Dazzling Dubai - Grosvenor House Hotel

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A few weeks ago, I had the extraordinary pleasure of visiting the futuristic, beautiful city  of Dubai. This is the first of three posts about my experience. This one looks at the delightful Grosvenor House Hotel.

After our seven hour flight, we finally arrived in Dubai. We were shocked by  the surreal skyscrapers that lined the sometimes 14-lane-wide highways. It almost felt like something out of Star Wars - the buildings were so clean and futuristic. It's hard to believe that less than 50 years ago, Dubai was practically a desolate desert area, but has now flourished into a bustling cosmopolitan metropolis.

The hotel we stayed in was the 5 star Grosvenor House Hotel. It was incredible. Our room overlooked Dubai's marina and was large enough to be a private villa! The attention to detail was splendid - from fresh fruit and water daily to even a complimentary shoe-cleaning service. The large beds provided the perfect night's sleep,  and the furnishings were lavishly beautiful with no expense spared.

All of the hotel's staff were very attentive - never missing a chance to give you a smile or check you were having a great day. The hotel's facilities were incredible too! From a choice of over half a dozen restaurants, an in-house spa, gym and beautifully peaceful pool area (despite enjoying the pool in the heart a buzzing city, it was still wonderfully calm and quiet with soft music playing in the background from the pool bar), not to mention housing one of the top ten best restaurants in Dubai (Trip Advisor), there was so much to do that we could have easily spent the whole week in the hotel.

As we were only there for a week we could only try so many of the restaurants. The first was the Buddha Bar which although may sound peculiar was perhaps the most chic and stylish restaurant and bar I've been to. With bouncers at the entrance, the Asian restaurant felt more like a club whilst still providing a glamorous dinning experience. As we entered the darkened rooms, the vibrant red and orange lights created an exciting atmosphere which was heightened by the enormous golden Buddha and red lantern chandeliers that framed the central dining area. However, my one criticism was that, our actual dining area felt a little underwhelming after having seen the grand golden Buddha statue and lantern ceiling as, unlike in England, smoking is still permitted in public places in Dubai, and unfortunately we sat in a separate part of the restaurant whilst smokers got the benefit of the grander furnishings. However, the exquisite food more than made up for the less showy surroundings.

To start, I tried my first 'real' sushi which was delicious - crisp seaweed mixed with the delicate flavours of the rice, prawns, crab and spices to culminate in an explosion of flavour.

For my main, I had 'Wok Seared Cantonese Beef' (beef tenderloin, Cantonese barbeque sauce, broccoli, red wine confit onion, served with steamed jasmine rice) which was amazing. The dish looked delicious when it arrived but tasted even better as the rich barbecue sauce mixed with Cantonese spices and sweet confit onion, the flavours were intensely satisfying and sublime.

For desert, I refreshed my palette with 'Champagne Slow Cooked Berries' (poached berries served with white chocolate mousse). The sweet-sourness of the fresh summer berries were a sublime compliment to the delicate white chocolate mousse - the perfect desert for such a splendid meal.

Overall, a truly excellently chic experience which I would recommend to anyone visiting Dubai.

We also ate at Rhodes W1, a chicly English dining experience and Toro Toro ( a bit like a less dark Mexican Buddha Bar). Both meals were delicious and glamorous with extraordinary attention to detail and class.

Overall, the experience of the Grosvenor House Hotel was unforgettably relaxing and exciting. It provided a wonderful, professional and attentive service; a hotel I would stay at when I next visit Dubai.

Pictures: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g295424-d1510514-Reviews-Buddha_Bar-Dubai_Emirate_of_Dubai.html#photos, http://www.rw1-dubai.com/gallery, http://www.grosvenorhouse-dubai.com/en/gallery/Pools + own editing on paint. Own pictures.

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