Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Situated along the Arabian Gulf, at just 12-minute boat ride from Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island and 60-minute journey from downtown Dubai, Nurai is a private island home of the exclusive boutique resort Nurai Island. Each of the 32 private and elegant villas is designed to blend perfectly into the landscape of the island with private pools and floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning ocean views. Guests enjoy luxurious in-room amenities, gourmet dining, high speed internet and dedicated butler service. Nurai Island offers first-class spa facilities with a wide range of treatments, as well as an exciting diving experience and water sport activities at the 5* PADI dive center. A wide range of activities and outdoor games for grown-ups and children make Nurai the perfect destination for young couples and families. Nestled among palm trees, 'Petit Z' is the island's custom designed kids' club. The island dining scene is composed of 4 bars and restaurants from a French-chic style fine dining to a relaxed pizzeria passing by a burger bistro and a rustic-chic restaurant, all guests will find something to satisfy their cravings. The Nurai Island Welcome Center is located just 10 minutes from Yas Mall, 15 minutes from the Yas links golf course and 30 minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
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Nurai Island hotel offers a range of luxurious amenities, including diverse culinary options and leisure activities, which are consistently praised by guests. While many appreciate the modern amenities and the tranquil, fun-filled atmosphere, some visitors have felt underwhelmed by the welcome. The value for money, however, is a point of contention, with numerous travelers expressing dissatisfaction over service issues and perceived overcharges.
Room experiences also vary, with reports of overbooking and discomfort detracting from stays, despite the well-equipped accommodations. Service feedback is mixed, as commendations for staff attentiveness are offset by experiences of disorganization.
Atmosphere
Inviting
Rooms
Uncomfortable
Value
Expensive
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Lavish
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10 min from abu dhabi By boat and you are in paradise. Before your short trip to the island you will be welcomed with champagne or soft drinks and it immediately sets your brain on the “vacation mood”. we Stayed for 3 days in 1 bedroom villa. The size of the villa is huge with a beautiful private pool facing the gulf. Super comfy bed that is very hard to leave in the morning) the villa is super clean and smells nice, you can find cute bicycles outside of your villa and its pretty cool idea to discover island riding a bike. Big plus is a free 30 min yoga in the morning, beautiful start of the day. Our spa experience was speechless, beautifully designed very warm and chic at the same time. Massage rooms is facing the water and you can hear smooth waves sound while you having massage. Breakfast was delicious, i have nothing negative to add), also We had yummy pizza at cute pineapple beach bar for lunch and had dinner at Mexican place and arabic restaurant (cannot remember what we had but the food was great :))) do not forget a very attentive and friendly staff. plan your trip and you wont regret it for a second. X
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What an awesome, peaceful getaway place for a vacation away from the hustles of the city. We were welcomed very well from the Welcome Centre, took the short speed boat ride to the Island. Welcomed so well at the Island, easy check in process. This place has a magnificent scenery garden, something not expected in a country that is most covered by the desert. The place is very clean and neat. Breakfast was excellent, enjoyed jet-ski, the all weather clean pool and the beach villas. The rooms are so clean. For other activities we would leave the island with the boat that transport guests every 30mins to and from the island and the welcome centre. I left my money no locked away at several occasions in my room whilst going out but not even a penny was taken. Would definitely recommend it to someone. Honesty stuff!
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Our villa was gorgeous! Few steps from bed to pool and another few from pool to ocean. Couldn't ask for more.
The waters on the island are Maldives-level turquoise blue and crystal clear. Divine. The highly heated private pool was also a dream for late night swims when it was chilly outside. Biking to and from our meals was a lovely plus as the island is not very big and the bicycle can get you anywhere.
The food was great and very varied, in five days we had Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Lebanese.. Chef Rana as well as chef Kishan + their team tended to our every craving! Also good to add that two of us are vegetarian and it was not an issue whatsoever.
