The Amazing Atlantis the Palm Hotel Dubai

In November 2019 I was lucky enough to have won a place on a trip to the Amazing Atlantis the Palm hotel in Dubai. After 15 years in travel, this was only my second fam trip, and it has set the bar high! Anyone who has ever considered Dubai as a holiday destination will without a doubt have heard of the Atlantis hotel. An iconic-looking hotel with a distinctive arch between the two wings of the hotel. It sits right in the middle of Palm Island. Named so because it is a man-made island made in the shape of a palm tree!

First Impressions of Atlantis the Palm

We arrived at the hotel at about 9 am after the overnight flight from Heathrow. My first impressions of this place were just “Wow!” We walked the red carpet through the entrance into the main lobby area, where we were greeted by a huge glass sculpture. It’s so ornate, eye-catching and beautiful that it certainly does its job of impressing.

Once I took my eyes off that I noticed a mural on the ceiling depicting the story of Atlantis! This place is so on a theme it’s unreal. I don’t know how to describe it in one word, someone I met there described it as “Disneyesque”. Which does work and gives you a bit of an idea of how the theme of the hotel dominates its decor. There are sea shells on the ceilings, coral on the wall and even huge clam and pearl water features!

Once we had checked in to Atlantis the Palm we went straight to breakfast in the imperial lounge as we were staying in imperial club rooms. We sat out on the terrace in the lovely 30-degree sunshine and enjoyed breakfast from the buffet. There are lots of options for breakfast in the lounge. An egg station where you get eggs your specification in front of you. There are omelettes with lots of different filling options. Scrambled eggs are on the buffet with other cooked breakfast foods, cereals, yoghurts, bread, and curry.

Whatever you fancy for breakfast it’s probably there! Our rooms were not ready to check in on arrival. We were able to get changed in the imperial lounge before we headed off for the day at Aquaventure water park.

Aquaventure Water Park

I’ve stayed in hotels with water parks before but this place is brilliant. A full-on water park with lots of slides and a lazy river. We got to experience the luxury of having a private cabana for the day! The cabana gave us a private section of the park where we could escape the crowds and our waiter brought us bottles of ice-cold water.

This was absolute luxury honestly. So good to be able to get away from the crowds because Aquaventure is so busy. The queues for the slides were not excessive, the longest we waited was about 10 minutes. I am not a massive fan of slides but peer pressure got me on a few, including a shark attack! This is brilliant, as the slide ends in a tunnel through a shark-filled lagoon!

Imperial Club Room at Atlantis the Palm

After a light lunch of sandwiches and cheesy chips at shark bites café, we got into our rooms. I couldn’t wait to see it and I was not disappointed at all! As I entered room 11413 and was greeted by a gorgeous fresh fruit basket and the tea and coffee facilities. Immediately to the left was the bathroom. A separate shower and toilet then the main bathroom with a huge freestanding tub with sliding doors that opened up to the main bedroom!

The rooms have recently been refurbished to the highest standard, they’re immaculate. The room was even big enough to fit a table and chairs and a small sofa. Not all of the rooms have a full balcony, some have Juliet balconies. I was lucky enough to have a full balcony where I would sit out and see the amazing sunset each evening. My view was of the entrance side of the hotel. Being where the Atlantis the Palm is situated all rooms have an amazing sea view. A definite plus point.

Every evening we met at the Imperial Lounge for happy hour. A brilliant bonus of having the imperial club rooms, alcoholic drinks are all included for 2 hours each day. The staff are so attentive. They are very quick on refills and top-ups. There’s A good selection of wine, beers, spirits and cocktails included. It helped us all unwind each evening before one of the amazing meals!

Evening Meal 1 – Hakkasan

Evening meal number 1 was at the Amazing Hakkasan restaurant. This place is almost outside the hotel. On entering, I felt immediately relaxed. It is so beautifully decorated here. With the lights turned down low, the vibe is just chill! The food was the most amazing food I’d ever eaten honestly. The lobster and prawn dumplings to start blew me away. I could have easily eaten my body weight in them but then they brought out the vegetable pot sticker dumplings which did it again! Followed by sea bass and prawns – Everything a seafood lover could dream of really.

