Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, Dubai

Manpreet Kandola

Sensational property with only 40 villas. It’s nice and quiet, but there’s a couple activities a day that will keep you busy. The food was among the best I’ve had. Food is included in the cost of the room. This is important to know because it’s top-notch food. The staff at the restaurant were amazing and I’m fairly confident there is three to one staff to hotel Guests. The pool in your own private villa is nice and the big pool is also nice and deep for the kids. I can see why this is one of the best resorts in the Middle East

Simon Hallgath-Jolly

We had a stopover in Dubai, and we've stayed in the city before, so we decided a short stay in the desert might be fun for a change. This place is incredible. We arrived at night, and it's very dark out there. So, it wasn't until we woke up in the morning that we saw the astonishing view. It was like waking up on Mars with desert as far as we could see in every direction. The villas are palatial and well separated from each other, and each has its own pool. The food is so so good, and all the staff are lovely. There are a number of worthwhile activities to do as well like falconry, 4x4ing in the dunes, camel riding, archery, a nature drive where you learn about the flora and fauna of the desert, drinks at sunset, and a banquet in the desert. Definitely worth a stay if you have the opportunity.

Ashish Aggarwal

Al Maha has previously been voted one of the top 50 eco hotels in the world.. now I know why. Incredible experience.. even amidst during one of the worst natural disasters in Dubai in 75 years! Property -vast. Can get unobstructed views of the desert from your room, the restaurant, throughout the property. Magical -off the grid, enough. Don’t see anyone onsite that doesn’t work there, or also staying there. Nice bonus for restoration Rooms -huge. Big bed, massive bathroom with full tub, deck.. private pool with lounge area. All the amenities you need -water in the shower can get hot.. which is nice after a long day Food = extra important when you’ve chosen to just relax and chill -exceeded expectations. Literally OUTSTANDING -was so blown away by the variety, quality and taste, asked about the chef. Turns out Exec Chef was the former Sous-chef at Burj Al Arab (world’s most luxurious hotel lol) -portions are American style BIG, desserts are all stand out (highlights the signature Um Ali) Special sauce -the level of welcome and personalization throughout the entire stay was phenomenal. Staff remembered our names, room numbers and even dietary preferences, without us needing to remind or repeatedly share them -everyone was always in good spirits, willing to help and ready to try and accommodate whatever request we had -this makes ALL the difference when you’re going somewhere to charge the batteries and have fun -the activities are 100% worth it. Our favorites were the camel riding during sunset and archery (didn’t get to dune riding given weather) Once you’re on the property, you can appreciate why there’s this kind of ‘halo effect’ around Al Maha.. and why everyone raves about it. Big part of that is the team.. who are all AMAZING.. don’t recall all the names but top of mind are Darin (GM of Al Maha, made sure we were looked after, not only the the day after the wild rains, but even in the days following, ensuring we returned back to our home countries safely) Michael, Michelle, Remy, Swarnali (the kindest!), Anais, Mary, Mohammed, Tracey, Veeraj, Anwar and Joan Big thank you to the Al Maha crew.. hope to visit again!

Meghana Rao

This Saturday for my birthday, hubby and I stayed in Al Maha for 1 night and 2 days. The location, the property, the facilities, the suites and the service was excellent. We absolutely loved our stay and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to celebrate my birthday. They also offer activities which we throughly enjoyed. However the food can be improved.

Anish Shah

We had an incredible 3 night stay at Al Maha.  With us landing in the evening, the hotel was very accommodating ensuring we were still able to enjoy dinner. They also included bfast and lunch on our last day since we didn't get to enjoy that on our day of check in. Words can't express the beauty of this resort but you will find many blogs attempting to do exactly that.  Rather, I will comment that what makes this resort and time spent an amazing time is the staff.  Every staff member somehow knows your name and calls you by your name.  They are always smiling and always ready and willing to help.  We felt very welcomed and cared for. The rooms were very comfortable with the only annoyance being the water alarm that kept going off on the day there was a down pour, though not much the hotel can do there.  If I had one feedback regarding the room, it would be if they are able to improve their drainage system.  The sink and shower drains were slow so the water always backed up, getting annoying. While we had no intentions of using the spa, we were impressed by the set up and ended up doing a full spa treatment which was wonderful.  We were also able to use the steam/sauna area which is small but well built.  The communal pool at the spa is also very nice and relaxing. All the meals are at the single restaurant on property.  The meals are all delicious but it is a lot of food.  They recommend a 3 course for lunch and 5 course for dinner (2 of the courses are palate cleaners) but it is a LOT of food.  My wife and I enjoy good food but we couldn't eat so much after the first day.  We would skip some of the courses and the staff got worried we didn't like the food.  We tend to share the courses/meals so finally by the 3rd day they realized we were splitting and just split it for us.  Lol.  But they do keep insisting you eat more, which is a lovely gesture; we just felt bad saying no to more food.  Note, if you are vegetarian, they do have a separate veg menu.  But if you are staying there 3 nights, you will have tried everything on the menu by then. Since the resort is in middle of the desert, commute is a bit difficult.  You can taxi but if wasn't clear to me how much you save taking a taxi.  There's also an Uber option but Ubers are far and few this far away.  The hotel does offer pick up and drop off service which wasn't much more than what Uber or taxi would be. The only thing that would have put this stay over the top is if we could have been upgraded to a sun rise or sunset facing room.  Unfortunately our beautiful suite was in between and we couldn't see either from the deck.