With eight new suites added to its roster of rooms, this month gives you an all-new reason to leave the city behind and escape to Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa. The new one- and two-bedroom suites take advantage of the hotel’s setting, with wide-open views over the undulating dunes and Bedouin seating areas to offer more immersive respite for those wanting to escape, relax and reconnect.
Elevating the experience whilst ensuring total privacy, seven of the eight suites feature a private plunge pool and Jacuzzi, and a Bedouin-inspired seating area, whilst the seventh has a larger Jacuzzi perfect for group retreats. With beautiful bamboo panelling all around, the terrace is for your eyes only, as privacy is paramount. How to spend your weekend? Dive into the crystalline water of your private pool; curl up in a corner of your Bedouin haven with that much longed-for book; relax and let the bubbles of the Jacuzzi work their magic; or simply commandeer a lounger, lie back and soak up the sun. However you choose to while away the hours, the dunes and the vibrant orange, pink and green foliage of local plants in your private garden provide a perfect backdrop.
Once you’ve made the most of the outdoors, come inside where the hotel’s renowned Arabesque design sensibilities continue: mashrabiya screens, traditional wood-carved artworks and tables, Arabian artefacts and lanterns, and a relaxing colour scheme of creams, taupe and rich dark brown. Subtle yet sophisticated luxury, as we like to call it. The generous suites have plenty of room to potter around in, with both a sitting room and dining area. So to really ease your way into the weekend, book a masseuse from Saray Spa to knead out the knots in the comfort and privacy of your own suite with a Balinese or Swedish Massage.
You can certainly press pause on the frenetic pace of life at Al Wathba Desert Resort & Spa, as time seems to slow down as you fold into the resort’s tranquil embrace. The main swimming pool, flanked by palm trees and over-sized earthenware pots, is a picture of calm, felt all the more when reclining in one of the poolside cabanas. For something more active, you can sightsee on a hack with one of the horse’s from the hotel’s stables or let a camel show you around; have an adventure amidst the desert with fat bikes or a dune buggy with Polaris cars; grab a board and catch some waves with the resort's Flow-Rider surf machine; or venture outside the hotel to the nearby Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, Fossil Dunes or Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Follow the labyrinthine walkways to weave around the sandstone resort, and stumble upon picturesque corners, pretty courtyards and, of course, the hotel’s restaurants. Terra Secca serves Italian vibes, with a terrace overlooking a paddock in which the horses come to graze each night. Or there’s Bait Al Hanine which gives Levantine classics a modern twist amidst the hotel’s central Arabesque courtyard, and rooftop restaurant, Al Mesayan, which serves Moroccan dishes paired expertly with French wines all set to breathtaking sunset views.
A true hidden gem in the Abu Dhabi desert, Al Wathba Desert Resort & Spa offers culture, respite and refinement in equal measure and with the new suites beckoning, it seems like a spring staycation is in the offing…
