Inner City Elegance at Shangri-la Dubai
Shangri-la has always been about Asian luxury and the finer things in life. The groups’ first foray into the Middle East arrived many years ago in Dubai and with the property getting towards 15 years old, it was decided in late 2016 to considerably revamp the old lady that sits majestically on Sheik Zayed Road. As far as locations go it’s pretty hard to match and the exterior of the building is still one of the more elegant along the strip - oh and of course it has views to die for.
Looking past the location and the exteriors and delve a little deeper inside and the decor historically has always seemed to be an outdated blend of typical Shangri-la style opulence muddled with Arabic influences. Admittedly, it probably wasn’t exactly easy a decade ago to blend in an Asian inspired hotel group into Dubai at its first attempt to crack the Middle East.
As a result and having stayed there many times over the years, the Shangri-la Dubai in some respects has always been a slightly strange addition to the hotel group's destinations as it has never seemed to be quite able to deliver the same cache or service levels in the Middle Eastern market that many of the Asian based Shangri-la properties posses.
To address this and in what has been a significant investment in their upgrade, Shangri-la has got pre-eminent Interior Design firm HBA on board with re-envisioning the look and feel of the property - injecting some fresh style and pizazz into the public spaces and selected guest rooms.
So how does it stack up?
Hotel Lobby
Hotel arrivals are always one of the most important aspects of a stay. It sets the tone of the property and usually your stay.
Switching up the arrival to the rear of the property, while practical does diminish the sense of grandeur that rolling up out the front of the property offers but as soon as you make your way through to the main lobby you’ll be greeted by quite an open, light and bright space that is nicely punctuated by gestures of gold trim. The reception counter has also received a lovely new backdrop in the form of old Arabic books arranged in a montage.
One of the more impressive details aside from the multi story high chandelier just near Dunes Cafe are the blue, hand cut tiger’s eye stone tiles that have been placed around each each elevator. The same stone is also used in a complimentary way in the lobby lounge by being incorporated into each table top.
In all the newly revamped lobby is refreshing and welcoming.
Premier Guest Rooms
So far so good with the public spaces but how about the guest rooms?
The make over of the guest rooms only extends to the first phase incorporating just a few floors that house the Premier Rooms and Suites, with the balance of the remaining 300 rooms being undertaken in phase two in the near future.
In the standard King Premier Rooms, a new pendant light welcomes you as you enter the room’s galley way which has plenty of storage space for luggage. New touch controls for the air con are also here. Upon entering the room proper, it is immediately obvious that there’s a much more contemporary look and feel to it than stays gone by.
New curtains and complimentary bed throw and gold furniture details abound, along with upgraded silver wall coverings and new feature art pieces. Newly upholstered chairs and complimentary bed lamps provide a lighter tonality to match other upgraded elements. It’s nicely done, refreshing and stylish, incorporating black and white tones with touches gold.
It’s only when you look back towards the door that you notice the curvaceous arrangement of each room is still there along with the light yellow maple wood paneling which is offset by the retained dark wood veneer architraves and bedside furniture.
Regrettably, from this vantage point it’s hard to tell that any upgrade has taken place at all and comes across as a little disjointed.
Still, the room is noticeably different as well as spacious and still commands some of the best views of Downtown Dubai and SZR. The refresh does add some nice touches, like the coloring in pencil set offered for guests to ‘free their mind’, there also the large artworks and sleeker furniture.
On the flip side, there’s still no direct USB Ports or Nespresso machines in this room category, which in the year 2018 regardless of whether you’re a business or leisure traveler is a major miss step for a non standard room in a 5 Star Hotel.
One Bedroom Suites
Having stayed in the Premier Room, it’s the One Bedroom Suites that really receive the full make over and along with it all the higher end privileges. These rooms are far spacious and of course very well appointed, delivering a refined sense of inner city elegance in the heart of Dubai.
The One Bedroom Suite comes for the most part with all the right room tech that features easy to use controls, wireless phone chargers as well as Nespresso in the dining room and L'Occitane in the bathrooms, but still no USB.
The furniture follows the same style as the other upgraded suites, again featuring black and white tones with touches gold.
One of the big things that elicits excitement on a hotel stay is the bathroom and in this one compared to the minor changes in the Premier Rooms, you’ll get a lot more space, along with a full size hot tub. There’s also the new vanity top in black marble to compliment the existing white grey specked granite stone walls and flooring with high end chrome hardware to complete the look. As for the amenities, these rooms will get you the full range of l'occitane toiletries that Shangri-La is known for.
The other advantage of this room category is complimentary access to one of Shangri-la’s most vaunted destinations - the Horizon Club Lounge, which has been under refurbishment for more than a year. There will be another post on this in the future.
Pool & Spa
There are two wet areas at the hotel.
The roof top pool is the larger and still retains it’s original format. While compact, it does come alive when the iKandi DJ is out. The pool sits out on it’s own podium, while the Chi Spa is back in the main tower.
The gym is located up on the 41st floor and is really quite small, the indoor infinity pool does however offer some amazing views.
Dining
From a culinary perspective, Hoi An is still the hands winner with its exemplary service and wonderful Vietnamese flavors. Other more aspiring and high profile venues like Oni and Junoon have come and gone from the property.
Breakfast as always is down in Dunes and is pretty good but not at the spectacular level of the hotels Asian destinations.
The Bottom Line
While the make over is a welcome change and makes a significant difference to the previously antiquated style, its still very much a work in progress - just like Dubai itself. There are flashes of brilliance with the noticeable change in look and feel to some parts of the property a definite winner.
That said, the varied and unfinished elements provide a slightly hotchpotch feel that lacks a strong sense of cohesion, so for now and when compared for instance to the stellar upgrade of Shangri-la Singapore’s Tower Wing, Dubai falls a little short.
There are good signs as the refurbishment takes hold that once complete the property could be a real contender and no doubt Shangri-la Dubai is great for a short stay for the business crowd. However, for the luxury vacationer there may be some quibbles around attention detail and the first class service that they would have come to expect in the groups Asian destinations.
