Life & Style | Travel
Life's a beach
Dubai is a haven for serious sun, sea and sand worshippers, which is why the city's big hotels are making their beach clubs ever more inviting.
- By Emma Procter, Features Editor
- Published: 23:04 July 10, 2009
- Make the most of the pool and beach life before the sun goes down
- Image Credit: Supplied Photo
Right now, the sun may be blazing at its fiercest in this part of the world, but that doesn't mean that those of us who live and work in Dubai don't want to get outdoors when we have some precious free time away from the office.
But although the city offers plenty of decent public beach areas, when the outdoor thermometre reads above the 40 degree mark, sunbathers tend to want a few facilities to make it a day of “fun in the sun'' rather than human pot-roasting.
This is why over the past few years Dubai's hotel beach clubs have become so immensely popular. To be honest, the beach club concept actually seemed a bit odd to me when I was a new arrival 18 months ago — why would you pay just to have the privilege of using a pool and being able to get a few drinks?
It just shows you how wrong you can be. Now, somewhat unfortunately for my bank balance, it's one of those regular Dubai indulgences I can't survive without.
Kick back and relax
A friend and I recently decided that we needed a spot of serious sand time and so opted for a jaunt to nearby (when coming from Dubai Marina) The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina.
This huge, still fairly new, five-star hotel cuts an impressive dash on the Shaikh Zayed road and is now something of a landmark. So with beach bags packed stuffed with the requisite factor 35 sun-cream, trashy magazines and flip-flops, we eagerly headed to the resort for a day of not doing a lot of anything.
The Westin's very chilled-out beach club is set on a lengthy private stretch of Jumeirah Beach and offers nice views over the Arabian Gulf. We found a lovely quiet spot on one of the swathes of green lawn, complete with comfy sun loungers, fluffy towels, mammoth umbrella and sea-facing view.
Everything catered for
We were booked in for a one-night stay at the hotel itself, but day visitors can have use of all the facilities for Dh250 per person at the weekend (Friday and Saturday) or Dh175 in the week (Sunday to Thursday). And this is what “beach clubbing'' is all about — the facilities.
Agreed, it's not exactly cheap to do it, so most of us can probably only splash out on a monthly basis, but for your dirhams you do get genuine comfort and a way of really enjoying the high temperatures with ending up in A&E.
For example, at The Westin, you get full use of the gym, fitness studio, steam room, sauna and plunge pool, beach volleyball courts, four tennis courts and six swimming pools.
You also, blissfully, get beach waiter service — which I suspect is the real seller for all the beach clubs. Who wants to go and stand in line for their own sandwich or cooling drink when it's 43 degrees? No-one sane, that's who.
Sunset and sundowners
All that lying down — with the occasional stroll to the sea (I'm not completely idle) — left me and my pal feeling distinctly peckish, so after watching a lovely sunset we headed for a few pre-dinner drinks in the hotel's glamourous Senyar lounge and then for a hearty meat feast at Hunters Room & Grill.
The restaurant is all about the quality of the produce and you won't go wrong (vegetarians look away now) with one of their special aged beefsteaks.
There is a nice and thankfully not overwhelming selection of house beverages too and a pleasant open kitchen that's enjoyable to just sit and observe.
Dining shouldn't be about effort at this point after all, if you're trying to hold on to your state of inner calm after a day kicking back in the sunshine.
Speaking of inner calm, the resort is also home to the popular Heavenly Spa - if you're in the mood to really spoil yourself rotten. The gorgeous facility offers a sigh-inducing range of treatments including the rollerssage massage which my friend tried out earlier in the day.
The blissful treatment combines the deep Swedish massage with heat applied by a special tool to relieve tight muscles and also incorporates the use of heated semi-precious stones.
Most of the big hotel beach clubs have spa facilities on site, as well as decent restaurants and evening venues — so it's really up to you, budget permitting, how much you want to pack in to the day.
And so a day of intensive enjoyment was complete, it was time to retire to our suite. The spacious rooms are light and elegant with a neoclassical feel.
But what you remember is the beds. They're huge — even the alleged “singles'' and we both slept like babies. Although I'm guessing hours and hours of sunbathing, pampering and eating probably helped.
Restaurant specials
Running until August 20, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina is offering these special summer prices for diners:
Sunday
- A 3-course a la carte meal at Hunters Room & Grill with the best house beverage on tap for Dh375 per person
Monday
- Budget drinks hour from 6-9pm at Senyar with 50 per cent off all beverages
Tuesday
- Oeno lounge offers all ladies three free glasses of best house beverage from 6-9pm
Wednesday
- A 3-course meal at Spice Emporium and a complimentary bottle of house beverage
Thursday
- Dh125 per person at Bussola for a 3 course lunch
Friday
- Blue Orange is offering a Dh222 — food only or Dh333 per person including beverages
Saturday
- “Afternoon Tea'' at The Atrium. Order a traditional afternoon tea and get a second free (offer available every day of the week)
Heavenly deal
The resort is also offering a Heavenly Summer spa package of Dh777 that includes: use of the heat facilities prior to treatments, welcome foot ritual, a body treatment (55 minutes), massage (55 minutes) and a hand treatment.
A complimentary beach pass for use on the day to the value of Dh175 is also thrown in. Offer valid until September 20.
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