Business Traveler in Abu Dhabi

Business traveler and WTBE guest blogger Diane Rudis reports on her recent visit to the luxurious Rosewood Hotel located in Abu Dhabi.

The Rosewood Hotel is a great destination for the elite business traveler coming to Abu Dhabi. On Al Maryah Island, it is located in the future central financial district of Abu Dhabi though many of the buildings are under construction. The plan for growth in the area had been slowed due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2007/2008. The Galleria Mall is a quick walk away. The mall has all of the luxury retailers / designers that you can think of for fashion, jewelry as well as high end time pieces.

The hotel boasts great views of Abu Dhabi and offers impeccable service for the business traveler. The rooms are very nice, with a cosmopolitan, modern type elegance. You have the option to have a kitchenette, which we opted for since we are here for 5 weeks. The kitchen is filled with appliances, dishes, knives, silverware, and most of the things needed for making simple meals.

We also ordered room service really enjoyed the food and service that we received. They came back within an hour to clear our room of the dishes.

The staff here is very good. We were especially impressed by the restaurant staff, ironically both of them were named Hassan at the Cava and Sambusek (Lebanese). They were very helpful and knowledgeable about food, wine offered at the restaurant as well as internationally. The Cava wine list was very diverse and slightly expensive. We are finding wine to be a bit higher price all over the UAE though.

The front desk associates are very professional and helpful when it comes to typical questions and requests. Most of them are pretty good with English, but once in awhile, you may connect with someone who may not understand you.

Residences – furnished / unfurnished rentals available

Not only does the Rosewood offer hotel rooms, but they also advertise rentals for furnished and unfurnished apartments for rent. We had inquired numerous times with the front desk about the residences on the property as we are looking to rent a place for few years. They front desk would say that the residence manager of that was not in today, but they did take time to show us a few of the furnished rooms that were available for rent. The staff did not know the prices, and referred us to the manager who was not in. The next day we asked to speak with him and he was on vacation. We then asked for someone else on staff who might be able to help us with the rates and we finally spoke to the manager of the person on vacation. He told us the 1 bedroom 900 sq. ft. was available to rent for 275,000 AED annually, but did not know any of the details on availability, nor did it seem that he was willing to negotiate. It would be cheaper to pay the hotel rate annually. The hotel also offered unfurnished as well as furnished. When we inquired to the unfurnished, one staff member said there were some available and another said nothing was available. In the end, we just felt that no one knew what was going on with the residences and it did not seem that they were anxious to get them filled up.

Amenities:

• The pool is very nice and relaxing; a great place to hang out after a long day. There is a large bar outside and a food menu. We ordered off the snack menu which was quite good.
• The fitness center is also very nice. Upon request you can get one of the professionals to assist you with your work out plan during your stay.
• The salon was advertised to be open, but it’s actually under construction.
• The internet access is an extra fee unless you have negotiated a free rate and it is very slow, which is frustrating for the typical business traveler.

If you’re a business traveler going to Abu Dhabi, The Rosewood Hotel offers great amenities in a comfortable environment.

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