Palm Jumeirah Island – a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree, comprises of a 2km long trunk and 17 fronds encircled by a crescent.  An extraordinary feat and worth a visit simply to tick it off your bucket list.  The image below depicts all the hotels located on The Palm (Anantara is located on the spot market Royal Amwaj).

We have stayed at the Atlantis and Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in the past so decided to visit the Anantara.  Since our trip to Thailand our family has become a huge fan of Banyan Tree and Anantara properties worldwide. 

After a 25 minute drive from Old Dubai to the end of the East Crescent of The Palm we were greeted by a pleasant staff member with “Saswadekaa” followed by cold towels and a chilled traditional drink. It took us a while to complete our check-in formality as we missed the fine print which was to carry the national id cards of all the occupants (including children). Once this was sorted we were then taken to our room in a tuk-tuk (we were offered a choice between the tuk-tuk or the hotel car but the boys were excited to take the tuk-tuk).

We  booked the lagoon view room which had direct access to an artificial lagoon with swimming access. There was a nice lounging area in the corner of the room and a large bathroom. The bed was large and the pillows super comfortable.

Imagine having an exceptional room combined with 24 access to a pool with just a slide of a door… wow!!

Night view of the lagoon from our room.

We had dinner in the the hotel’s signature restaurant, Mekong which serves delicious Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food. The interior of the restaurant is well designed and the outdoor areas feature tables around rickshaw seats.

The following morning we enjoyed the sumptuous buffet breakfast at The Palm restaurant which had an interesting spread.

Activities: boys spent most of their time enjoying the water sports (snorkeling, jet skiing, paddle boats).  Both days they enjoyed swimming in the lagoon as well as the pool, played chess and scrabble on the hotel grounds followed by a game of pool in the Teens club.

While the boys were engaged we used the entertainer vouchers and availed the buy-one-get-one Arabian signature massage offer which was a 60 minute treatment using Spice Oil and choice of pressure.

As soon as we arrived we were given hibiscus honey juice and a cold towel, before being directed to our treatment suite. 

Our therapist started the treatment with a milk bath and a lavender sea salt scrub for the feet followed with the massage ending with some moist dates and lemon/ginger tea.

This was pure indulgence with beautiful surroundings and a serene ambience! The overall experience was one that invigorated a sense of wellbeing from deep within.

I pretty much loved everything about this hotel but my favorite would be the majestic over-the-water villas.  We did not stay in the villa but the staff were really kind to give us a tour… on my list for next time!

Overall a great place for a relaxing local getaway with close proximity to the beach.