The room service team was coming in multiple times a day even if just for a quick tidy or pool cleanse, etc. At all times everything felt orderly and neat.
You really don't feel like you are in a hotel, it feels more like a luxury summer home with the benefit of great restaurants and staff. Very homy and might I add it felt very covid safe as it seemed most of the staff was even vaccinated and on top of this most of the hotel was absolutely empty! Almost a private island experience.
Big thanks to Yulia for making our stay so lovely! And also to the new GM Nazik Amrani, looking forward to meeting again.
We will be back!
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Date of stay: February 2021
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Try to get a villa in the middle zone of the bay as the view will be more on the ocean and less...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have checked in yesterday, we have booked two nights for a beach villa , firstly the room is invaded by Ants ! Literally everywhere, on counters, coffee corner,bedsheets, toilet, sink ! When we complained and call the reception more than 5 times they send a guy from the housekeeping and started spraying the whole room while we we and the kids are in the room!! I couldn’t sleep the whole night from the the irritation To my breathing. And we woke up in the morning with the company of these ants. The room big doors to the balcony are poorly maintained where you can see big cracks and gaps in the sliding door where the doors won’t fully closed, we order the breakfast this morning in the room , one of the plates has an eyebrow hair !!!!! Toast bread was not fresh at all ! Very very bad experience so far !! With the high rate of this room ( around 4000 aed per night) we would have expected a higher service and more hygienic standards as we are living in a Corona situation where hygiene standards should have been raised to the Max!! This would not happen if we pay the same amount in one of Dubai high standard hotels!
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Zaya Nurai, General Manager at Nurai Island
Responded Aug 12, 2020
Dear Zeinajyl, Thank you very much for taking the time and posting your comments on TripAdvisor. We regret that we did not have the opportunity to address your concerns during your stay. I would like to thank you for bringing these matters to my attention. We hold our service to a high standard, and when we fall short of expectations, we work with extra focus on our service areas that need improvement. Once again, thank you for sharing your feedback with us, we all at Zaya Nurai hope that you will give us an opportunity to welcome you back to our hotel and restore your faith in the excellent services that we are famous for. Sincerely, Adib Moukheiber General Manager
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I came to stay with my sister for a weekend. The welcome was bad, very unorganized, felt like we’re in a camp and not a luxury resort. The staff is rude and act like they don’t want to deal with guests. The manager Mohammed was nice, probably the only nice and professional person in the hotel. I’ve tried emailing them in advance to arrange dinner but all my emails have been ignored and I had to ask for The dinner when we came. At departure we were rushed out of the villa, staff being rude again, nobody really cares about you or your comfort. After we left we received a call asking us to pay 500 dollars to replace bed sheets, pillows, and the duvet because my little sister was on her period and apparently stained the sheets a little. This was disgusting from their side as they kept making it sound like there is a blood bath, second blood washes off and we didn’t even see the stains when leaving which made us think maybe those aren’t even our sheets, third this is very rude and unacceptable to do this. I own a laundry and know for a fact that a bottle of bleach that costs 5 dollars gets rid of any stains. That in addition to charging for a boat ride to get to the island! We have to use the boat to get there so they use it to charge us? That, on top of very high prices, is honestly a rip off. Will never go back.
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Date of stay: May 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Zaya Nurai, General Manager at Nurai Island
Responded Jun 1, 2020
Dear D5417AOanastasia, Thank you very much for taking the time and posting your comments on TripAdvisor. We regret that we did not have the opportunity to address your concerns during your stay. I would like to thank you for bringing these matters to my attention. We hold our service to a high standard, and when we fall short of expectations, we work with extra focus on our service areas that need improvement. Once again, thank you for sharing your feedback with us, we all at Zaya Nurai hope that you will give us an opportunity to welcome you back to our hotel and restore your faith in the excellent services that we are famous for. Sincerely, Adib Moukheiber General Manager
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Spent one night there in the two bedrooms villa ( 503 ) night of 31st of October to 1st of November.
