Experience the ultimate Dubai stopover at Atlantis: The Palm, a palatial desert oasis where world-class water parks, immersive aquariums, and luxury wellness facilities create a mythical playground for both energetic children and relaxation-seeking parents.
The air is thick in Dubai. It’s not just the heat, but the sand that blows in from the desert. it sits like as an ever-present haze. “It only clears up after it rains,” the driver of our airport transfer reveals, as if hearing my inner voice ponder whether it was pollution. “It pushes the sand down from the air and for a moment, you can see for miles.”
It hasn’t rained, but glimpses of our destination still emerge from the haze between the tall buildings that dominate the journey. Like a mythical fortress, Atlantis: The Palm yanks your eyes to its unique shape and refuses to let go. Even at a distance it looks huge; it looks wonderous; it looks fun.
In truth, I’d seen it years earlier, during a work trip in 2009 close to Dubai’s city centre. There it was thrusting out of the Persian Gulf like a mirage. I knew then that I must see it for myself and that memory crossed my mind once more as we edged ever closer.
Our transfer was a bubble of excitement, despite the sun still being many hours from waking up. The whole family a chatter of energy – three kids, mum and dad. I already knew we’d made the right decision.
For years we had transferred through Dubai on our to-and-forth journeys to Europe. But it’s a long haul, especially with kids. It’s not good for your body to sit that long cramped in a seat, eating poorly and glued to a TV. So, this time, we had decided to get out and explore Dubai?
Could Atlantis: The Palm live up to the dream? We were about to find out.
Everything and more
Atlantis: The Palm isn’t just a fancy five-star luxury waterfront hotel… as if that wasn’t enough, right? It’s also home to the biggest water park in the world. Aquaventure; the Lost Chambers aquarium, which holds some 65,000 animals in a 11-million-litre water tank; and some of the world’s best restaurants.
There’s also the Awaken Spa and Awaken Fitness experiences, ready to wash the weariness of a long plane trip from your body. And countless activities that allow kids to be kids, leavings space and time for adults to revitalise. The kind of stay where all the parenting is done for you; how good!
It was all ahead of us as we pulled into the grandiose driveaway, past Bentleys and Lamborghinis.
Walking into the lobby of Atlantis: The Palm is a shock. You’re expecting opulence; you’re expecting scale; you’re expecting spectacle, but you’re still unprepared. A massive cylindrical room embraces you, dominated by a stunning coloured sculpture that connects the ceiling way above with the ornately tiled floor. Large spheres dot the room, acting like indoors water features, while huge glass windows peer out to the wonderland beyond; a series of huge pools leading to a beach.
To the left and right, two huge wings tower up into the sky laden with rooms that have water views regardless of the direction. It’s palatial. This is going to be fun.
Keeping the kids happy…
You can never truly wind down when travelling if the kids aren’t entertained. Great holiday destinations know that for you to have a good time, they need to be happy without you. Atlantis: The Palm delivers on this hope in spades.
As a guest, you get unlimited access to Aquaventure World, the enormous water park literally accessed through the hotel. Every day our kids would run off into the park, happy to ride the huge number of slides and float the maze of lazy rivers on their own. From standing waves to a slide that shoots you through a shark-filled aquarium and raft rides that climb multiple huge walls, it’s rather fantastic.
Obviously not all mums have kids that can do such things on their own, but even with youngsters, the design is smart enough to put the huge splash park right next to the hotel entrance and near a litany of sunlounges. But why not get amongst it? The experience is a lot of fun for the young at heart, too, and walking those steps up to the top of each tower is a great way to work off the buffet.
Back in the hotel proper, the pools are lovely. One is dedicated to families, with volleyball nets, beach bays, basketball hoops and more. Surrounded by billiard and ping pong tables, a free mini-golf and, of course, sunlounges galore. Down on the beach there are more activities to be found. Our family went kayaking, getting the heartrate up while marvelling at the hotel’s enormity from the water.
Inside the hotel itself, a massive kids club offers an impressive selection of themed rooms and activities. From arts and crafts to Lego and videogames, this air-conditioned slice of kid heaven is another great way to handball the sprogs elsewhere once you’ve had your fill of parenting. Although, it’s only included for free in certain packages.
Then there is the wondrous aquarium. It’s free to enter for guests, but you can soak up its magic from within the hotel’s halls. The triple-height full glass walls that contain the majestic animals is right there – you feel like you can reach out and touch the sharks, stingrays, eels and more. We even went snorkelling though the tank, which was a truly memorable experience. Atlantis has been found indeed!
Makes Mum happy
Nothing quite frees the mind like having the space to just sit and soak. Soak in] the sun, breeze, water, jacuzzi… heck, even the cocktails. Atlantis: The Palm offers a great platform for that.
