I can’t believe another weekend is gone again. Last weekend, we were looking out at this beautiful view from our 17th floor hotel room at Sheraton Mall of the Emirates. The blue skies, the beach on the horizon, the warm weather in March…I feel so lucky that I live in Dubai. 

I won a two night stay at the Sheraton via an online contest from Ahlan Live. If you’ve been following me on Twitter and Instagram and wandered about the lavish life we were living for two days last week, this was the reason. It was free…so you should really start entering contests online, they’re totally worth it.

Most of my friends’ photos on Facebook, they are still clothed in winter clothes yet here we are, able to enjoy the great outdoors…sitting on a bench in the park, swimming in the pool. Feeling so, so blessed (at least a few more weeks before it will be too hot to feel blessed! LOL)

Now the Sheraton – they’re totally worth a whole blog post. We found ourselves smiling from the entrance all the way into our rooms and for the whole duration of our stay. The staff certainly knows how to take care of their guests. And they sure know the meaning of “personalized service”. See this?

They’re luscious butter cookies made especially for us. That and this “Dear Grace” sign complete with a family photo they must have taken from one of my social media accounts and we instantly felt the love! 

Then there was a sparkling date drink (non-alcoholic) so we included the children in our toast (they love it), a message on the huge TV, a cute gift from Bateel, a personal message in a card from the general manager and a fruit basket.

Our room for the next two nights was spacious and clean, with an extra bed for our 10 year old. Every time I check in in a Sheraton Hotel, I always look forward to their trademark Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed. Have you tried to sleep in on one? I first sank into Sheraton’s cozy comfortable bed in Bangkok, very tired from a long flight and tour and woke up feeling so great the next morning. No kidding, you should try it.

One more thing we love about the room is the transparent wall in the bathroom (it has blind curtains that pulls down if you want some privacy, though). But we soaked in the bath while watching tv.

One more win for Sheraton? The detachable shower head – the one that’s not fixed to the wall! If you have small kids, you will know how more convenient this is!

After the quick check-in and taking photos of the room, we went to brunch. I heard they have something that’s called Chocoholic Brunch – man, they have not picked the perfect person to try it.

Some of the chocolates at the chocolate room…a few steps away from the room and you can already smell the sweet aroma of cacao.

We decided to take a nap after brunch but changed plans when one of the kids found the small bag with swimsuits in it. And kids, pffft, they love, love water!

It was that unfortunate time of the month for me to be in the pool so I was so jealous looking at them! It was the perfect weather for a swim!

After swimming, we were all exhausted and took a 3 hour nap…a deep, deep slumber really! We had dinner at one of the restaurants, Sanabel. The Indian dishes served during brunch was really nice so my husband ordered from the Indian menu – the Indian curry and kebabs weren’t that good this time – but the other dish we ordered was stellar. I ordered rib eye steak because I am a huge meat eater.

The rib eye steak was perfectly cooked and very, very tasty. I think Benjamin ate half of it!

 

The next day, the husband found himself stuck in the bed and wanted to do a sweet sleeping in. I took the kids down for breakfast and we chose to sit outside, in their lovely terrace.

I could go on and on talking about the amenities and luxury but what left a lasting impression with us is the friendliness of the staff. They certainly took that extra mile to serve the guests and I don’t know what was going on but a few of them (the duty managers, a few in the reception, a cleaner and the restaurant staff) knew me and called me with my first name. They also greet my children with their names – we felt like royalty! My husband was like, “why are they treating us so well?” 

Great customer service, fabulous food, lovely room with a view, great weather and pool – we were living the life. Sheraton lives up to that 5-star hotel expectations. I would highly recommend them if you’re visiting Dubai.

Thank you again, Sheraton MOE for taking care of us during our stay and to Ahlan for picking my name from the hat!

Sheraton Mall of the Emirates is located in Al Barsha, connected to the Mall of the Emirates. They are active on social media. You can follow them on Twitter, Instagram and connect with them on Facebook.