Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi has officially taken the top spot as my all-time favorite hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
It completely replaced my previous “best hotel ever.”
This Abu Dhabi staycation made me ridiculously happy.
Fair warning: I love this place, so yes, I’m about to talk way too much about it.
Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi
Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi
It’s in Abu Dhabi’s Marina area, which feels almost like its own little island neighborhood.
And right in front of it, you’ve got Marina Malltoo.
Abu Dhabi itself isn’t a huge city,
so if you drive around, this is one of those buildings you keep spotting again and again.
Like the famous hotel in Dubai,
Atlantis The Palm,
it has that dramatic open center cut through the middle, which makes it look so unique and beautiful.
Rixos is part of the Accor portfolio,
and even among luxury brands,
it definitely sits on the pricier side.
I kept thinking, when am I ever going to stay here?
But somehow,
I ended up checking it out in Abu Dhabi earlier than expected, which felt kind of funny.
One surprising thing about the UAE is that
five-star hotel rates can actually be cheaper than in Korea, so it’s amazing for a hotel staycation.
I was excited from the moment we started heading to the hotel.
These days, even pretty average hotels
get labeled five-star, but after staying here,
this one genuinely felt like the real deal.
Even the lobby is grand and gleaming.
I heard Rixos is a Turkish brand,
so maybe that’s why
there are little design touches throughout that feel distinctly Turkish.
The ceilings aren’t low at all,
but the space is so massive
that it almost creates the opposite effect and makes them feel lower than they are.
Even the chandeliers were incredibly unique and beautiful.
Here’s the check-in desk.
There was also a seated check-in area across from it,
but we only had humble Accor Plus Silver status,
so we checked in standing up. 🙂
Still, during this UAE trip,
I did manage to reach Accor Gold, which made me weirdly happy.
Platinum, though, is definitely out of reach.
My husband started handling check-in at first,
but then he had to run off for work.
So with my very imperfect English,
I somehow finished everything myself and got the keys just fine.
While checking in, I noticed a tablet screen nearby
showing all kinds of fun hotel programs and activities.
They generously gave us three keys,
plus welcome drink vouchers, and then we headed up to the room.
We had booked the most basic room category,
but because we were Accor members,
they upgraded us.
Sea view plus balcony room.
After coming to the UAE,
I noticed that in malls and hotels,
floor labels are often shown with letters.
This hotel also had levels like LG and UG.
That stands for Lower Ground and Upper Ground.
The main lobby is on UG,
and if you go down the central staircase in the lobby, that’s LG.
There’s also a Privé Lounge on the 37th floor,
basically like a club lounge,
but when I booked,
there was no lounge information listed at all, so I just reserved the standard room.
If lounge access had been available,
I definitely would have booked a room with access.
Later, I looked it up and it seemed like the club lounge might not be operating yet.
The hotel has only been open for about a year,
so maybe it’s still not fully up and running.
If anyone has actually been to the 37th-floor Privé Lounge,
please tell me in the comments.
Anyway, we got into the elevator to head up to our room,
and the doors opened and I was honestly speechless.
The elevator view was that good.
It already looks amazing in photos, but seeing it in real life feels even better.
There are a lot of elevators, and some don’t have windows,
so when we got one of those, it was a little disappointing.
Even the hallway felt exotic and upscale.
And during our entire two-night stay, it stayed wonderfully quiet.
Our room was 1109.Yep.
The rooms go up to the 38th floor, so this wasn’t exactly a high-floor room,
but as you’ll see in the window photos later,
it still felt more than high enough and the view was great.
Because the hotel has that huge open space through the center,
the guest rooms are split between two wings.
Room 1109 was in the east wing.
First, imagine a quick video room tour,
and now let me show you the details.
Right by the entrance,
there’s a closet, a luggage area,
and a huge full-length mirror on the wall.
I was so excited.
The keys include one for pool towels
and one for the room.
Make sure you check carefully before heading out so you don’t mix them up.
Even though this was a base room, it felt pretty spacious.
The bed was a generously sized king,
and the bedding was unreal.
The mattress was so good that I checked the tag,
but apparently I forgot to take a photo of it.
Anyway, it was a premium Sealy mattress.
There’s a TV across from the bed,
though compared to the room size, the screen felt a little small.
While we were checking out the room,
a bellman brought up our luggage smoothly and quickly.
