Sleeping in the middle of the Formula 1 race track: review Marevellous Suite @ W Hotel Abu Dhabi
Before you waste time trying to book this hotel during the week of the Formula 1 Grand Prix - [...]
United Arab Emirates
Marriott
Before you waste your time to try to book this hotel during the week of the Formula 1 Grand Prix-the race that historically closes the championship-I'm already telling you to save yourself the trouble: impossible. There are no rooms, at least using official channels (cash or points), between Thursday and Monday, that is, the day before the start and the day after the end.
In this article:
That dutiful premise having been made, I can now take you inside this umpteenth W Hotel, undoubtedly the Marriott family luxury sign I like best.
There are two types of W Hotel, I like only one of them
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
W Hotel is a brand designed for the new generation, those who want luxury, but don't want it plastered on. Those who seek fun, vibes, but still want the ultimate without compromise.
From experience, I can say that a W Hotel that is born out of an existing structure-a transformation, a rebrand-even if following a million-dollar make-up, will never be As a hotel that comes from the ground up to be a W Hotel.
This means that I am unlikely to invest points or money to visit the W Hotel in Rome or Budapest, also because after having wasted so many dollars in Los Angeles o New York I realized the mistake.
I have stayed in hotels in this chain on four continents, and I must say that it has often been a super good choice. If you are curious to read the reviews, just click here.
Reservation
Having to make a long weekend in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, I was spoiled for choice. In the end the choice fell on this hotel because I wanted to accumulate points, but more importantly. double premium nights. We are located at the center of Yas Island, the area of Abu Dhabi that is home to amusement parks, the shopping center that competes with the Dubai Mall, and the new man-made marina. Casa Cipriani, Ferrari World are here, and the airport is minutes away. Of course, if you want to visit the Mosque, the Royal Palace or the Etihad Towers you have to move. The journey, even in self-driving cars, costs little but takes a long time.
Of course, a W Hotel is never cheap, but it is a token to pay if you want to stay in a 5-star hotel that occupies the top rung of the world's largest hotellerie chain. The cost for three nights was 240 euros each; I also could have paid in points, but it was not very convenient and I would not have accumulated the qualifying double nights.
In this case I had also applied for an upgrade using 3 of my 5 NUAs., or vouchers that can be redeemed for free upgrades to a room best and which I obviously use only by targeting only the best suite among those available. Upgrade that had been confirmed to me a few days before arrival.
Check-in
We landed at AUH shortly after 6 a.m. and by 7 o'clock we were in the hotel lobby. If you watched an F1 GP you were bound to notice this facility, since the circuit runs sinuously around the building, which is very reminiscent of a beehive, and at one point passes under the bridge connecting the two plexuses that comprise it.
The lobby was deserted, literally not a soul was there. Okay, it was early morning, but not 4 a.m.: the sun was already up.
No problem checking in at dawn and our Marvellous Suite Was already available. To wit: thanks to NUA we went from a basic room to the best room in the hotel, second only to the presidential suite. This time, So, it didn't end up like Sydney.
A W Hotel is design, lightheartedness, and originality, such as the clothespin-closed noses in the reception wall, or the furry photo box in the center of the lobby, in front of the sphere that hid one of the hotel's bars.
The suite at the W Hotel in Abu Dhabi
Opening the door, we found ourselves facing a long hallway with a glass wall on one side and a mirror on the other.
The first room is the living room, which was bigger than my house.
Here is an immense bar cabinet that doubles as a dinner table or smartworking area.
Then there is the relaxation area with an immense carpet, a giant screen and a series of sofas, armchairs and puffs capable of accommodating a basketball team.
All along the outside was a terrace partially shaded by the structure that wraps around the actual building and comes alive and colorful in the evening.
There was a walk-in closet the size of a single room in a boarding house in Rimini, a double bathroom larger than a studio apartment in Milan, with an adjoining hallway area.
Then, of course, there was the actual bedroom. The star here is the structure that held the king mattress: an element that in addition to serving as a frame for the bed ended as a bench at the foot of the bed.
On the sides, near the bedside table, all possible sockets and connections. Mega screen placed over a wall desk and access to the terrace even from the room. A view of the bay, over one of the most spectacular spots on the F1 course.
Wealthy minibar and many other gadgets for sale as per the tradition of this sign, obviously at ten times the cost that the same product/item has out in the real world.
I almost forgot, there was also a guest toilet.
