Suite Novotel, Mall of the Emirates
Suite novotel is linked to the ibis mall of the emirates in Al Barsha, within a stone’s throw of Mall of the Emirates, set back from the Sheikh Zayed Road. Whilst a lot of construction is going on in this area, it is not without its charm, and for convenience you can’t go wrong. It is ten minutes from beautiful beaches, Madinat Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab, and no more than 20 minutes from Dubai centre.
Suite Novotel is designed with flexible living in mind. The idea is that the space can be used to suit you. The rooms, which are larger than your average hotel room, can be divided up into separate sleeping and living areas with pull-across curtain partitions. The design is fresh and modern, with splashes of colour amongst more subdued creams and beiges. In the largest suites, a rotating TV is at each end, so you can watch it from wherever you are sitting. Curtains separate the beds. Rooms may contain a queen-size bed, a sofa bed and a single bed. This is ideal for families with several children, and what we like is that style has not been compromised in any way. Bathrooms are modern and stylish.
The restaurants are shared with the Ibis – the Italian restaurant, Amici, is contemporary and chic, but don’t expect gastronomic delights. Breakfast is a buffet, and there is a wide range of food to suit all tastes. If you prefer, you can have it in your room at no extra cost. The Deli Boutique is a trendy little cafe. Ezaz, the lounge bar, is a laid-back place to unwind during the day or evening.
The gym on the roof, whilst small, is light and airy, and a nice pool area is surrounded by foliage. As it is linked to the Ibis hotel on every floor, guests from both hotels are free to wander between the two and make use of the facilities in each. However, Ibis guests are not able to use Suite Novotel’s e-corner and have to pay to use its pool and gym.
The Address Dubai Marina
We can’t help but feel that the location of this hotel misses the point of being in the Dubai Marina. Sure, you get great views of the yachts below, but you are a good 15-minute walk from the sea, although the large, infinity-edge pool on the fourth floor goes some way to make up for it. If you don’t mind a stroll, though, you have the open beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence and the cafes and shops of The Walk quite nearby.
The hotel is also attached to the Marina Mall, which is a more manageable size than most of Dubai’s mega-temples to consumerism and has an edited selection of fashion and lifestyle stores and a small selection of cafes.
The hotel itself has an upscale French restaurant, Rive Gauche, which has received consistently good reviews; Mazina, which has live cooking stations where you can eat your way around the world; a poolside cafe that turns into a DJ bar at night; and Blends – a moodily-lit bar with a cigar room.
The guest rooms are the cream and cappuccino colours that the group has made its trademark, with floor-to-ceiling feature windows. The hotel has very good conference facilities, with a ballroom that can accommodate 1,000 people, and 15 meeting rooms.
