Short Break: Al Ain Rotana

Every time I've mentioned going to Al Ain, people have always told me that the Al Ain Rotana is the place to go, in fact, I've really heard nothing but good things about the hotel, so of course when we decided to go and spend a long weekend in the city a couple of weeks ago, the Al Ain Rotana was the obvious choice. 

I've been to Al Ain a couple of times before, but just for day trips either from Abu Dhabi or previously when we lived in Dubai, but I'd never had much time to really explore the place before. And Al Ain is one of those places, that the more you start reading about the place, the more things you find to do there - and I was really excited to go and explore it for myself - there's really a lot to do there and so much amazing history with some incredible sites to visit, but more about that later.

The Al Ain Rotana is in a great location if you're interested in getting out and about as it's perfectly located almost right in the middle at close distance of most of the main sights.

Of course Al Ain is also known for not being as built up as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and many of the buildings are quite old, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the hotel but I was very pleasantly surprised.

We stayed in the newest part of the hotel, in the Falaj Wing. In fact, since my mum was also with us we had both a Falaj studio for her, and an adjoining Falaj suite for ourselves - pure luxury!

The rooms were beautifully decked out with everything we needed and there was loads of space - always great when travelling with a baby! I really loved the large dining room table in our suite too, we do love a bit of room service after a busy day sightseeing (or even after a day spent just lazing around, decadence is what breaks are all about isn't it?!) and the table just makes it so much more comfortable an experience. Especially also since my Mum was travelling with us, it meant we were able to have her join us for our very own private dining experience in the evening!

It's really the perfect family set up - you can put the baby to bed and still enjoy your evening with plenty of space for everyone to relax. The Falaj suite even has its own kitchen, perfect for stashing leftover baby food in the fridge, and a microwave for any reheating or sterilisation needs. It just made life a lot easier all round.

And as well as keeping us well tended to, the hotel loves kids too! Baby Arabian Notes was greeted with the gift of an Al Ain Rotana camel, mini monkey and a lion which he was delighted with - and of course they made the perfect companions for our afternoon trip out to the nearby zoo!

Guests staying in the Falaj suites also have a separate pool and shaded kids pool at their disposal too (which I might add are all heated to a divine temperature), complete with its own swim up bar and pool dining area.

And should you feel like a change of scenery you also always have the option of the main hotel pool at your disposal - ooh, we love options (it's also heated to perfection)!

The Al Ain Rotana is also home to the popular Trader Vics, so whether you're after a couple of cocktails, a leisurely meal or a knees-up at the bar you'll be well catered for here.

If it wasn't for the fact that there was so much to see and do in Al Ain we'd all have been quite happy to laze around the hotel all weekend and just relax!

And whilst we did manage to squeeze some all important relaxation time in, it was quite a busy weekend with so much I wanted to see in the city! We did make it out to visit the zoo (amazing place, you can't miss that if you're visiting Al Ain with family), Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum, Al Ain National Museum, Souk Al Qattara, Jebel Hafeet and the recently opened birthplace of Sheikh Zayed, Qasr Al Muwaiji to name just a few of the available sights and activities.

Al Ain is a truly spectacular and interesting place, so much so, I'm going to have to tell you all the details in another post but here's a few images to keep you going in the meantime...

So that's all for now, but if you're interested to know more about what to do in Al Ain watch out for my post coming up on that very soon!