Staycations are meant only for weekends...said no one ever! When my husband had a 2-day conference at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Abu Dhabi and decided to stay at Traders Hotel QAB, I was ecstatic. This would be a mid-week staycation ... atleast for me. Traders Hotel is just a 20-minute drive away from Abu Dhabi downtown and located in the Qaryat Al Beri complex. It is a four- star hotel and a part of Shangri-La. Though a bit away from the city, it is exactly what you need if you're looking for some peace and quite. The hotel lobby is the first thing that you'll notice when you enter this stylish hotel. It is beautiful with a splash of vibrant colours. Definitely gave us some good vibes! The only drawback was the parking. The hotel does not have a parking structure of its own. You have to either park your vehicle across the road or use their valet parking service. We opted for the latter. Check in was swift and on our request, we were given a room with a partial sea view. On entering our room, we were rather stunned at how big our room was. It was furnished with stylish contemporary decor, using warm tones and created a relaxing, comfortable environment. It was so spacious, you could literally have a party in there! We were greeted with a welcome message on the TV. On the table, was a bowl of fresh fruits. The bathroom was well equipped with bath amenities and had a tub as well as a rain shower. Oooh and the bed was so soft (tried & tested immediately).... it literally took the shape of my body! Internet was complimentary. To me, the hotel seemed like a good choice for business as well as leisure. I did not see many families around though, probably because I was in the room most of the time. The hotel has its own private beach. The moment we sat down on our sun loungers we were offered a bottle of complimentary ice cold water each. I personally liked the idea. It provided some relief from the scorching heat. There was a bar near the beach where we could order drinks or smoke shisha. The outdoor pool and gym is located on the first floor. I did not visit the gym but I did visit the pool. Although not very big, it was good enough and wasn't crowded. There was a pool bar right next to the pool that had "happy hour" going on. Besides the pool bar, the hotel has two other restaurants - Lobby Lounge and Afya. While Lobby Lounge is good for drinks and snacks, Afya serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also have a fantastic in-room dining menu with dishes from around the world. Besides the pool bar, we did not try any of the other restaurants. Instead we walked over to the The Souk next door. On the whole, I loved my time at Traders Hotel. They were even kind enough to give us a late checkout until 2 p.m. The prices are affordable and it definitely offers far more than what you would expect from a four-star hotel. For more information, click here.
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I love vacations ... who doesn't? However, with our busy work schedule, children's schooling and tight budget it may not be possible to go on vacation as often as we want to. But there's a solution ... a staycation perhaps? A convenient escape within our own city without breaking the bank is always a good idea! That's what the husband and I decided to do last weekend. We felt that we deserved a break - he from his office and me from the kitchen! And what better way to spend it than a staycation at Beach Rotana. We checked into Beach Rotana late on Thursday evening for our two-day staycation. The hotel enjoys a convenient location in the heart of Abu Dhabi and is great for business and pleasure alike. Check-in was a breeze! While we were at the counter, I couldn't help but admire the atrium in the lobby. The design on the ceiling was such an eye-catcher! Even though I have visited Beach Rotana on several occasions, it still fascinates me. Our room which was big, bright and airy had a lovely partial view of the hotel's private beach. It was a non-smoking room with a king size bed and fluffy pillows. The bathroom was tidy and equipped with necessary toiletries. We had forgotten our toothbrushes at home and the housekeeping were kind enough to provide them to us. All that was left now was a short evening nap. Later that night, we headed to one of our favourite bars in Abu Dhabi - Trader Vic's to have a few exotic drinks and enjoy some foot-tapping Cuban music. The following morning we forced ourselves out from our comfy bed only because we did not want to skip breakfast. I'm glad we did. Breakfast was a feast! It included a wide variety of international and local breakfast specialties, buffet style. You had everything from parathas, congee, assorted fruits to smoked salon and grilled beef. There was a live cooking station for eggs and a wide selection of hot beverages. Among everything, mushroom dumplings and the grilled beef were my favourites! So, what did we do after breakfast? We headed back to our bed! Its not everyday that we get to sleep on soft, bouncy beds ... Friday brunch at Beach Rotana was a treat for the senses. They had food from three of their best restaurants in addition to a lively band. (Click here to find out more about my brunch experience). In the afternoon we wanted to explore the hotel's 5-star amenities. The garden at the hotel looked like a tropical oasis with little waterfalls and cactus everywhere. Beach Rotana has its own private beach that stretches along the entire length of the hotel. It was clean and well maintained with a number of umbrellas and sun loungers. A 2-minute walk from the beach got us right to their amazing pool. And you know what the best part was? It had a bar! If there's one thing I love about any pool, its a pool bar. I love sipping on exotic cocktails while taking a dip. The water temperature was perfect and the pool wasn't too crowded. There was a children's pool right next to ours and a play area as well. The next morning, we stuck to a light breakfast before checking out from the hotel. It an incredible stay and we were all set to welcome another work week! On the last night of our staycation, we headed to Trader Vic's yet again for another round of drinks before retiring for the night.