Then they brought out the desserts. WOW! I love a lemon dessert. When they brought a lemon tart out as one of the desserts that was the first one I went for. Delicious. The other dessert was one the staff had raved about. A chocolate dessert, almost like a Ferrero rocher filled with chocolate ice cream. Chocolate heaven on a plate! To accompany my meal I had a very very tasty lychee martini, highly recommended!

Lost Chambers Aquarium

Day 2 at Atlantis the Palm started with an access all areas tour of the Los Chambers aquarium. This was great, with loads of information, and a chance to visit the fish hospital. The aquarium is so huge and a main part of the hotel. It’s hard to avoid seeing the fish and it’s good to see how they are cared for and kept healthy.

We also got to see the food preparation areas too, the smell is not for the faint-hearted! This was probably the one activity I thought I wouldn’t enjoy too much. I found it fascinating to know how much work was put into looking after the fish. I fell in love with the baby rays in the nursery!

Snorkelling the Ambassador Lagoon

Activity number 2 of the day was my favourite thing for the whole trip. Snorkelling in the Ambassador Lagoon amongst the tropical fish, rays and sharks! We were given snorkels and wetsuits and as a group, we all got into the lagoon. It was so relaxing to be in there following them.

I swam around following a shark for what seemed like 5 minutes – could be 5 seconds in reality – but then I realised what I was doing and had a WOW moment! I highly recommend this as an activity. It costs approximately £80pp to snorkel and other options are available including scuba diving in the lagoon at an extra cost.

Lunch on day 2 was at the Kaleidoscope buffet restaurant. As it was a Sunday roast beef dinner with Yorkshire puddings was an option as well as the huge array of foods available daily with Asian, British, and continental cuisine. As always in Kaleidoscope the chocolate fountain and HUGE range of yummy desserts!

Dubai Mall

Typically for me, I happened to be in Dubai on one of the handfuls of rainy days a year. Our plans for the afternoon were scuppered so we headed off to the Dubai Mall. As is typical of Dubai this place is on another level. We only stayed for just over an hour but this gave us time to walk from one side to the other, and take a couple of photos then it was already time to head back again!

Huge doesn’t even begin to describe it. Home to another humongous aquarium and a great area to view the Burj Khalifa. It took us about 30 minutes to get here from the Atlantis by car and is well worth a visit for the souvenirs and those that like designer clothing stores.

Wavehouse

Our second evening started with the now-traditional happy hour in the Imperial Lounge and then we headed over to an evening at the Wavehouse restaurant. One of the recent new additions at the Atlantis the Palm. This place is very cool with neon light slogans greeting us on the stairway. The restaurant itself is bright and modern with a funky industrial vibe. Even the toilets are on theme with a free-standing bath as the sink in the middle of the ladies bathroom. The food was really good! The dish that was recommended was deep-fried Babybel so this was one of our many starters. We had the likes of burgers and pizzas as a main course.

After our meal, we moved to the back of the restaurant for a game of bowling. 4 lanes were available for us to play and then we headed upstairs to the arcade. It’s a big (and little) kids’ dream this place. Loads of fun and tokens in the arcade to win your dream prize. I won a tube of M&M’s but had a ball playing on the dance machines and 4d Virtual reality viewer. We headed to the deck after we spent up in the arcade, with a DJ out there we sat on the swings having a few drinks and some photo opportunities with the replica VW vans and had a nice chilled-out end to a pretty full-on day.

Day 3 at Atlantis the Palm

We began day 3 at the Atlantis the Palm with breakfast in Kaleidoscope. The buffet was just as impressive as it was for lunch the previous day, tropical fruits, cooked breakfast, curry and of course the chocolate fountain and pic’n’mix station!

The sun was back out to play on Monday morning so we had breakfast as quick as we could and headed to the Royal pool. Attendants were on hand to ensure we had towels and plenty of loungers were available by this beautiful infinity pool. With views over the beach and out to the city, on looks alone this place is stunning but the relaxed atmosphere was lovely with low-key music playing the help everyone relax.

ShuiQi Spa

To keep with the relaxed theme of the day we were lucky enough to experience a treatment at the ShuiQi Spa. Like everything at the Atlantis the Palm, the spa was out of this world. Stepping through the doors you immediately forget you are in a hotel in hotel in Dubai, with soft running water and relaxing music playing all helping you to unwind.