Service was really bad, staff was extremely rude and not helpful at all, very complicated to communicate with room service for food and drinks order.
They woke us up at 9.30 am to clean the room even if we told them to come later, they entered the villa and literally walked inside the room while we were sleeping.
Got bitten by some insects all night long and even found a cockroach in the minibar counter of my room.
The staff driving the golf cart are careless, driving way too fast. They even bumped into a tree while going reverse.
Went to the SPA to buy some swimsuits, staff not welcoming, kept giving bad looks to her co worker when we were asking for informations.
Only positive point of the island is the Mexican restaurant and its staff/ DJ that was SO WELCOMING and nice really enjoyed our night there.
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Zaya Nurai, General Manager at Nurai Island
Responded Nov 21, 2020
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for taking the time and posting your comments on TripAdvisor. We regret that we did not have the opportunity to address your concerns during your stay. I would like to thank you for bringing these matters to my attention. We hold our service to a high standard, and when we fall short of expectations, we work with extra focus on our service areas that need improvement. Once again, thank you for sharing your feedback with us, we all at Zaya Nurai hope that you will give us an opportunity to welcome you back to our hotel and restore your faith in the excellent services that we are famous for. Sincerely, Adib Moukheiber General Manager
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Great island resort. Beach has soft white sand, each villa has a private pool, and you won’t be disturbed. Villas are very well laid out with total luxury. The service, fantastic. Only down side with the current covid protections, the in room dinning was way under par, and very poor. On a call to inform, the service fell over.
Not a cheap experience but one you must do, would suggest when the island restaurants are fully open.
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Date of stay: May 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Zaya Nurai, General Manager at Nurai Island
Responded Jun 1, 2020
Dear Dipeshmak, First of all, I would like to thank you for choosing Zaya Nurai for your recent stay and all of your remarks that will be definitely taken into consideration. Here we are striving to deliver best service quality for our guests! I am really disappointed to know that we haven't managed to keep up with your expectations regarding our food and service! Due to the current COVID-19 situation and in compliance with Government regulations , we were obliged to close all of our Food & Beverage outlets, leaving only our In-Villa dining in operation, which unfortunately gave a big workload for the mentioned outlet. Being at that moment restrained by the space for food preparation, the orders unfortunately took longer times then they should. This situation has been resolved by expanding our space for In-Villa dining and will be hoping to see you back sometime in the nearest future, so we can provide you our absolute best to meet your expectations! Yours sincerely, Adib Moukheiber General Manager
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Truly amazing experience. We have stayed at all inclusive resorts across Central America over the last 10 years and this place puts them to shame. The island is beautiful, the rooms are spectacular and the staff are very warm and welcoming. We had really good experiences with Abhishek and Aban at Smoking Pineapple, Tereza at the concierge and Aman the host gave us an amazing tour, decorated our room with anniversary decorations and made sure to assist us with our every need.
The room one bedroom beach front villa was absolutely stunning. Way bigger than expected with a massive walk in shower, a King size bed center to the sliding doors and a decent size living room with TV. The private pool is heated and way bigger than expected. Also, the perfect height for standing with the water neck high ascending from 3.5 FT to 4.5 FT high. There is a fire pit directly in front of the pool that is wicked for night time relaxation. The private beach is secluded in a cove with 15 to 20 other villas having access.
The beautiful sandy beaches are clean, sea weed free and shallow for the first 20 FT or so. The pools are all heated to roughly 30 degrees and are super clean. There is a very large main pool and another smaller pool at Smoking Pineapple. During our stay, both were empty most of the time. Lots of water activities, a surf station, and a SMALL waterpark for the little kids to enjoy. They also have basketball and tennis courts.
