Hotel Review: Atlantis The Royal, Dubai, UAE

Location: A two-minute drive from Atlantis, The Palm, with Aquaventure water park sandwiched in between, Atlantis The Royal is located on Palm Jumeirah’s Crescent Road, lined with a 10km promenade overlooking the sea. From the balconies, guests can enjoy panoramas that encompass the dazzling Dubai Marina skyline, Palm Jumeirah and sail-shaped Burj Al Arab.

Rooms: Atlantis The Royal has 760 rooms, as well as suites and signature penthouses, and 44 of these have private infinity pools. Views frame either the Dubai city skyline or the Arabian Sea.

The sea-and-sand colour scheme is complemented by decadent white and gold amenities including a white-and-gold coffee maker, gold plastic toothbrushes, gold metal nail clippers, luxuriously fluffy white slippers and gold flip-flops. Toiletries have been created exclusively for the hotel by Graff. Entry-level rooms start at 55 square metres, housing en suite bathrooms with walk-in showers, twin sinks and freestanding tubs. Even the bathmats feel notably luxurious.

The six signature penthouses include the four-bedroom Royal Mansion, where Beyoncé and Jay-Z were the first to lay their heads. The three suite categories include Sky Pools Villas, which come with private infinity pools, swing chairs and sun loungers. Suite guests have access to the Royal Club Lounge, serving breakfast, complimentary afternoon tea and evening drinks. 

F&B: There are 15 fabulous restaurants and bars, each with its own distinctive personality. Serving refined British recipes from the 1300s, one-Michelin-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal leads the stellar dining portfolio, along with Nobu by the Beach delivering its premium sashimi to tables and cabanas, iconic New York steakhouse Carbone and Estiatorio Milos by Costas Spiliadis, where even simple vegetables and dips are transformed into something indulgently decadent. The taramosalata is divine, and the courgette tower is a masterpiece. 

Breakfast – as well as lunch and dinner – is served in Gastronomy, an impressive food hall offering a fresh take on all-day dining with a collection of tempting concessions. Each morning, chefs at open cooking stations produce steaming baskets of dim sum, pancakes, waffles, slabs of avo toast and molten cheese-filled pide bread.

Facilities: Royal experiences include swimming in glamorous pools, including those at Nobu by the Beach, the Royal family pool and the infinity rooftop pool at Cloud 22. You can indulge in retail therapy at the designer boutiques, from Louis Vuitton to Level Shoes, on the Promenade or turn back the clock with stem cell therapy at AEON Clinic. You can get hammam scrubs, massages and facials at Awaken Spa, work out at the shiny new Awaken Fitness centre and have hair and nails preened at Alkemy.

For kids, there’s the Atlantis Explorers Club hosting ages three to 12, a family pool with a splash pad, and access to neighbouring Aquaventure, the world’s largest waterpark and The Lost Chambers aquarium, located in Atlantis, The Palm, containing more than 65,000 marine animals.

Double rooms start from US$900 in low season. Atlantis The Royal, Crescent Road, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE; 04 426 3000. For more information, visit www.atlantis.com/atlantis-the-royal