Hotel Insider: Marriott Hotel Downtown, Abu Dhabi

A suite at the Marriott. Courtesy Marriott Hotel Downtown Abu Dhabi

The welcome

The hotel is a slick new 25-storey building on the corner of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed and Hazza Bin Zayed streets, but there’s no direct access from the intersection, meaning I have to do a circuit of the entire block. I arrive at reception at 4.20pm, and having been told that check-in is at 3pm, I’m surprised and slightly irritated when a staff member tells me my room still isn’t ready. It’s suggested that I wait for 15 minutes and I’m offered water. The water doesn’t materialise and I tell staff that I will take a look at the rooftop. It’s a nice space with good views, but the pool is full of tourists throwing inflatable balls around. I go back downstairs and tell a staff member there I’m still waiting for water, and he goes to get it for me.

The neighbourhood

The hotel is situated at a busy intersection, diagonally opposite Al Wahda Mall. There are no real local attractions, but it is centrally located, making it a better bet for business than holiday guests.

The room

My room, one of 315, is a club “suite” on the 13th floor, though it’s really only one large room with a bathroom attached. There are views towards the western side of the city; it’s nice and quiet and everything works, though the windows don’t open and the pillows are too flat. I’m told that there’s no pillow menu. I’m surprised that at turndown, staff haven’t replaced towels or tidied up the room. At night, the bathroom night light doesn’t go off, so I call maintenance and a staff member attends, saying that he needs to go away to get more tools, then returns.

The service

The hotel is new when I stay, so the service is less than assured all round; some staff members seem to be much better than others, and you learn to hone in on the enthusiastic and genuine ones.

The scene

The hotel seems to attract business and leisure guests, but for either category, the hotel’s glossy lobby, pleasant restaurants, spa and rooftop area offer plenty of different spaces. The facilities are also open to residents of a next-door block of 64 hotel apartments, which is also new. In the hotel, there’s also a decent club lounge, for those who have access to it.

The food

The all-day dining restaurant, Kuzbara, does a very good buffet breakfast (Dh144 per person, including taxes) and an Asian night buffet on Wednesday evenings featuring a selection of curries, sushi, Indian chaat and rice dishes (Dh204, including taxes). Also worthy of note is the sports bar Velocity, which has a delicious selection of chicken wings – I love the honey barbecue ones (Dh35 for six) and the fries loaded with cheese and chilli (Dh40).

Loved

I have a great Thai massage in the Saray Spa, with a therapist from Phuket, though at Dh408, including taxes, for a one-hour treatment, it would take a special offer to make me go back. For the price, the food at Velocity is excellent.

Hated

When busy, Velocity is too smoky. The view from Kuzbara onto the main road and traffic below is uninspiring, and the Wi-Fi in this restaurant is patchy.

The verdict

Considering the rates, this is a good deal and brings a much-needed dose of standardisation to an area peppered with less-stellar hotel brands.

The bottom line

Double rooms at the Marriott Hotel Downtown, Abu Dhabi (www.marriott.com) cost from Dh510 per night, including taxes.