Anantara Downtown Dubai Hotel

I had high expectations because Im a big fan of Anantara Resorts and I've been a Discovery member for years now. This is my first Anantara hotel experience and it fares poorly. The only upside is the F&B breakfast team at Ziya, everyone is attentive and warm. Thank you for making our stay at least a bit more meaningful.

Now on to the negatives, the lobby arrival area always seems so overstaffed but sadly none actually is being helpful. Everyone seems to be looking at their phones or talking to each other. I arrived with a baby, a toddler and an elderly, along with 2 strollers, a backpack and a luggage. Apart from checking in, none seems to be helping with door and help with strollers when our hands are so full from carrying baby, holding a toddler and carrying bags. This happened everyday during our stay when we arrive in taxi.

Room is newly renovated, but the small things doesn't work: during our stay - the bathroom curtain is stuck, the sheet smells damp and mouldy (like wet socks), no battery on the scale although that was quickly replaced after informing one of the staff, shower gel bottle is completely empty upon check in, hair dryer not working (even the replacement dryer isnt working). They're minor inconveniences, but they all add up. The sheets are not changed during housekeeping even when there are obvious stains & smells on it.

During check out, the receptionist asked how my stay was. I said honestly there are a lot of room for improvement as having stayed in Anantara many times before - this is not the experience I expected. Surprisingly he smiled and agreed with me that this hotel is nowhere near the resort experience and he also doesn't seem to be bothered to ask what areas the management can improve on and just brush my comment aside. He said something along the line of "When I go on holiday, I would also choose resort over hotels if I want a good experience". This left me puzzled because are you saying the brand Anantara holds no standards at all? With SO MANY beautiful hotels in Dubai, sadly there won't be a second visit here.

It's a very nice Property At an excellent location Very neat and clean with big room sizes Staff is too good and courteous and HELPFUL