I have tried a number of maid services while living in Dubai. There were some who were really good and some terrible! When I moved to Abu Dhabi, I had trouble finding maids. One company wanted to charge me Dhs 800 for 4 hours to clean an unfurnished house! I was like, "What? Is your mop made of gold?" Recently, I decided to give maids.ae a shot. I had a choice of two slots - 9 am-1 pm or 2 pm-6 pm. I opted for the morning slot. If I had any specific requirements (like watering the plants, closing the front door at all times because of the cats, etc.) I had to tell them at the time of booking. My male housemaid Andrew arrived at 8.55 am. Before starting his job, he analysed the house and asked me whether I needed anything in specific to be cleaned. I said "Yes! my balcony"! For the next 4 hours, Andrew worked non-stop to make my house the way it is right now ... "spic n span". There wasn't a table nor window that was left untouched. He had all the dust removed from every corner. Never have I seen my balcony so squeaky clean! If he had any queries in between, he would ask me. This man had a great personality and timed his job quite well. By 1 pm, he was done! I was very impressed with Andrew's work. It was the 1st time that we had a male housemaid clean our home and although my husband was at work I felt safe in his presence. I highly recommend maids.ae!
Have you been busy running around from mall to mall under the sweltering Dubai sun trying to figure out what to gift your mum for Mother's Day? Or helplessly scanned through scores of shops for that perfect Valentine's Day gift for your wife ? If your answer is yes, you are not alone. We eagerly look forward to celebrating special occasions with our near and dear ones, however figuring out what to gift them can be quite nerve wrecking. Especially if it involves frequent trips to the store between our hectic work schedule. Don't you sometimes wish that you could just lie down on your couch and buy your gift with just the push of a button? Well, your wish has been granted ... thanks to YouGotAGift.com. Sounds too good to be true? Believe it or not, it is true! YouGotAGift.com offers a fun and convenient way of sending gift cards using a computer or even a mobile phone. With a choice of 70+ top retailers ranging from fashion, beauty, food, sports, entertainment, electronics, home ware you can now send gift cards to your loved ones within the UAE or receive gift cards from them even if they reside outside UAE. You know what that means? Your BFF living half way across the globe can no longer give you excuses for not sending a birthday present! With YouGotAGift.com, you can now kiss those hideous jackets, unwanted cutlery and outdated gadgets goodbye ... and simply choose what you like! All it requires is 5 easy steps : 1) Choose an eGift card from the number of stores available online. If you are unsure about what your friend likes, just choose a mall card or a YouGotAGift.com gift card. As an example, I have chosen a Galeries Lafayette eGift card. 2) Choose an amount that you want to load into the card. It can be anything ranging from AED 100 upto AED 5000. 3) Personalize your eGift card with a funky design, a thoughtful message or even a goofy video. There are plenty of pre-designed templates on the website to choose from or if you're feeling creative, why not go ahead and create one yourself. 4) Decide on how you want to send your eGift card. You can either send it digitally (email, SMS, facebook), print it at home and present it to your friend at her party or have it home delivered to her in a lovely gift box. 5) Finally, checkout and securely do the payment using your Visa, MasterCard or PayPal. Once this is done, show the bar code on the gift card to the cashier and you're all set to go shopping! And that's not it! YouGotAGift.com also offer a Wedding Registry, which allows brides & grooms to collect Cash and Gift Cards instead of unwanted gifts, to purchase what they need most, whether it’s home furnishings or an extravagant honeymoon. The contributed funds are transferred to a YouGotaGift.com gift card that can be used at any of their partner stores. They also offer a direct transfer option, where funds are deposited directly into the bride and groom’s bank account. So ... what are you waiting for? Go on and surprise your loved ones with a gift of choice ... The 1st ever Ripe Food & Craft market took place on March 21st 2015 at the newly opened Mushrif Central