The Dubai Marina area has become much more bustling over the years, and has attracted many quality hoteliers offering options in all kinds of price ranges. As a result, when I chose the InterContinental Dubai Marina, being one of the more prestigious options, my expectations were high.
The arrival experience was standard. I was greeted at the curb, and my luggage was promptly taken care of by the door team while the lead bellman guided me to the front desk. Check in was efficient, the gentleman that checked me in did seem quite new but he was doing the best he could to be courteous and graceful. Though, I was surprised to hear that no room was ready in the category I booked, especially considering I arrived around 5pm. Thankfully, after some persuasive work, I was offered two upgraded options free of charge (which I was entitled to as Diamond Ambassador, so I wasn’t too sure why the “persuasive work” was necessary), and I chose a marina view premium room, albeit on the lower floor.
The room itself was decent, well appointed and coordinated, but I did struggle to find something special, like the other UAE properties I experienced during the same trip. Even though the room was on a lower floor, I did quite enjoy the marina view, especially at night. The location and accessibility was perfect as well, with the tram right downstairs.
The bathroom was standard as well for the category. A traditional toilet and bidet combo was available, and the shower room was very spacious. I found the “hole-less” shower heads particularly interesting, and water pressure was on par with, if not better than, the traditional “holed” designs.
The restaurant was located on the second floor, and I chose to have breakfasts here every morning during my stay. The food quality was decent, and service was great. However, consistently, the restaurant was fully packed with big lines out the door up until the end of breakfast hours, except for outdoor patio seating. I made the mistake of skipping the line and taking a table outside on the first morning – not only was it unbearably hot with the sun beaming down, the amount of seagulls and pigeons trying to steal my food was something I’d only seen in cartoons. It took two poor servers half an hour fanning and shooing so I could finish the meal, and unfortunately, despite their top effort, I did lose quite a few pieces of pitas. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and stood in line the next morning for a table inside.
Overall, in spite of the hiccups both inside and out of the hotel’s control, I enjoyed my stay here even with higher expectations coming in. Yes the lack of local-ness and personal touches was slightly disappointing, but downtown InterContinental properties generally specialize in entry-level value-oriented luxury, and this property did quite well in that regard. Want more? Go to a Ritz.
RealScore
Service: 7.0
Design and Room Size: 8.5
In-room Amenities: 8
Bathroom Size and Layout: 10
View from (my) Room: 8
Hotel Location: 9
Available Guest Facilities: 10
Food Quality: 9
Food and Beverage Service: 9
Executive Lounge Quality: N/A
Final RealScore: 8.25
Final RealRating: AA
Hotel is built/opened: 2015
Total number of rooms: 328
Length of stay: 2 nights
Membership level at check-in: Diamond Ambassador
Room type experienced: Premium Room (better view)
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