When we go too extreme with home automation
The thing I can't stand about technology is when you put too much of it, or when you think you are alternative and put it in the wrong place. For example, electrochemical windows on board airplanes (which then end up not working).
In this case, the really crazy thing was the switches. There were only two switches in this 100-plus square meter apartment: one in the living room and one in the wall at the entrance to the room.
I wonder how you can design a hotel room where to go to sleep and turn off the light you have to go into the hallway, if you get up and you don't want to wake anybody up and you want to go to the bathroom, to turn on the light you have to do it from the bedroom. Or you carry your cell phone like in the woods.
The lounge at W Abu Dhabi
I didn't expect a lounge in this hotel (normally there isn't one), but in this hotel there is something that replaces it. Also because the space that is called the W/lounge is in effect a lounge, not the executive lounge.
A part of the main restaurant is reserved for guests who have Platinum status or higher for evening happy hour. And we took advantage of it on the first night, partly because after wandering up and down the capital we didn't feel like walking around (and then, because if we can eat for free, we do).
Basically, a part of the main restaurant-the one that hosts breakfast in the morning and has the kitchen always open during the rest of the day-is reserved for elite guests and here you can eat and drink "on the house." Average offer, nothing special, but considering that it is included and I did not expect it, it was a nice plus.
W Hotel Abu Dhabi's Restaurants
The hotel has several spots including bars and restaurants.
As mentioned, there is the main breakfast restaurant, which also has a terrace overlooking the track. I think something unique in the world, because we are not talking about a street circuit like Monte Carlo or Las Vegas-this is a real racetrack.
There is a champagne bar in the hotel lobby, but during daylight hours it also serves as a cafeteria.
Then there are a Greek-inspired restaurant, "Pappas Taverna," and an international one.
There is also the W Lounge, which is somewhere between a night club and a cocktail bar. Finally, the two bars in the pools, which are called Net Decks here: one in Tower B is reserved for families with children, the other is on the roof of the main building and is adults only.
Swimming pools
As mentioned, one of the two rooftop pools is reserved for families. There is no shortage of space, although - I remind you - temperatures can be hellish even in "cool" months like February or November.
The other wet deck, as the pools in these hotels are renamed, is, as mentioned, for adults only.
Here, from Sunday brunch to DJing at all hours, you experience the true spirit of the W.
The pool is not huge, deck chairs and loungers are few, but that's not why you come to Abu Dhabi. And if you are here to party, you might want to be closer to the bar and DJ view.
Gymnasium and SPA
In the secondary building is a huge gymnasium, perhaps the best equipped gymnasium I have ever seen around the world. All lit up by the immense glass windows.
Room service
We arrived slightly hungry so we immediately tried the room service, of course by charging the expense to the room account so as to make points upon points.
The club sandwich is a standard I use, often, to compare different cuisines. Of course here we are in a Muslim nation, so there is no bacon, but it was an exam passed (almost) with flying colors, also because the service was really fast.
Breakfast
This was the biggest disappointment of this W. It looked like a hotel of a lower category.
No a la carte menu, but above all the misfortune of happening there on the last weekend before the beginning of Ramadan, with the hotel literally sold out. This meant living in an environment at the limit of capacity, with staff unable to handle all the guests present, and with a below-average gastronomic offering, not only for the category, but also for what is usually offered in this part of the world.
Waiting more than 30 minutes for an omelet, having to fight with other guests to be able to toast some bread, having to ask the staff each time (when you found them) to restore the supply of this or that product, which was brushed off even before the tray was placed on the buffet...
Sure, it's scenic to eat on the terrace, but you have to wage war with the seagulls and other birds. Here there is no-as happened in Bangkok, for example-the attendant who with sticks scares the birds away by defending the poor guest's plate Who got up to get something from the buffet.
There is really everything on offer, but it is like when you go to the supermarket: you find everything, but between top of the line and mid-range product there is a lot of difference.
In conclusion
The place absolutely deserves it, but I wouldn't go back there. Of course, probably in a normal room the switch is on the bedside table and not 10 meters from the bed. Sure, if it had not been sold out, life would have been quieter (and it is true, because on Monday morning everything was calm and relaxed). But the quality of the product was not top, the attention to detail absent.
This was the first time that a W - born W - did not satisfy me. Then again, not every doughnut comes out with a hole. But to be able to hide out here to watch the GP scrounge-that would be crazy cool.
