These days, Dubai has a large number of very luxurious hotels & living just down the road in Abu Dhabi, we've been lucky enough to stay at just about all of them.

There are other desert hotels in Dubai but Al Maha stands way above the competition. It models itself on the top quality African Safari lodges and the whole experience is very similar to a safari - only with less animals! Everything from the variety of early morning & evening drives, game walks & adventure activities echoes the safari experience. The activities are excellent, the meals are superb & the standard of the suites is very high indeed but it is the staff that makes Al Maha stand out from their competitors. Not even at the Burj will you find such truly friendly & helpfull staff & for peace & quiet or a romantic break it is in a league of it's own.

You may not get all the high tech gadgets here that you will at other hotels but they go to town on the little details - not just 2 sets of bathrobes & slippers but 4 - for inside & outside use, free decanters of sherry, binoculars to watch the wildlife that wanders around your tent & even an easel & paints should you be artistically inclined.

Al Maha is not ostentatious like some of the big city hotels but it leaves them standing on exclusivity. Stay here if you want true peace & relaxation with wildlife, a fabulous setting & plenty of adventure thrown in. A unique package & well worth every penny.

Al Maha is a beautiful resort in the middle of Dubai’s desert nature reserve. We booked a private transfer with Al Maha and annoyingly you have to go to the Budget car hire counter to meet the Al Maha rep. Obviously Budget is more concerned with car rental and so we had to wait awhile before we were able to enquire about our transfer. The transfer was fine, as you would expect, but definitely worth while as the resort is literally in the middle of the desert and I’m not sure that a taxi would make it as easily to the resort as we did in a well kitted-out jeep.

We were met on arrival at the resort by our Guest Relations Coordinator (GRC) and Field Guide. Check-in was swift and it was explained to us that the Guest Relations Coordinator would look after our hotel needs while our Field Guide would look after our desert activities.

We were taken to our suite by buggy. Each suite is individually set on the resort and is made to look like a Bedouin tent but with a private pool with views over the nature reserve. Our suite (28) was absolutely beautiful and one of the most secluded, with solid wooden furniture and the biggest bed we have come across yet! The bathroom was also extremely big with both an oversized spa bath and shower with Bvlgari products provided.

The bedroom opens onto a large decking area which then leads to a lovely pool. Our suite in particular was often frequented by oryx and many different birds which added to the experience of being in a wild desert resort. Thoughtfully there is a mosquito-netted door that can be pulled across between the bedroom and decking area so that you can still have the door open and hear the birds but avoid letting the bugs in. As a side – despite there being a lot of flies and bugs, neither my husband or I were bitten once. The resort is kept very clean and although the bugs can be annoying and scary looking, they are harmless.

The food is fantastic! Breakfast and lunch are a big buffet and caters for all tastes. In addition, if there is anything that you particularly fancy the chef is happy to oblige. Dinner is a sumptuous 5 course spread, with a choice of 2 or 3 items for each course. Waiting staff are discreetly attentive and happy to make conversation if you wish to do so. On one night one of the waiting staff suggested that we tried an alternative Sri Lankan meal, which we agreed to and were presented with the following night to the envy of all the other guests! The Sri Lankan dinner was absolutely delicious and probably the best meal we had there! Would highly recommend that you try this.

My husband and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary on this trip and as a result of a passing comment, the restaurant staff presented us with a gorgeous ‘congratulations’ chocolate cake. Being full from dinner, they whisked the cake off to our suite and decorated our suite with rose petals and candles for our return with the cake taking pride of place.

Activity-wise you can do as much or as little as you like. Unfortunately our Field Guide, Simon, was busy with other guests on the first day that we wanted to do anything so he organised for us to do falconry and dune driving with his colleague, who was equally knowledgeable and happy to share in our enjoyment of the activities. To make up for this however, Simon took us out on a private nature drive and sundowner, which was fantastic! We got the impression that all the Field Guides are passionate about their work and the preservation of the nature reserve. All were also very friendly and liked a laugh but ultimately wanted to ensure that we enjoyed the activities.

Unfortunately the Guest Relations Coordinators (GRCs) are not as coordinated as you would expect. We had to request various things twice before we got them and in a couple of cases things never turned up. Also, we had already informed them that we had made arrangements for leaving the resort to a hotel in the city, but they manage to interfere with that by canceling it and organising an airport transfer instead. It was only because our next hotel had been so confused that they called us directly to seek clarification that we found out that Guest Relations had managed to screw up our out-bound plans. My advice is to not to let them anywhere near your onward plans unless you are booking an airport transfer with them. We soon found out that the best way to handle want you need is to speak to the individual elements of the hotel, such as laundry, room service, etc directly, instead of doing everything through Guest Relations as they suggest. Despite this though, the rest of the staff of the hotel more than made up for the mistakes of the GRCs. The cleaners, waiters, field guides and everyone else couldn’t do enough to ensure that we were enjoying ourselves!

All in all, Al Maha is a fantastic resort! Despite its tiny size and the fact that it is quite a busy hotel, we never once felt rushed to do anything, or felt like a face in the crowd. We were given a personal service at all times despite some hiccups with Guest Relations. We have already booked to go back and I would highly recommend a visit if only to experience the tranquility of the desert!

After the a week staying at the Mina Salam, it wa nice to get away from the hussle of Dubai.

We stayed in a Royal Suite, which had everything you could wish for, beautiful flowers, fruit, Sherry if anyone is into that.

The best bit though was the VIEW!, overlooking our pool was miles of desert.

tTe food was excellent and our hightlight was being taken into the desert for a picnic under the stars and left there, with a table laid with beautiful cutlery, flaming torches, rugs, candles, food such as gigantic prawns, fillet steaks, salads basically everything.

Only minus was the pool was very hot but the hotel tried to sort our the temperature controls very quickly.

this was our second trip to Dubai but we had never stayed in the desert so decided to spend 2 nights here after 3 nights at the Royal Meridien on Jumeirah Beach.
We had a 4 x 4 transfer to the resort which took just under an hour. From the minute we arrived we were treated like royalty from the welcoming party when we arrived to the same people waving us goodbye when we left.
Each guest receives a guest relations person and a field guide to help you organised your stay and get the most out of it. Samira and Paul were really helpful and we did 2 trips but could have done more if we wanted. You genuinely felt like you were encouraged to take part rather than it being a chore for them.

We did the sunset camel trip which was amazing, you travel out to the sand dunes by camel then sip sparkling wine as the sun sets before returning to camp. We also did the 4 x 4 trip first thing in the morning which was great fun!
Our suite was fantastic, so clean and comfortable with the biggest bed and bathroom I have ever seen! Having your own plunge pool was fantastic. We were never disturbed unless we requested something. There was always a golf cart on hand to transport us, we never had to wait for anything.
We ate in our suite and also in the resort restaurant, both of which were fantastic meals.
All staff were genuinely plesant and very helpful, nothing was too much trouble.
My husband and I both visited the spa and had a treatment, although it is tempting to stay in your room I recommend a visit to the spa!
Overall this is a very expensive resort, but drink prices are cheaper than those in the city and once there you pay for nothing apart from drinks. We will definately be back later in the year!