Park. Personally, I liked this venue because of its convenient location, modern facilities and numerous attractions . The park features an animal barn, outdoor amphitheater, cafe and many different species of trees and plants . There's an entry fee of Dhs 5 for adults and its free for children under 3. I did not get an opportunity to explore the park completely last evening, as I went there for the sole purpose of attending the Ripe market. The Ripe Market as usual did not disappoint. They had a fresh organic produce of fruits & veggies at the Ripe stall, art and crafts by local artisans, street food (both home-grown & international), kids activities and much more. We indulged in some yummy food while seated comfortable and enjoyed listening to live music. Some of my favorites were the popcorn at Sunny's Pop, available in sweet and savoury flavours. Their Spicy Cajun pop was absolutely delicious! The beef quesadilla at Barbacoa was great too. However they showed us the menu of their restaurant which had a lower price and charged us more at the market. It didn't really make any sense. The gelato at Love Doughnuts were a treat to my senses! Besides these, I also enjoyed the authentic Italian cheese and mushroom focaccia at Nostrum, traditional Emirati drink "Namlet" at White Coffee and the raspberry tea. For a 1st time event, it was pretty jam packed! I cannot wait to explore Ripe Market next week and see what this beautiful market has to offer! The Ripe Food & Craft Market is held at Mushrif Central Park in Abu Dhabi every Saturday from 4pm - 9pm.
If you are really looking to experience what it felt like living in the desert, before technology took over, this is one tour that you should not miss. We booked this tour with a luxury tour operator called Platinum Heritage Luxury Tours & Safaris. Platinum Heritage, unlike other tour operators take in a limited number of people for their tours. For example, a ordinary tour company would have an intake of about 400 people for a safari, but Platinum Heritage would have just 80. For them, every customer is a VIP and you are sure to get their undivided attention. A day before our excursion, I received a call from a representative of the company who told me that our safari guide Hajaj would be picking us up at 7.10 am from our hotel. On Friday morning, Hajaj was my wake-up call. Thank you Hajaj! He called me a little before 7 am to find out the exact location of our hotel. Now, waking up at 6.30 am on a weekend was definitely not my thing but I sure was excited about our tour. Hajaj arrived promptly at 7.10 am in a mini van to pick us up and in no time we were off to pick us the other passengers. During that time, we got to know a little more about our friendly safari guide and our tour. And in no time, we were off to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve ( This happens to be the private property of His Highness Sheikh Butti Bin Makhtoum as well as the starting point of our tour) When we reached the starting point, Hajaj handed us black scarves for the ladies and Gutra for the men as a little gift from the company. He showed the guys how to tie them as well. We then hopped onto our vintage Land Rover (this was used in the 1950's) and left for the Bedouin Camp. At at camp, we were welcomed with dates, rose water Gava (Arabic coffee). We then had a little question and answer session with a local Bedouin. "Did you know that before the 1970's, the Bedouins used Indian Rupees as their currency? " We were then served a scrumptious Bedouin breakfast which comprised of Balalet (sweet vermicelli served with shredded egg), Khhamir (thin crispy zaatar bread) and Chebab (mini pancakes). But, my favourite part had to be the camel ride, which followed soon after. After our Bedouin experience was over, we hopped back onto our vintage vehicle and proceeded into the desert for wildlife spotting. Now, this area is accessible only to Platinum Heritage, so I consider myself quite fortunate to experience something like this. 15 minutes into our ride, we saw a herd of gazelles and soon after the magnificent Arabian Oryx. Such a beauty ! Then, we returned to the starting point of my tour, got onto our mini van and Hajaj dropped us home. Note : This was a half day tour and we were back by mid afternoon. Our guide Hajaj was very friendly and knowledgeable, and this by far was one of the best excursions that I've been to in the UAE.! |
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