I was deciding between the Millennium Hotel and one of the Salaam Crystal hotels for my first stay (5 nights) in Abu Dhabi, and finally decided on the former for two main reasons: the location (near the Corniche, nice views, seemed within easy reach of most places I would want to go), and the great price I found on Olotels. I had read the reviews about the questionable service, but decided to try it for myself; I wasn't planning on spending much time in the hotel anyway.
I arrived in Abu Dhabi in the morning around 7.30am,and was at the hotel by 8.30am. I didn't know if they would have a room ready for me, but asked anyway (I had requested an early check-in when I made the online booking). The wait for check-in was slow, about 10-15 minutes, but this was probably due to the fact that there was only one person at reception (in fact, this was the case throughout my stay; whenever I went to the front desk or looked over, there was only ever one person on duty!). Once I was seen, the receptionist said they could have a room ready for me within a couple of hours, and also upgraded me to a junior suite on the top floor without any charge, which was great. He also offered the use of the health club facilities so I could shower and freshen up in the meantime, which was very helpful. The room was ready by 11am, and that was with me lingering around reception and reminding them that I was waiting! All things considered, they got my room ready early, which I appreciated.
I was in room 1609 which indeed had lovely views over the Corniche and sea, but the windows are only in the living room area, not by the bed (just a personal preference, I would have liked to wake up to the view). Also, note that this room is right next to the lifts, which keep operating well into the night, if not all night! If you are a light sleeper, avoid this room because the noise will drive you crazy; if like me you generally sleep soundly, then you should be fine.
The room was impeccably clean, I mean with particular reference to the important things: bed, linens, towels, but also everything in general. There was one exception: I received a dirty sheet (had some light marks on it) one day and it wasn't changed the next day (I didn't ask, though, I just switched it with the upper sheet which was perfectly clean). Other than that, the cleanliness standard was high, and I am very fussy about this!
The negative points:
- Housekeeping is hit-and-miss, I found it to be quite unresponsive and not very consistent. On the second day of my stay, the blanket on the bed was removed and not replaced. I called Housekeeping and they said they would send somebody to see to this. 20 minutes later somebody turned up, and after making a couple of calls said that there were no more blankets available that night as they were in the laundry, and they would give me another duvet instead until the blanket was replaced the next day. I called Housekeeping the next day to remind them about the blanket (they had not replaced it when they cleaned the room) and they said they would notify somebody to deal with this. I didn't hear from anybody again. On top of that, there was a turn-down service some nights, one others it. It all seemed a little haphazard.
- there is free wi-fi but it is pretty poor. It was quite frustrating to have it in one part of the room and not where the bed was! The connection in the Emirates Palace and Shangri-La was much better.
As a general observation, the service overall - from front desk to concierge to Housekeeping - just seems to lack polish and that extra level of professionalism. It's not a chronic problem at all, and if you don't spend much time in the hotel you will barely notice it, but it's not quite 5 star service. It certainly wouldn't stop me from staying here again, although I was not reliant on the staff for anything during my stay and would not expect to be for any future stay.
The positive points:
- lovely, clean rooms
- the location. It's in a great spot for reaching different places, and I could walk easily to the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre (for tat-shopping and browsing the gold shops), and if you're feeling energetic you can walk to al-Wahda bus station for buses to Dubai, and also the al-Wahda Mall (nice and quiet, but the Marina Mall may be better). Otherwise, buses will take you to the main malls and bus station from Hamdan Street (one road north) or New Airport Street Street (the first road running perpendicular if you turn right out of the hotel). The are also plenty of fast food places a short walk away, on Hamdan Street. Taxis are also inexpensive, and you can get to Abu Dhabi Mall for approx 10 AED, Marina Mall or Emirates Palace for around 15-20 AED, and the Grand Mosque for approx 35 AED.
Regarding the hotel, I would not hesitate to stay there again, and it would be my first choice when returning with my family.