I’d start my days down by the ocean, or gulf, more accurately. Lying on a sunlounge letting the heat get the blood flowing. Alternating between dips in the salty water and nearby pool to cool down. There’s plenty of space for a few laps, too. You need the water; Dubai is hot, but a cool breeze just about keeps it under control. There are cabanas with fans you can organise for a cost, too.
You can escape the heat and keep on top of the buffet at Awaken, a multi-storey space dedicated to fitness and wellness. On my first visit, I engaged a personal trainer and was impressed by how quickly he understood my body, my needs and what actions would help loosen the limbs after the plane trip. At his suggestion, I tried \ cryotherapy, chilling my body down to -160-degrees for a few heartbeats. It’s awesome. You feel like a million dollars afterwards.
The fitness centre itself is free for guests and it comes with all the modern equipment you could wish for. There are various classes on offer, including yoga, fitness and strength training. With so much amazing food at Atlantis The Palm, I appreciated a space that not only keeps you cool, but helps prevent those calories from doing their worst.
If your focus is more on wellness, the Awaken Spa that sits directly below the fitness centre is magic. Equally as opulent as the rest of Atlantis The Palm, it’s a tranquil place to focus on your mind in physically luxury. Yes, there are all your classic treatments – massages, facials, sound healing, mediation and even Reiki – but the wet room was my go to.
Looking like a Turkish bath, it offers hydrotherapy experiences such as a sauna, jacuzzi, cold plunge pool, steam room and stone thermal lounges. Quiet and seemingly miles away from the families frantically having fun above, it’s a haven all about you and your wellness. So good!
Indulge the Senses
Let’s be honest, looking after your figure at a five-star luxury resort can be tricky. So, if you’re going to indulge, I say eat well. The amount of food offerings at Atlantis: The Palm is staggering, from Michelin-starred fine dining to family-friendly burger joints and Asian noodle houses.
We sampled as many as we could and it was nothing but a string of highlights. The atmosphere and premium feel of the Seafire Steakhouse certainly stood out. We loved the staff experience and diverse taste sensations of the Lebanese-themed Ayamna. For a fun, vibrant Mexican atmosphere, complete with live music and an incredible array of ornaments, En Fuego was a blast.
We all loved the Wavehouse, which is a kid-friendly pub-food style venue with lots of activities – from bowling to video games – and some of the best cocktails and desserts I’ve ever seen. While even Gordon Ramsey has a space, where we dared – given recent news – to go the beef wellington at the very British Bread Street Kitchen & Bar.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, too. There’s plenty more to meet your desires, if you can fit anything in after the incredible buffet breakfast.
Room with a View
Perched out on the edge of a man-made peninsula, almost every room at Atlantis: The Palm has water views. Either of the ocean, or over the pools back towards the Dubai centre. From our King Palm View room’s balcony, we could soak it all in and I particularly enjoyed the outlook at night, when the hotel, its grounds and the city beyond burst into lights, finding renewed life after the heat of the day.
As you’d expect, the rooms are spacious, elegant, comfortable and blissfully cool. There’s enough room for a couch, desk and free-standing bath alongside the King. We went with the interconnecting room setup, which was great for providing a physical barrier between our kids and our sanity – hey, we all need some space!
In Da Club
Atlantis: The Palm is great regardless of what package you get, but stepping up to the Imperial Club room does bring with it some great bonuses. You get access to a large lounge, which serves a full breakfast buffet (including mimosas), snack breaks, an afternoon tea and two hours of evening drinks and canapes, including cocktails.
Once you see the prices of food and drink in Dubai, this will sound even more appealing.
You also get access to the Imperial Club Beach, which is a dedicated section on the sand just for VIPs. In truth, it’s not really a whole lot different from the rest of the beach, but you are much more likely to get the sunlounge you want, plus the free evening cocktails occur here, too! Then there’s some games credits for the arcades, kids club entitlements and more.
We really made the most of our Imperial Club and loved what it brought to the experience, especially at that evening happy hour.
Stopover vs layover
We could have just wondered the long halls of Dubai Airport for a few hours and then gotten back on a plane. We would have arrived in Europe many hours later, broken, bloated, tired and sore. Instead, we ditched the layover and went with a stopover and it became the highlight of our whole trip.
Atlantis: The Palm did the unthinkable and lived up to the dream; the fantasy that had been in my mind for over a decade. Luxurious, gargantuan and with something to see, do or eat everywhere you look, it managed to not only offer the kids an endless well of fun, but gave us – the parents – space to relax, talk and reconnect.
Throw in an incredibly spa and fitness centre, and what more could you want? Believe the myth; Atlantis is real!
By: Chris Stead
