Stay Report: Doubletree Hotel & Residences Dubai - Al Barsha (April 2017)

Stay Report: Doubletree Hotel & Residences
Dubai - Al Barsha
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We had a day layover in Dubai and wanted to stay at a hotel that was next to a Mall as well as next to the metro station so that we could move around.  I decided to try the DoubleTree Hotel & Residences, Dubai Al Barsha as its located near the Mall of the Emirates. The Mall of the Emirates is a very large mall (where Ski Dubai is located) so there is access to food, clothes, services, and a grocery store.  The mall is also a stop on the metro thus providing easy access to the train.  The hotel has very good customer service as they responded quickly and were willing to work with me when I emailed them questions regarding my stay.  That was a positive sign of the hotel.  Overall, the hotel provides a nice comfortable stay in Dubai with nice amenities.

The hotel located in a building by itself, and is advertised as both a Hotel and Residences.

 As you enter into the hotel, you enter into an open atrium.  Immediately in front of you are chairs to sit and lounge, while to the right is a coffee bar and restaurant.  To the left is the check-in desk and in front are the glass elevators which take you to the room.  The lobby itself is somewhat narrow, the atrium makes it feel bigger but overall the hotel looks a bit older that some of the other hotels I have seen in Dubai.  Check-in was smooth and we received our key to our room (plus directions to the Mall).  There are two sets of elevators, but they were both in the middle and both led to the same direction.  We were on the 4th floor, and on the 4th floor the elevators were separated by a glass door so in the end it did not matter which set of elevators you took. 

The first thing you notice when you enter the room is the long entrance-way.  The entrance way from the door to the actual bedroom is very long and very wide.  The room is shaped like an L, with a long entrance way that leads to the bedroom. For us, everything was on the right side of the entrance way as on the left was a wall and a door leading to the next room.  On the right side was the entrance to the bathroom, followed by two sets of big closets, and then a nook area that had shelves on top as well as a coffee maker and fridge on the bottom.  The closets were very big and housed a safe, an iron plus ironing board, slippers, as well as plenty of space to hang clothes.  

The bathroom was very spacious and had all the basic amenities including a sink, a toilet,

and a shower.  There was not a lot of counter space on the sink, but there was some space above the toilet (be careful nothing splashes down or up).  The shower was bit tricky to work out as the same handle operated both the shower as well as the hand-held.  It took a few (wet) tries to figure out which direction went for which mode.  The was also not covered, as there was only a glass partition for half of the shower.  I am not sure why hotels do this as it causes a lot of water to spill out, thus creating a mess for the guest and the housekeeping.  

Considering the size of the entrance-way, the room itself was a bit narrow.  As you entered into the room area, there was a L-shaped couch with a table in front of it.  Had the couch been a bit bigger it could have fit a sofa-bed - the couch itself was decent but the table was a bit out of place as it was very big so you could not sit at the table and pass around the table at the same time.  On the wall opposite the couch was a ledge that led to the TV stand, and this was also connected to the desk.  The ledge provided a lot of space to put your things, but the TV was oddly placed as you could not move it so you couldn't see the TV from the couch, only from the bed.  

The beds were two twin beds with nightstand in the middle.  Since the room was narrow, there was no room to move on the other side of the bed, so both persons had to move in the same direction which made the room feel even more cramped.  The beds themselves were comfortable and provided a decent night sleep.  The AC in the room also faced the beds, so if you were sitting on the bed you felt the breeze but if you were sitting on the couch you could not.  Next to the bed were switches to control the lights, but you could either turn off all the lights or keep them all on.  There was no option to turn off just the bedroom lights and keep the hallway lights on.  There were plugs available next to the bed and near the desk, but that was about it - no USB ports available.      

The hotel itself is located behind the Mall of the Emirates.  There is no connection between the hotel and the Mall, and there is a lot of construction between the hotel and the Mall which cuts off a direct route.  To get to the Mall from the hotel you have to exit the hotel and go around the construction and enter the hotel through the parking garage near the grocery store.  Overall it's about a 5-7 minute walk and there are many people walking as you pass through a residential neighborhood.  There is also a shuttle to the Mall as well as to the Beach which runs every 2 hours.  

The hotel is a full-service hotel with lots of amenities including meeting rooms, a business center, a fitness center, a pool, steam and sauna rooms, as well as coffee bar and restaurant.  We were only there for one-day so I was not able to try out the facilities, but they looked really nice and well-maintained.  The business center was near the meeting areas and provided a nice and quiet place to conduct business and any potential meetings.  The fitness center was also nice and well-maintained and had enough equipment for a good workout.  The pool was outside on the 1st floor and was surrounded by the views from the room, but the pool was decent given the hotel.   There is also free wifi, with an access code, and the speed was decent. 

Overall, it was a pleasant stay at the DoubleTree Al Barsha.  While it looked liked an older hotel, the rooms had been properly updated and maintained so it provided a nice rest.  The layout and narrowness of the room, in my mind, made it good for one night but not sure if I would spend more here.  The hotel does provide good customer service, lots of amenities, and of course the DoubleTree cookie :)