The only downside is the quality of food and the cost of beverages. The food was nothing special although priced average in comparison to most dubai restaurants. Would have expected better quality meals for the price and stay in line with the rest of the experience. The drinks were amazing, but more expensive than they would be back in North America. For reference, a beer is 50 AED ($15 USD) and a pina colada is 100 AED ($30 USD). Wouldn't let this hold you back, just would either recommend having a sober getaway or planning to budget for a larger alcohol tab at the end of your stay. Lastly, have AED with you as the exchange rate is rated at 7% to 10%.
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Date of stay: December 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:beach access is key
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After a 1.5 hour drive from Dubai, and a 15-minute boat ride, we arrived at Zaya Nurai. We are half way through our stay in a 2-bedroom beach villa and so far it has been an exceptional experience. The staff are friendly, helpful and provide excellent service to the guests. Being able to Whatsapp for any services was convenient and meant we weren’t tied to our villa to communicate with the hotel.
Food has also been good so far. There is a good selection at breakfast, although it could be a bit better organized in terms of the buffet and having people serve you. We really enjoyed the Smoking Pineapple, which was a short walk from the 2-bedroom beach villas (the other villas and restaurants/amenities are quite far and require a buggy ride). They had great pizzas and the team at the bar were very friendly, adding to the great beach bar atmosphere. Room service has a good selection and the quality has been good.
The team servicing the rooms has been incredible! The care and effort they put into not only cleaning the rooms (inside and out) but also to ensure the kids have a memorable stay is wonderful. Our daughter and her friend celebrated their birthdays and the housekeeping team took the effort to do these masterpieces from flowers and leaves on the bed which really made them feel special. A big thank you to Rabi and his team (Isamka, Dipendra, Bahador, and Durga)!!
Ready to enjoy the rest of our stay and looking forward to our next visit already!
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zaya Nurai is the perfect vacation hotspot, there is nowhere else in the world quite like it. It is the definition of pure luxury and you are treated like royalty from start to finish.
You arrive at the welcome centre which is based on land in Abu Dhabi, here is where you check in and get your first taste of luxury as you are welcomed by a Verve Clicquot champagne bar as you wait for your speed boat to take you to the private island. You are then whizzed off to the island without a worry in the world (your bags are taken care of from start to finish and you literally do not lift a finger for the rest of your stay).
There are no bad rooms at Zaya Nurai, each one comes equipped with it's own private pool (and most with their own section of private beach – unless you have a water villa with it's own private boating dock). The bathrooms are amazing and have their own walk in power/rainfall shower, toilet & stand alone bath tub (that is easily big enough for two). In the two person villas the doors beside the bath tub open so you can bath with a view of the sea/beach from the comfort of your own room. The beds are super comfy, there are two wardrobes (with robes), a living space and lots of room to move around.
There are a number of different restaurants on the island, our personal favourite was the Smokin' Pineapple – it was perfect for people around our age (30's) as it had cool music and lots of Instagram opportunities (it is based on the beach and has its own pool – it's a very chilled out vibe).
At Zaya Nurai, no request is too much and everything is catered and assisted for. It was my husband's birthday when we visited and the hotel have different welcome packages to choose from. I opted for 20 helium balloons (over the bed) and a personalised cake which he loved and was super tasty!
Overall you will absolutely love your stay at Zaya Nurai and we are already jealous of your trip – we can't wait to visit again soon!
Instagram: @journeywithuss
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Date of stay: March 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:All rooms are amazing - you can't go wrong!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Middlesbrough, United Kingdom272 contributions100 helpful votes
Tbh, I don't think that the pool temperatures are capable of being set to cooling enough to beat the summer heat. That would be a very valid question especially since many of the pools have the sun shining directly on them.
Hello. Sorry for late replay. True that’s they could have update a bit the facilites and rooms but it worth it. And yes, not easy to get them. It’s not a big hotel actually
There are more places to choose from in the Abu Dhabi area.
PRICE RANGE
$1,661 - $2,026 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Zaya Nurai Island
LOCATION
United Arab EmiratesEmirate of Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi
NUMBER OF ROOMS
45
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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