There are these moments in my traveler’s life where I just feel I have to go for a certain thing. In June 2021, for example, I just had to drive a Ferrari while in Maranello. In May 2021, I had planned to have a look into InterContinental Dubai Festival City anyway. However, the prices for the suites were at a level that I just had to have a look into the one bedroom ones.Here is my review of the hotel and the suite.

 

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Location

InterContinental Dubai Festival City is located right North of Dubai Festival City Mall. The best way to reach it is by car, there is a free parking garage and free valet parking. Dubai Ferries also cross the creek, the pier is just a few steps away from the rear hotel entrance.

Apart from the services provided by the hotel, the main services are of course offered by the mall. Apart from shopping, you have some really nice dining options. There is also a water fountain and light show driven by Festival City – the hotel is thereby used as a projection space. If you wander why the suite room is facing the creek and not the water show, that’s one of the key reasons. Right next to the InterContinental, there is also a Crowne Plaza Hotel. If you are an IHG Hotels fan, you might also opt for the less posh Holiday Inn around.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Atmosphere

The hotel is a luxury stay, for sure. Shopping already starts in the hotel premises. Typically, the hotel is connected to the mall, but the link was closed during my visit. Strolling along the waterfront of the Dubai Creek is also a real beauty.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Club One Bedroom Suite

I booked and received a Club Intercontinental One Bedroom Suite. The room was 1119.75 AED, roughly 260 Euro. The rate included breakfast and was a flexible rate. The suite was amazing. The living room area was super-spacious and had a lovely sofa and a beautiful working area. The corner of the room featured a nice bar, there was also a cozy lounge seat when you want to relax. The work desk featured international plugs, which is very handy.

For some reason, the hotel thought that I am on an anniversary trip. Nonetheless, I really loved the swans made of towels and the heart of roses on the bed. The sleeping area with a separate dressing room was lovely, even though it felt a bit of compact compared to the huge living area.

Bathroom: Bathtub with Dubai Creek View

The bathroom was just amazing. The heart of the room was the lovely bathtub right at the window, so that you could relax while enjoying the views of life at Dubai Creek. The bath area had some rather unusual features. First of all, the water mixer was on the wall, but the water came from the ceiling. A posh waterfall-alike feature, but if you added some water while sitting in the tub, it is a bit of inconvenient due to the force of the water and the location of the water controls). The shower was in the same room as the bathtub, but next to it (i.e. the area where you entered the bathtub was the area where you had a shower). I had that design in few other U.A.E. hotels as well.

All necessary amenities (and some more, like mouthwash) have been provided by the hotel. The toilet was on the opposite side of the bathtub. Furthermore, the suite featured a guest toilet next to the entrance.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Breakfast / Food

The Club level room gave me the choice to opt between breakfast at the lounge or the “normal” breakfast buffet. I went for the buffet at the Anise restaurant, right at the reception. Not as many options as in other places, but the breakfast was really really good. Like in all other places I stayed in in Dubai during the pandemic, you had a serviced buffet, where a waiter gave you your selection of items. I really enjoyed the start of the day with a lot of fresh fruit, but also breakfast dishes from all other the world.

There are, of course, multiple other options if you long for food. The most fancy one is likely Pierres Bistro And Bar, driven by three Michelin star Pierre Gagnaire. A nice option is the Vista, as its terrace gives you a view of the Dubai Creek.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Executive Lounge

The top floor executive lounge also featured the reception desk for the club rooms. The lounge was awesome – a nice retreat with a beautiful design and different kinds of seating. I loved to sit next to the window and enjoy Creek view. I did struggle with the service at one visit: during the lovely afternoon tea, there was just too few staff, so that the poor ladies had no chance to really serve all people. The service came with delays, but had good quality. In “normal” times, you would likely self-service, which is much more efficient.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Sports

The hotel is posh, no doubt – but at the pool area, InterContintental Dubai Festival City is simply at its best. The pool area is lovely, I visited it multiple times. I liked it most in the morning, but the evening, when the sun has set and the area is illuminated, you cannot say it is not beautiful as well. There is also a small infinity pool area, which gives you a view of Dubai Creek. Not too surprisingly, the pool area was quite crowded during my visit – but it was no issue to find a cozy place. Unfortunately, the reception gave me slightly wrong pool hours as well (just by 30 minutes, but it was a bit of bothering for my evening swim).

I struggled a bit to take some more / good pictures of the gym – it was just too frequently used. This part of the hotel is definitely nicer than the pictures suggest.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – Services

The service in the hotel was overall excellent. It did struggle a bit with one of the club level receptionist. Her French accent was just quite hard to understand (even though I work for a French company). She was very friendly and helpful, though. I did not explore any other service issues. The WiFi worked very well. As said above, for some reason the hotel thought that I have been on an anniversary trip. I even got that chocolate tart completely unexpectedly – I would say that this plate contains more calories than I had the whole remaining trip. But it was really awesome.

 

InterContinental Dubai Festival City – My View

The hotel did a really good job. That’s just what I expect when I take an InterContinental and opt for the suite room category. The room was an absolute beauty. I loved the amazing living room and the beautiful views – even from the bathtub. There were some lacks of services, which almost made the hotel slip out of the Top Pick! ratings. Finally, the stay was just too good, though.

 

Luxury Hotels

Here are all my postings related to Luxury Hotels:

 

Flyctory.com about Business Class & More

Here are all articles related to Business Class and First Class travel: