I wanted to have a staycation with the kids at Anantara The Palm Dubai for a long time so, when a good offer appeared, I took it. Anantara is a big resort on The Palm Jumeirah, the main feature being a man-made lagoon. It offers several types of accommodation: room in a hotel, room in a villa – on the first floor with lagoon view and the best of all, the deluxe room with direct access to the lagoon. We went for the full luxury experience and booked a room with direct access to the lagoon.

From the room to the lagoon

Now, I give you another tip: try to get a room at the end of the lagoon, towards the main hotel building. The lagoon gets enlarged there and there are also fewer people. It felt like we had a giant swimming pool just for us. The room is large enough to accommodate a king-size double bed and we had an extra bed as well. The bathroom has both a bathtub and shower so it caters to everybody and especially for small children who love extra splashes.

Out in the lagoon

Every room has a nice terrace with a gate to get into the lagoon. It was too hot to stay on the terrace, but it is very easy to supervise the kids from there. It’s easy to enjoy a glass of wine at sunset and watch the kids with one eye while being busy swimming. And swimming in the moonlight… There are guards everywhere around the water, so we were more relaxed.

The kids also did a science experiment: they took two rocks and hit them against each other in the water and see how far away the sound can be heard. 100m away and the sound could still be heard.

It was too hot to go to the beach so we kept it only to the lagoon.

Dining at Anantara

When I book for holidays, I always book with breakfast included. The last thing I want to do first thing in the morning is to think about where to eat and start hunting for coffee. At Anantara, there is a breakfast buffet included in the room price and it’s abundant. Plenty to choose from and there are live stations for pancakes and eggs. I really liked the Arabic food there and my favourite, shakshuka, is freshly prepared. There is another option to have breakfast at a restaurant in the hotel and that was delicious as well only that it was set menu. But enough to keep us till almost dinner.

We had dinner at Mekong Restaurant. Lovely Asian food however a bit expensive but we used the Entertainer vouchers. I really loved how they serve the cocktails. It adds a bit to the experience.

Tips when booking at Anantara The Palm Dubai

Season tip: make sure you go there when is hot. I found a comment on a website that the lagoon water is not temperature controlled therefore, during the wintertime, the water becomes very cold and not enjoyable as much. Having the experience of my own swimming pool with no heater, I would say to go there between April-November.

Spending tip: many venues in the resort, from restaurants to spas, are in the Entertainer. For the beverage, the general one is enough but for the food, you need the Gourmet one.

We were there in September 2020. We booked for two nights with breakfast included. We paid AED 3,450 for 2 adults+2 kids, through a travel agency. Bookings can be done directly with the hotel as well – ask for promotions or special offers for residents (if the case) or with Booking.com.

Check our section Travel & Relax for more destinations in UAE and around the globe. Meanwhile, you can have a look at “Why we love Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa “.