Sofitel The Palm – 5* Rest And Relaxation… and family-friendly!

Europeans, Chinese, Russian and Saudi Arabian plus UAE residents escaping city life for the weekend. Boasting a private 500 metre stretch of sandy white beach, the hotel is popular with both families and couples, with plenty of space for everyone.

Situated on the east Crescent of The Palm, the sheer scale of the Sofitel gives it the feel of a resort you might find in the Americas. A grand entrance opens up into a vast lobby with beautiful water features on either side. The décor is plush with a living “green wall” – a long wall with real tropical vegetation growing from it – running along the back of the hotel. The service is efficient and friendly and there is enough staff to cater for the number of guests. However, the layout can be a bit confusing in places – some more signage wouldn’t go a miss, particularly en route to their spa, which you won’t want to miss.

The resort has 361 rooms and suites as well as 182 fully serviced residences. Rooms are spacious and comfortable in all price brackets and stylistically in keeping with the Tahiti vibe throughout. We stayed in a first-floor junior suite, which offers a lounge joined to the bedroom boasting big sofas and all mod cons. The over-sized bathrooms have twin sinks, freestanding baths you can swim in and Hermes D’Orange Verte amenities.

Guests at The Sofitel can visit any of the resort’s 14 diverse restaurants and lounges such as Moana, an elegant seafood restaurant serving a full array of seafood dishes plus an extensive sushi selection; Porterhouse is the signature steakhouse restaurant and bar. Go all-out with a tasting menu or indulge on excellent steaks or wagyu beef tartar; Hong Loong is a chic Chinese offering where dim sum is freshly steamed in front you and tea masters perform theatrical pouring ceremonies. Dinner here is really something special and worth splashing out on. 

You wouldn’t want to leave the resort without visiting the spa for a day… or four. The place itself feels and smells authentic – you could actually be on a French Polynesian island. Gentle, exotic fragrances drift around, soft atmospheres, waterfalls and organic “monoi” products. The 28 treatment rooms are beautifully decorated plus there’s a sauna, steam room, fresh water pool and four outdoor cabanas you can easily pass the time in. A large treatment menu offers traditional and slightly more unusual therapies such as the exotic monoï and black sand body scrub, organic seaweed bath and an amethyst and volcanic stone massage. I had their signature massage that was the perfect blend of firm yet utterly relaxing. I could have slept for hours.

This is perhaps one of Dubai’s most family-friendly resorts with an exceptional all-day kids club, Amura, which employs qualified staff and provides a schedule of the week’s activities on check-in, from arts and crafts, beach games and music lessons. There’s a children’s swimming pool, restaurant, toys included and in-room babysitters and nannies.