The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi

We were due to check out on the day airspace was closed due to missile threats, with government alerts instructing everyone to immediately shelter indoors. Within 12 minutes of that alert, I booked an additional night at the hotel as we had no way to leave. When I got to the room, I realised the rate was almost double the previous nights. It did include a better view and larger balcony, but given we were required to stay indoors and it was 6pm, this added no real value. The following day, with no flights available for at least another two days, I moved to a different hotel. On arrival, they asked why I had left St. Regis and informed me that my stay could potentially have been covered under a government support scheme, something that was never mentioned to me at checkout. I was then told the scheme only applied if I had remained at the same hotel, resulting in additional costs. After returning home, I contacted the hotel. They initially claimed I had booked my room before the missile threats, which I disproved with timestamps showing the booking was made after the government alert. Despite acknowledging this, they maintained they could not confirm the booking was related to the situation and declined any goodwill gesture - even though we all heard and seen missiles being intercepted in the sky that day. The hotel also confirmed they were made aware of the government support scheme on the Saturday evening, and I checked out on the Sunday. Despite this, no one informed me of it at any point, and I was later told it was my responsibility to ask if I wanted to be included (in a scheme I wasn’t aware of). Given the circumstances, active missile threats and airspace closure, that position is hard to justify. The response throughout was a repetition of policy rather than any willingness to apply judgement in an exceptional situation where guests were unable to leave. Only after escalation to Marriott International was a gesture offered in the form of resort credit, valid for 12 months. As I have no plans to travel within that timeframe, this has no value. Our local government still advises against all but necessary travel. The stay itself was fine when everything was normal. Faced with a situation like this, the hotel chose to rely on policy rather than judgement.

From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel incredibly welcome, and the level of service throughout our stay was outstanding. A very special thank you goes to Mr. Brandon Sequeira at the front desk and our Butler, Ahmed Abdelrahman, who both went far above and beyond to make our stay very special. Their professionalism, warmth, and attention to detail made all the difference and turned a wonderful stay into a truly memorable one. We are very grateful for their kindness and dedication, and we very much look forward to being back again soon.

We arrived on the 24th February shortly before the hostilities started. The hotels is lovely with beautiful restaurants serving excellent food, lovely swimming pools and a glorious beach. More importantly, the staff here are first class. From the guys who welcome you at the entrance to take your bags to the staff in the restaurants and bars to the guys at the pools and the beach, to customer services: they are the kindest most caring people you will meet anywhere. The war could have ruined our stay. We did have to leave earlier than planned but during our stay we were looked after by joyous, fun loving but very professional people who must have been affected by what was happening but never showed it. We sincerely want to thank these people who we have always considered our friends , since we visit regularly, as well as the General Manager, Arun Narayanan, for making all this possible. There are so many people in the hotel who we would recognise for going above and beyond: the brilliant Parami and Ali at the front entrance, Oshen,Stephen and Samuel at the pool/beach, the lovely Chrystal and Shin and their teams, the very special Kirti, Lalit and Mukesh in the Olea Restaurant and all their team, Manjita and Noor at Sophia,our good friend Akil in the Buddha Restaurant, Tina in customer services who was an absolute joy and Jude, Chan and the brilliant John in Manhattan. We hope to return one day when everything gets back to normal but, in the meantime, we will be thinking of them all and hoping they stay safe.

Went for Dinner in Sontaya . As always the setting and food are beautiful. Thank you to Shwe for making our evening a wonderful experience.

We were disappointed and genuinely shocked by some of the unprofessional service during our stay. Check in was functional, not a warm friendly welcome. At the Sofia lunch restaurant the experience was inconsistent. On our first day, daily specials were offered, but the next day, no one mentioned them. When we inquired about the risotto from the previous day, the response was a casual “Oh yes, it’s still available,” plus our drinks were finished and it took ages to ask for one more and get another. It was not busy. Additionally, one staff member incorrectly informed us that we could not sit outside if ordering wine with lunch due to Ramadan. We accepted this without issue, but upon arriving at the restaurant, other staff confirmed that outdoor seating was perfectly allowed with wine. So sitting indoors would have been far less enjoyable. The spa is dated and the lady who checked me in and showed me the changing facilities looked really miserable. She must’ve been having a bad day. However the therapist Malikha was fantastic with the treatments. The Hotel checkout process was particularly poor. We had prepaid our full accommodation, so only extras needed settling. The staff member had no record of this and attempted to charge us again for the room. When we pointed this out, she blamed a “glitch in the system” rather than resolving the issue promptly. She then disappeared for several minutes, leaving us waiting awkwardly in the reception area. The hotel itself is elegant in design, but the interiors feel very dated and offer nothing particularly noteworthy or luxurious. So with so many exceptional options across the UAE, the management urgently needs to invest in comprehensive staff training, to match the property’s potential.