For our one and only nights’ stay in Dubai, we settled on The Heritage Hotel, an Autograph Collection member, by virtue of both price and relative convenience in terms of walkability to – at least what we perceived to be – the centre of Dubai, that being the Dubai Mall.
First impressions of the hotel were positive, with a casual lobby area opening up to the reception counters on the right further inside. We were helped quickly and enthusiastically by JR, who checked us in and presented our room keycard even though we were a little early.
He also inquired as to our plans, what time we thought we’d need to check out the following day, and made a number of helpful suggestions, including letting us know how to walk to Dubai Mall and that, unfortunately, the famed fountain had been entirely drained for renovation works – typical.
One slightly tone-lowering aspect that I would like to think the property is above, is the real estate investment pitch stand found en-route to the lifts.
Our room, 224, was a Deluxe King with pool view, which as you can see below, we did indeed have, just about, once you gazed across the hotel atrium area.
The rooms are practical and compact, but made to feel quite spacious; aside from the bed, our room contained a number of wardrobes in line with the door, and no real ‘hallway’ as such.
Then tucked in behind where the bathroom ended was a workstation area and the coffee/tea making facilities.
One very significant drawback to the design of these rooms must surely be the ‘integrated’ bathroom, which lacks even a door into the sink and bathtub area from the bedroom. The shower cubicle and toilet cubicle both have doors, however the open nature of this setup means that anyone using the toilet or bathroom at night is almost bound to wake up anyone else in the room.
One thing this hotel definitely has however is the convenience aspect – it’s a few minutes’ walk to Dubai Mall, and we made great use of this convenience throughout the day, as we walked out to explore, then to get our evening bus tour, then again to explore the mall and surrounds by night.
We also made use of the pool facilities and again, no complaints. The pool wouldn’t be gigantic, but was always quiet the several times we visited and there were plenty of loungers available to pick from.
Staff were a mixed bag – JR was the consistent stand-out, while the other receptionists we encountered didn’t seem as enthusiastic or particularly friendly except when we were leaving, and similarly at the pool, nobody came by to ask if we wanted anything (though they definitely did for some others) other than to ask for a room number after we used the pool that evening.
Returning home that evening however, there was a problem. The open-air atrium behind reception seems to become very lively late in the evening – certainly we could hear plenty of noise and music from our room.
It was very audible and a real disappointment. I called the help center and at first, was simply informed they’d do what they could to lower the volume but that it was open until 3am. Hardly conducive to a good nights’ sleep. Another individual called me back shortly after to ask if the noise reduction was sufficient – it was not – and he promised to make another attempt.
Ultimately, the noise did reduce by quite a bit but it was still audible and very irritating. If one thing above anything else was to put me off staying at this hotel again, it would certainly be this. Rooms should either not be low enough for venue noise to be audible, or they should not face inwards given the atrium seems to echo.
Next morning, not as well rested as I’d have liked, we headed down for breakfast at the restaurant on the ground floor.
Breakfast is served in a very grand restaurant, and again, some staff were well-meaning and enthusiastic, and some weren’t quite – but on the whole there was a good selection of food, juices, tea/coffee and more than enough to sustain us for a few hours.
At check-out, once again, we were dealt with by JR, the side-effect of him consistently being first to interact with guests compared to the other two ladies manning the reception counter, who asked after our visit to Dubai, our onward travel plans, even going so far as to escort us to the doorway as our car pulled in.
And just like that, our very brief one night stay was over. The Heritage Hotel, Dubai, has a lot going for it – a lovely property, fantastic convenience and a handful of tremendous staff. But service was inconsistent, the open bathroom layout just seems poorly thought out, and the nighttime noise from the atrium and subsequent poor sleep put the tin lid on things for us. Realistically, we wouldn’t be back, much as there are a number of positives.
