Why the New Bab Al Shams
The iconic and well established Bab Al Shams has been taken over by the Kerzner group, so it’s not no longer a Jumeirah property.
The result is a high class, cool feeling desert retreat. It definitely deserves a visit. Read on to see what you could do to get away from it all for a different day out.
What could you do in a day at the new Bab Al Shams
You could have lunch, a drink at the Gentle Bar, take a desert drive and then unwind with a cool swim at any one of their infinity pools.
Finally you could experience sundowners and dinner on the rooftop restaurant. We did all the above in a day, read on for the honest account.
Eating at the New Bab Al Shams
We had lunch at the Mediterranean Turkish restaurant Zala at the resort. Food is presented in a combined style of help yourself as well table service for some items.
We had a very good look around the extensive buffet and live stations before selecting our food.
A word of warning – SAVE ROOM for desserts here. They are excellent and some of best hotel desserts I’ve had. The Turkish pastries are standout as is their lemon tart.
Cocktails and beverages are very reasonably priced.
The full lunch buffet with a hot beverage costs AED 200 per adult. We think this is a very reasonable price for a resort of this calibre.
Sunset drinks and dinner are served at Amwa. We loved our experience here.
You get a good view of the desert at sunset and drinks here at the end of the day are a must do. Amwa serves pan Asian style cuisine and the quality and presentation is good.
I would definitely come for drinks and dinner here again. Amwa is only open for dinner at the moment.
Activities – The Desert Drive
An experienced driver/guide takes you in the resort’s new Range Rover Defender vehicles on a drive for around an hour or so.
You get to see some oryx, camels of course as well as learn about the conservation initiatives in place in the area.
There is some “dune” type driving and you are brought to a fabulous area for a “photo shoot”. It’s cool and worth doing.
The drive with driver/guide in the Range Rover costs AED 1100 for 2 people, each additional person costs AED 400. New rates are coming out for summer. Keep checking the post, we will add here when we know.
Other activities included camel riding and archery. We didn’t try on this visit.
The swimming pool area is a real draw and a great place to unwind and cool off despite the heat!
Weekday pool access costs AED 275 per adult. Weekend price is AED 375 at the moment.
Location and website
Bab al Shams is located around 50 minutes drive or so away from Downtown Dubai. Arabian Ranches is on the way, it’s just beyond the Al Qudra bike track.
NOTE NEW PRICES COMING OUT FOR SUMMER – we will add here, please keep checking the post.
disclosure: This post was written in conjunction with Bab Al Shams but the views are all my own - Monica Kapila owner and founder of DoinDubai.
1 thought on “THE NEW BAB AL SHAMS – first look”
thanks for sharing