Review – St. Regis Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi

by Zac George
a large building with palm trees and a beach

After arriving from New York, I had two days in Abu Dhabi which I was really excited about. 90% of my travel is a quick transit and I don’t leave the airport but this time I was going to stay in the city and have a ‘relax’. I’ve stayed at the St. Regis at the Corniche and I loved that property but this time I wanted to test out Saadiyat Island’s property.

I arrived at the hotel around 8 pm and it was surprisingly quiet. I found out that the property was only half full which explained why I received a nice suite upgrade. The room was a St. Regis suite and the one above that is the Ocean view suite.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

I was assigned room 408 on the 4th floor. The hotel isn’t tall but rather spread out. This is because the property is more for relaxation and the view of the water instead of business.

Room 408

To enter the room, there’s a touch panel on the wall where you swipe your room card.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Inside is the same type of setup with a do not disturb button and a button for room cleaning.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

At the entrance of the room, you’ll find the minibar and desk.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There’s also a Nespresso Pod coffee machine. The coffee Is alright but if you’re at a St. Regis hotel, the butlers can bring you freshly made coffee and it’s a lot nicer.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There’s also a menu on top of the bar showing the prices for the drinks, snacks etc.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

In the first draw, there’s a bottle of red wine and some glasses.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

And in the second draw are all types of candy and snacks.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The mini bar section is pretty standard with juices, soft drinks and energy drinks.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

And here’s the alcoholic selection:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The room is quite open which I know a lot of people either hate or love and in this case, I really liked it.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There’s a nice living room area at the front of the room:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The welcome gift was pretty nice with a bottle of red wine, fresh fruits and some pastry type of things.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The room does lack light at night but during the day the natural light is more than sufficient.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The extremely soft King Bed was definitely what I needed!

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The room uses a Bose sounds system which is fantastic quality if you use it.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

And at the back of the room is where the storage are and the second desk is found.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The bathroom is quite large and is all beautiful white marble.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

They also feature Remede Spa products which are quite nice. There’s also no shortage of water in the rooms which is another thing I love about St. Regis hotels.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The view at night was pretty cool but I was really excited to see what it would be like during the day.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The next morning I woke up at around 5 and went around the hotel taking photos. This is because there’s a lack of guests around but the downside is security get quite weird about it.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The hotel has 13 meeting rooms and spaces that can fit 1500 people for weddings etc.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Just before the lobby area, there’s a heap of seating sections.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There’s also two libraries in the hotel, each one is located at ends of the building.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Directly before the reception area, there’s a travel desk, concierge desk and small cafe area.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The cafe area also has various types of cakes and other types of sweets available.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The lobby is quite large and open, I also love the polished marble.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

This is the second library which past reception, It’s also quite a lot larger.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Also next to the library is where the ATM is found.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

At about 6:30 I went down to Olea which is the main restaurant in the hotel and it’s located on the first floor. It’s more a buffet type of setting rather than a menu.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

At 6:30, I was the only one in the restaurant which made taking photos 100% easier.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There are a few different types of stations which all have different things to eat. The one pictured below is the drink station:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The next one has all different types of cold meats etc:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

This station had hot food as well as a chef for omelettes etc.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

There’s one section just for fresh fruits, muesli and cereals etc.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

And this area is just for bread, pastries and freshly made pancakes:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

I always love the St. Regis branded butter:

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The restaurant has seating both inside and outside. All together there are 5 restaurants at the hotel.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

As you can see the hotel isn’t very tall but is rather wide.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

 

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The concierge desk is located just left of the entry to the hotel.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

The small cafe also sells pots of honey which is quite unique.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

And this is the view from room 408 during the day. Just beautiful!

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Every room in the hotel has a balcony and is given a pretty fantastic view. Also pictured below is the pool which got quite busy, especially with 40-degree heat.

St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Overall

I loved my 2-night stay at the St. Regis Saadiyat island and would love to return. This hotel is ideal for people wanting to relax and has a more relaxation type of holiday where as the Corniche property is more for business people or people wanting to be more central to the city.

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3 comments

Nev Johnson May 9, 2017 - 12:37 pm

I think that you forgot to mention a couple of things … the ongoing and unsitely construction that seems to be going on forever .. the noise is ridiculous ! Cranes going at 0200-0330 in the middle of the night … it’s not good

Zac George May 9, 2017 - 12:39 pm

Nev – Hmmm, I didn’t notice any cranes while I was staying there…

Leo May 9, 2017 - 11:30 pm

The pool seems very small?

Comments are closed.