My masseuse greeted me and we headed down the corridor to the treatment room. The corridor itself was beautiful with a stream running down each side and steps over the stream to get into the room. It is simply stunning! The treatment was lovely. I had a neck, back and shoulder massage, the only problem I had was that it had to stop! Afterwards, I was guided to another room to relax further until I was ready to get re-dressed and join the real world. Tea and fruit were available along with magazines to read.

Bread Street Kitchen

Lunch on Monday was a case of saving the best lunch for last. Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen did not disappoint. The décor mirrors his warehouse-style London restaurant with a very “Cool Britannia” theme. Bicycles and Union Jack décor at the entrance. The food does not need any fancy décor, I still dream about the food I ate! I had a vegan Wellington, it was not something I would have ordered off the menu myself but it was delicious. It was followed by a vegan pannacotta I was in vegan food heaven! Not bad for a chef who has slated vegan food in the past, well done Mr Ramsay!

Dolphin Interaction

An afternoon of dolphin interaction was next on our jam-packed agenda. We hopped on a beach buggy transfer from the royal pool down to Dolphin Bay. Our group was told all about how many of the dolphins here had been rescued or had been born at the park. We were then allowed to play with the dolphins in the pool. Throwing balls and hoops and even the chance to have a kiss and cuddle with the beautiful animals.

It wasn’t the activity for me this one though, anyone who knows me knows that I have problems with activities like this and I just could not feel comfortable but this is through no fault of the park, hotel or the staff who were very much devoted to the well being of the animals, for me, I prefer seeing them in the wild and at a distance.

After the quickest shower ever we got a very special opportunity to see one of the two newly refurbished underwater suites. Built on three levels the first impression is pure luxury with huge windows to see above the ambassador lagoon whilst sitting in the living room and a winding staircase from the main entrance adding to the glamour.

We headed down to the lowest floor and the wow factor doesn’t do it justice, a bedroom with a floor-to-ceiling window that looks into the lagoon and a beautiful bathroom with a freestanding bath next to the lagoon too. Curtains are of course provided and times of cleaning are given to ensure privacy for the guests. These rooms are the star attraction of Atlantis the Palm. They are the rooms that everyone wants to stay in!

Seafire Steakhouse & Bar

Our final main meal at the Atlantis the Palm was in the Seafire steakhouse & bar. Concerned as I don’t eat meat I wasn’t sure what to expect from this restaurant but it’s another one that knocked it out of the park! I ordered the seabass it was the nicest fish dish I have ever eaten – and to say this two days after I had been at Hakkasan with those dumplings is high praise! Honestly, I could have licked my plate if I wasn’t as classy 😉

The meat-eaters in the party all had steak, and the noises around me sounded like they were all enjoying it a little bit too much if you know what I mean! they had a choice of sauces and even a choice of a knife to suit. There was a selection of salts on the table and a menu that lit up on opening, this place is another level! It’s not included in the standard Half-board but it’s definitely worth paying for the upgrade for a special meal. It’s one meal that I won’t forget in a hurry.

We ended the evening and the trip on the terrace of Wavehouse with a few cocktails in the warm evening with good friends made.

My Overall View of Atlantis the palm

All in all, I had a brilliant time and I am very thankful for the opportunity from work and Gold Medal to attend this. My mind has changed about Dubai from my initial fears that it may not feel safe to go out and about. I have never felt safer really, and the 7-hour flight from the UK is great. Far enough to get some real sunshine but close enough to not have jetlag, win-win!

Would I go back to Dubai? yes!
Would I go back to the Atlantis the palm? Definitely, with the kids but I definitely would do Imperial Club too, the benefits are such good value and add so much to the holiday and the experience.
The only thing that I would probably change would be the overnight flight if I was going with kids, it’s one thing to travel and stay awake for 36 hours as an adult but as with children, the tolerance levels would be lower!
Apart from that, for me this is the ultimate family indulgence break, there’s something for everyone here, and a few more days to explore the area would have been amazing, next time for sure!

You can read more about our other travels here.

Becky x