we asked to have a look at a choice of rooms, and basically selected our room, which was nice.

Arriving in the resort is a little wierd really. It is about an hour transfer by car and most of which is spent driving through barren desert. You cant help wondering what you are going to arrive at !

The resort is styled as an old fort and really does feel that way. The grounds and architecture are really lovely. It definitely comes into its own at night time though. Hundreds of candles and lanterns light up the grounds and pool area and it is beautiful. My photos probably dont do it justice but a few are attached.
There are 4 restaurants on the resort. Al Forsan which is the main one which hosts the breakfast and lunch buffets and a buffet dinner most nights. The breakfast is probably the best selection I have ever seen. Delicous !
I know dinner buffets arent up everyones street, but I cant recommend this one enough, absolutely first rate.
(The lunch buffet is a little pricey as all you really need is a snack lunch, so we only ate in here for lunch once and had pool snacks the other days)
There is also a very nice pizza restaurant and an excellent Indian.
The "highlight restaurant" Al Hadeera, unfortunately we didnt get to go to as my wife wasnt well that night. But its supposed to be very good with Arabian entertainment etc.

We stayed 5 nights and loved it. The place is very tranquil and relaxing. Fridays and Saturdays are quite busy as a lot of Dubai residents seem to use it as a weekend retreat, so if you want to make the most of the peace and quiet, book in here Mon - Thurs. It wasnt too bad though even at the weekend.

The service was very good and friendly, as you would expect of a hotel of this standard, however maybe there was a lack of "going the extra mile" from the staff. Its hard to put my finger on, they didnt do much wrong but didnt really impress us either.
Our booking was on a Bed and breakfast basis and over and above this we spent about £100 per day on food and drink. (Bare in mind that my wife doesnt really drink, so we were not over doing it by any stretch, so certainly dont budget for any less than that !!)

Overall I would strongly recommend BAS. It is a perfect choice as part of a 2 centre holiday, either spending part in one of the Jumeirah hotels on the coast (I can strongly recommend Al Qasr) and then a few days here, or just as part of a Dubai stop over on the way somewhere else. I am delighted with our choice as a prelude to the Maldives. (If you want to visit the city centre though or other Dubai sights then this would not be the right choice of base hotel as it is pretty much in the middle of no where!)

A couple of reviews said one or 2 nights is enough. I wouldnt agree with that. I would say 4 or 5 nights is about right (we stayed 5). There are a few things to do such as Desert 4 x 4'ing, but if like us you dont really fancy that then bring plenty of books!! For us it was just peace, quiet, tranquility and relaxation all the way.

Any questions please dont hesitate to drop me a line and i will try and answer them.