The welcome
We nearly accidentally drive into the Kempinski, which looks dated compared to its new neighbour, the Ajman Saray. We’re glad to be next door, though: the valet experience feels exclusive, with cars backed towards the front doors for luggage-loading ease. From there, we’re whisked to the sit-down check-in desks. The Luxury Collection Resort, which opened in April and is perched on the Arabian Gulf with its own private beach, has 205 rooms and suites. Before you arrive, a staff member also emails you a mini questionnaire to personalise your stay with cute innovations such as a CD of MP3s.
The neighbourhood
The Saray isn’t a hotel to use as a base for exploring Ajman – instead, it’s an all-enveloping, one-stop resort. If you do deign to leave its gates, there are independent restaurants and shops nearby. The road links to the Northern Emirates, Sharjah, Dubai and beyond are all solid, too.
The room
Our seventh-floor deluxe sea-view room is spacious and well thought-out, with a balcony obscured from other rooms and a sparkling ocean-scape/beach stretching out below. There are neat touches aplenty: good TV connectivity and an iPod dock with Bluetooth; a toilet/bidet in a separate room from a rain shower and deep bath (the latter has a sea view); decorative lamps; a semi-walk-in wardrobe. A few elements are causes for concern: an ill-fitting bathroom door and the balcony door require low-level brute strength (not ideal on a relaxing luxury break); the air-conditioning screen is partly broken; and the array of light switches is baffling (several seem to either do nothing or turn everything off). The joy of a coffee machine is skewered, meanwhile, by a Dh20 charge per capsule.
The scene
The Saray seems to attract equal numbers of guests from here and abroad. The clientele is predominantly Russian and Arabic.
The service
Friendly, although sometimes beset by gaps in knowledge that can’t be put down to teething problems, now that the hotel has been open for four months.
The food
Safi, the hotel’s seafood spot, warrants a stand-alone visit. The decor is perfect (nautical charts and maps across the walls; a telescope pointing out of the window towards the coastline) – and the execution of its fish-market-based concept is equally fabulous. Starters and desserts are ordered à la carte, while the mains comprise fresh seafood from an iced display, priced by weight, with a dedicated, knowledgable member of staff. We keep our carbon footprint low with local fish (nagroor and a colourful parrot fish). A recommendation to take half as a grilled fillet and the remainder wok-fried ensures lovely variation in taste and texture. Breakfast, in the Vista all-day-dining restaurant, is more chaotic, with a queue for seating, staff struggling to keep up and children running around. There’s also the Bab Al Bahr beach bar/restaurant, which is a nice retreat from the sun that turns into a nightspot with a DJ after dark, and a Lebanese restaurant, Mejhana.
Loved
Safi, a session of stand-up paddle boarding and our massages at the Goco Spa, which boasts a couples’ treatment room.
Hated
Those aforementioned room-finish gripes and coffee-capsule charges.
The verdict
As far as staycations go, it doesn’t get much more idyllic, without spending more or travelling farther – at two hours from Abu Dhabi and 45 minutes from Downtown Dubai.
The bottom line
Doubles start from Dh840, including taxes, breakfast and Wi-Fi. Ajman Saray, Sheikh Humaid Bin Rashid Al Nuaimi Street, Ajman (www.ajmansaray.com; 06 714 2222).
aworkman@thenational.ae