Way back in 2007 when we were new in Dubai, we needed to meet some people who set the meeting place at Grand Hyatt Dubai and I could not forget being so impressed the moment I entered the hotel. After all, we just moved here from Japan – the land of mini this and that. Small apartments, small cars, small portion sizes in restaurants, modest hotels.

And then boom, the first five star hotel I visited in Dubai was the Grand Hyatt with huge entrance hall, massive pillars, a gigantic chandelier and high, high ceilings! They really meant to stick by the word “grand” in the hotel name for a reason.

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My awe of this hotel did not end up in the lobby. As we moved forward to the restaurant, I could hear the sound of a waterfall and saw a large green patch area right in the middle. I thought, wow, I should take my daughter (who was then 3 years old) here! She would love the feeling of like being in the middle of the jungle inside a hotel. Now, it took us 10 long years to finally book a room at the Grand Hyatt

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The UAE enjoyed a long weekend last week for the Islamic New Year so we thought to have a family staycation at a hotel but didn’t want to drive far. There are many hotels in Dubai that’s located at the heart of the city but offering resort-like facilities. The Grand Hyatt was an easy choice.

It was the last few days of September and while it’s starting to cool down on most parts of the northern hemisphere, transitioning from summer to autumn, Dubai is perpetually summery with highs of still on the high 30’s (celcius) late September. That said, the hotel’s main swimming pool was the reason why we decided to give this a hotel a try.

This isn’t actually our first time to see the pool at Grand Hyatt, we visited last year when we were members of Privilee and Grand Hyatt was one of the participating hotels and have never forgotten the wonderful experience, especially how Benjamin loved the kid’s pool with mini water play with slides!

And if you think the main pool is awesome but don’t want to toast, that’s sorted out too with their indoor pool with jacuzzi on the side. However, save for the small area with 0.43 meters depth, the wonderful temperature controlled indoor pool has a uniform depth of 1.60 meters so if you are non-swimmers like me or with small kids without swimming aids, that would be an issue though you can still stay at the shallow side or stick to the sides. The indoor pool is open 24 hours so anyone can enjoy it, whenever they feel like.

LOCATION

The Grand Hyatt Dubai is about 20 minutes from Dubai International Airport and located at Oud Metha, near Dubai Healthcare City. Though public transport is not near, there are many taxis that could take you wherever you like. Downtown Dubai (where the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa is located) is only 15 minutes away by taxi.

OUR ROOM

We booked a standard room but surprisingly, was upgraded to club room which we truly appreciate! The rooms were bigger, comfortable twin queen size beds and spacious bathroom. We were at the 14th floor of the hotel with sweeping views of the city, with downtown Dubai and Burj Khalifa on the horizon.

I’ll be writing a post why it could be smarter to book a club room than a standard room, depending on your stay needs. So watch out for that!

BREAKFAST

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The main breakfast is at The Collective, at the ground floor. Extensive, international flavorful breakfast with many healthier options like fresh fruit smoothies, fruits, detox drinks. It is right beside the indoor waterways and green space and with plenty of natural light coming in from the roof, so it felt like having breakfast on a garden, with a waterfall only, it is indoor (and without bugs hovering around!)

HOTEL RESTAURANTS

The Grand Hyatt has 13 award winning bars and restaurants. We used the Entertainer voucher to get buy 1 get 1 free at Wox Asian restaurant for lunch. It’s a delight to see the live cooking station at this open kitchen style restaurant and the food was great too (simple noodle soups for the win!). We have to go back again.

For Friday dinner, we tried Andiamo, described on their website as “Northern Italian cuisine in a light-hearted, contemporary atmosphere.”

After eating so much stuff, we were contented and did not think to have dessert. But the server suggested that we should have their Tiramisu. OMG, I hope you saw my video post on Instagram about this tiramisu, it’s easily the best Tiramisu in town. You can hate me if you don’t like it. It’s not your usual made-days-before-and-refrigerated tiramisu. The cream was soft, velvety and not too sweet. It’s made fresh they even leave the sprinkling of the dark chocolate powder to the diner. It was heavenly. This tiramisu would haunt you when you have that sweet cravings.

FINALLY

If being near the beach is not a priority and you’re looking for a city hotel in Dubai that provides resort-like facilities and guarantees a grand time for everyone, kids and adults alike, Grand Hyatt could fit the bill. All of us are overwhelmed by the wonderful service and overall experience we asked ourselves, why did it take us 10 years to finally consider this hotel for a family holiday?

If you’re living in Dubai and have not been to Grand Hyatt, don’t miss it or don’t be like us and wait for ten years before checking in. It’s worth a stay or even just a visit.

P.S.
At Grand Hyatt’s sprawling gardens, you could even meet and make friends with ducks!

We booked a deluxe room at Grand Hyatt but was upgraded to club room with access to the executive lounge (THANK YOU!) however all opinions are mine.