My wife and I spent three days in this resort. 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.
Nice the pool with a sufficient number of sun beds but the pool service was not as fast as a guest can imagine in a five stars place.
We had a dinner at Al Hadheerah restaurant:our first impressions was very spectacular: it is a very nice setting, with a huge selection of food and live entertainment throughout the evening. But as everibody knows a buffet is not the top for people who loves to eat great food. So we had a better time at the Indian restaurant. the day after with a menu "a la carte".
The final opinion is that the place is worthwhile for a weekend but i'd not spend more days and money to stay longer.

Resort on its own a beautiful piece of architecture. Interior design very unique. The hotel located 30 min away from Dubai in the middle of desert. Beautiful spot to enjoy vacation. The reception very chatty but not competent.

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.