I stayed at the Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai in September 2020. Given the intense Dubai heat and humidity during the summer months, I knew it would be a quieter stay than if it were during the winter months. As it was also during the pandemic, hotels were down to just 30% capacity.
What started as me booking the Zabeel Saray Spa for a day of R&R quickly turned into me booking a night at the hotel and having a mini staycation.
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About Zabeel Saray Hotel Dubai
This hotel is located on Dubai’s man-made island, the Palm Jumeirah, and is part of the Jumeirah Group, an Emirati hotel chain. The chain has 24 hotels and resorts across 8 countries, 10 of which are in Dubai. The most iconic of the Jumeirah Group hotels is The Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
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First impressions are everything. My car door was opened for me and I was greeted by a very smiley valet staff member. Valet is free for guests. I handed him my key and proceeded to check in.

The lobby is nothing short of exquisite. The Zabeel Saray is decorated in a Turkish theme (in fact ‘saray’ means Palace in Turkish).
The Room




The room décor may have been a bit much for some people, but I felt it tied in with the Turkish theme. It had an array of amenities – safe, bathrobe, slippers, Nespresso machine, LCD TV, balcony, seating area.



First thing I always look at in any hotel room is the bathroom and this one didn’t disappoint! It had a shower room, a separate toilet room and the bath….. You could literally sit in the huge marble bath and take in the stunning Persian Gulf views, right there from your bathroom!

And finally was the view from the balcony. While you can’t see it in this picture, there is a small green area between the barrier of your balcony and the wall in front. This hasn’t really been maintained very well and could do with some gardening, but otherwise the view of the Marina towers and Bluewaters Island is spectacular.
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The Restaurants
Breakfast is served at the Imperium restaurant, a stunning dining room lined with columns and impressive chandeliers. While they do have a huge selection of food for your everyday diner, there wasn’t a massive selection of gluten free or vegan breakfast alternatives.
There are 9 restaurants to choose from for dinner, with a wide range of international cuisines – Indian, Lebanese, British, Mediterranean to name just a few.
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The Zabeel Saray Spa
This was the main event for me, it’s why I booked into the hotel to begin with. I wanted a hot stone massage and I’ve found that there aren’t that many spas in Dubai who offer a good hot stone massage.
The Zabeel Saray spa is a Talise Spa, a chain of award winning spas in Dubai, and is the largest spa in Dubai.
I don’t have any photos of the spa as I left my phone in the locker room so that I could 100% switch off and immerse in the tranquillity. I’ve never understood those who bring their phones to a spa!
I got there a couple of hours before my massage appointment. As I was there mid-week, it was fairly quiet so I had the pool and Turkish Hammam pretty much to myself before my treatments.
My reason for choosing a hot stone massage is because I have read they are beneficial for people with auto-immune diseases. I told my masseuse this and she told me that the hot stones they use for their massages are from a volcano in Bali and are said to have healing powers!
I opted for a 30 minute facial too. While I’ve been lucky to not have had much skin issues in the past, recently I’ve found the air conditioning to be drying out my skin. This was by far the best facial I’ve ever had and there was no sign of any dryness for about a week after.
If you are minded, they do sell the products they use in their spa so you can attempt to have the same result at home – I didn’t purchase any myself as I know I wouldn’t put in anything like the effort my therapist had!
The Pool & Beach Area



While it was too hot and humid to lie on the beach (as you’ll see from the empty loungers), I did take a walk on the Zabeel Saray’s private beach.
There is an indoor pool in the spa and a stunning outdoor pool facing out onto the beach.
What I Loved
- The spa
- The service given by all staff
- The view from my room
- The room style & comfort
- Early check-in & late check out
- While I didn’t use it, every guest gets a free pass for Wild Wadi Water Park and there’s a shuttle bus that can bring you there
What I Didn’t Love
- It can be a little tricky to get to if there is traffic on the Palm as you have to drive all the way down to the end of the Palm before driving back up the western crescent. It is worth the drive? Yes. The view of the Marina towers and Bluewaters Island make up for the fact that you have a bit of a drive to get there.
- On checkout, I paid for some extras and the man asked me how my stay was and if there was anything they could improve on. I told him I am a very picky customer and am never 100% satisfied BUT that I honestly couldn’t find anything that needed improvement. If I were going to nit-pick, I would have preferred if they asked how my stay was before asking for my credit card to pay for the extras. But as I said, I’m very picky and it wasn’t a huge deal at all!
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Would I Recommend The Zabeel Saray Hotel Dubai?
The Zabeel Saray made this question very easy for me. Yes! I would 100% recommend a stay at this hotel. You can book your stay here.
Have you stayed here? Does it sound like somewhere you’d like to stay?
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