Hotel4Real!

The Al Seef Heritage Hotel was a destination in itself. Located in the historic Souq Al Seef are in old Dubai by the creek, the rooms were scattered around in many separate buildings in the Al Seef area. Although I’m pretty sure the structures themselves were new, the sense of immersion was very strong upon arrival nonetheless.

The arrival experience was great, and getting there was surprisingly easy as the building where the lobby was located was right by the road with its own driveway. I was warmly greeted by the doorman, and the ladies and gentlemen at the front desk also welcomed me to the area and offered me an upgrade to a souq view guest room. As the guest room buildings were all located in a pedestrian-only area, after check-in, the doorman, Caesar, loaded my luggage into a golf cart, and drove me to my room. He was very positive, always happy to help or chat, and very knowledgeable. He managed to go over the history of the area as well as what the hotel had to offer and where all within the short 2-minute drive to my building.

The design of the public areas was intended to resemble a Dubai residence in the old days with all the modern convenience amenities hidden away, and I loved the overall vibes of the historic blocks, especially knowing that the glitter and glow of modern Dubai was just a short drive away. The same theme extended to the guest rooms, where there were many interesting design touches on a macro and micro level. Sitting in my bed, I truly felt I travelled back in time (in a good way!) living my life as a local resident in the 18th century.

The design touches made the bathroom quite interesting as well. Instead of the traditional glass and white marble countertops, here you’d find a generous application of stone, brass and wood. The colour coordination worked very well to highlight the historic feeling in my opinion.

Now, the design features didn’t come without drawbacks in my opinion. First off, the lighting (or the lack thereof) in the room was not exactly what I expected. The room was lit by a couple dim lamps that were designed to resemble old oil lamps, and it was very hard for me to walk around without hitting something as the room was smaller in size, and most furniture (including the bed!) had sharp edges – I ended up with bruises in both shins because I walked into the bedframe twice in a row =(.

I also had some issues related to the general cleanliness of my room, namely the dusts – some surfaces were not cleaned properly, seemingly for a while, and the dust did trigger my allergy. I ended up wiping down the surfaces myself.

Another bigger hiccup happened on my departure. I was told to phone the front desk for the golf cart, however I was not able to reach them through the hotel phone or my own cell phone, and ended up having to trek to the front desk with my bags by myself. I had done the 10-minute walk many times during my stay, but mostly after dark – not in the mid-day heat with ma few pieces of luggage. So as you can imagine I was not exactly happy or comfortable when I reached the front desk to check out. To my (pleasant) surprise, the same gentleman that checked me in the previous day attended to me. He took his time to listen to my rant and apologized profusely. He also asked for the pictures I took of the defects in my room and took some notes, and I felt very well heard and taken care of even though the departure experience was not exactly to my liking.

Despite the issues, I still came to the hotel excited and left the hotel satisfied. The hotel definitely has its charm, and offers a unique experience that’s wildly different from your classic luxury or premium offerings in the city. The team at the hotel, especially the manager that assisted me as well as Caesar, also made my stay very much better. Seeing how they were taking feedbacks seriously, I have full confidence to return, for a better and problem-free stay, next time I visit old Dubai.

RealScore

Service: 9.5

Design and Room Size: 9.0

In-room Amenities: 8

Bathroom Size and Layout: 7

View from (my) Room: 8

Hotel Location: 8

Available Guest Facilities: 7

Food Quality: 8

Food and Beverage Service: 7

Executive Lounge Quality: N/A

Final RealScore: 8.07

Final RealRating: AA

Hotel is built/opened: 2018

Total number of rooms: 190

Length of stay: 1 night

Membership level at check-in: Diamond

Room type experienced: Premium Room (better view)