Inside the closet by the door,
there was a laundry bag, a safe, and plenty of storage space.
There were disposable slippers, an iron set,
shoe polish, and bathrobes too.
Under the TV,
there’s a long console that doubles as storage and a work desk.
The shelf space was wide, which made it really convenient to spread things out.
At first I couldn’t find any outlets on the desk,
so I opened the drawer wondering where they were,
and there they were—a built-in multi-plug setup.
Straight-on bed shot. 🙂
The ceilings are high, and the mirror and lighting
were placed exactly where they needed to be, which made the room especially comfortable to use.
We also got a lot of use out of the armchair and small tea table.
It was comfy enough to feel like a little sofa, and great for snacks too.
Let’s look at the minibar area.
Unlike many hotels that now provide water
in refillable glass bottles,
I actually liked that this hotel gave sealed bottled water,
and I especially loved that the bottles were large.
There was also a Nespresso machine,
plus plenty of capsules and tea bags.
I drank some coffee and chamomile tea,
and when housekeeping came the next day, they restocked even more.
I had only been drinking the chamomile,
and somehow they seemed to notice and left extra of just that, which felt so thoughtful.
Written out like this, it might not sound like a big deal,
but that kind of attention to detail was noticeable throughout the entire stay.
The service level at this hotel is seriously high.
If I had to name just one downside
at Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi,
it would be the fridge.
The refrigerator door opened in the opposite direction from the outer cabinet door, which was slightly inconvenient,
but aside from that, I really had nothing to complain about.
Next up: the bathroom and toilet.
The bathroom alone
felt about the size of a small hotel room in Japan.
Having two sinks was really convenient too,
and the sink brand was Villeroy & Boch.
I didn’t even know they made sinks.
The toilet and shower booth were separated,
and the bathtub sat outside in its own area,
so it was incredibly easy for two people to use the space at the same time.
There were plenty of towels too.
Inside the toilet area, there was also a handheld bidet spray.
For a country like this,
you’d think electronic bidet toilets like the ones in Korea
would be everywhere, but they still seem to prefer the manual kind.
The disposable amenities were also very complete.
Soap, toothbrush kits, razors, cotton swabs, cotton pads,
shower caps, sanitary bags, combs, nail files, and more.
The toothbrush kit even included dental floss.
And now…
are you ready for the ocean view?
Ta-da.
Honestly, if they hadn’t upgraded us to this view,
I don’t think my satisfaction level would have been quite this high.
I was completely mesmerized by it.
It wasn’t just a standard sea view either.
Looking down,
you could also see the beautifully designed pool and gardens,
and that combination really made the view special.
I never thought I’d spend a hotel staycation
looking out over the Persian Gulf.
There are so many beautiful places in the world.
I took dozens of photos from here,
played around with different filters, and had the best time.
If your travel taste changes all the time like mine,
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are kind of perfect.
You get places that feel like a resort,
and then just a short drive away, you’re back in a glittering city.
I think that’s enough for the room tour,
so here’s a little preview of the pool and private beach.
Wow.
Seriously wow.
There were also frequent live music performances in the lobby.
Not just piano, but harp, cello, and more.
Different instruments were played at different times of day.
Marina Mall is only about a five-minute walk away,
and on the way there, if you pass the hotel’s main entrance parking area,
you’ll see a whole lineup of supercars. 🙂
Next time I go back, I want to try one of the higher room categories.
It’s actually not impossibly expensive most of the time,
but the dates we visited happened to overlap with a Chinese holiday,
so rates were unusually high.
Even so, if you think about paying around $520 in Seoul
just to enjoy an indoor hotel staycation,
this place still feels like a great value for a true luxury stay.
Oh, and one more thing: at the pool bar,
I thought I overheard something about an all-inclusive option,
so I asked the front desk.
They said the hotel itself
does not run its own all-inclusive program.
Instead, only certain European travel agencies
sell all-inclusive packages separately.
I would have loved to book all-inclusive if it had been available.
It sounds like the only Rixos nearby with its own
official all-inclusive option is
Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island.
So instead, we picked up a few simple things from the mall right across the street
and ate them in the room.
The window view was so gorgeous
that I even drank coffee out on the terrace despite the heat.
After swimming, we even had ramen in the room.
My next post will be all about the pool, so stay tuned.
If you’re planning a trip to Abu Dhabi,
please, please put Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi on your list. It’s that good.