The summer was coming to a close and the winter was set to begin. According to me this is the perfect time, it’s not too hot for me to do outdoorsy stuff and end up with a headache and it’s not too cold that I have to wear layers of clothes to prevent bouts of shivers. So, I decided to tick off two of my “To Do’s” for the year 2017 in one shot. Wear my fluorescent swimwear and splash around in the pool and go for a swim in the ocean. Now I know we in UAE are blessed with beautiful public beaches and wash-areas for after swimming clean-up but none of them have a hair dryer, and if they do I do not know about it. I told a friend of mine this and his response was; “what you want the government to give you a hair-dryer at public beaches now, grow up!” I didn’t. So I booked myself for a short stay at Traders Hotel, Qarayat Al Beri, Shangri-La, Abu Dhabi, and what a wise decision that was.
Traders Hotel, Qarayat Al Beri, is located away from the city at a brilliant location overlooking the ocean and their own restricted beach. The Interiors of the hotel are tastefully done and the room is quite comfortable to laze about in with a good size bathroom and a bathtub for the work weary body to bubble bath in.
The beach shuts down at sunset so make sure you get there early to bask under the sun and soak in the lush day you are having.
The pool has a lounge attached to it which offers up Happy Hour between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, although I am teetotaler, I myself know what a brilliant experience it would be to have a beer in hand and a pool at ones feet.
There is a separate access way from the beach to the pool or to your room via stairs, ask a staff for direction and they will lead you to it.
The hotel is connected to the Souq and the Shangri La Hotel, so you don’t even need to step out into the maddening world for dinner. You can walk or take a buggy. But I highly recommended that you take the Abra, it adds a sense of Arabic flavor to your stay at Traders Hotel. At the reception, request for an Abra to either the Souq or the Shangri La Hotel, both of which offers many different restaurant options. I opted for dinner at Shangri La. The Abra picks you up from behind the Children’s Play area. A bench is available for you to sit down and wait while the abra arrives for you. Hop into it and enjoy the serene ride into Shangri La and marvel at novel idea coined by the Shangri La Group within Abu Dhabi.
On reaching Shangri La, I explored the grandeur of the hotel and headed outside to enjoy the perfect weather. I sat down by the pool for some liquid refreshment overlooking the water and the majestic Sheikh Zayed Mosque all lit up in Blue. At this moment was when one of the genuinely friendly server told me to sign up for the Loyalty Program offered by the Hotel offering various discounts and offers applicable around the globe, I signed up and headed over to dinner at Hoi An, A Vietnamese restaurant, the food was good, the ambiance was better and I used the newly acquired loyalty card and got a reduced fare on the total bill. After dinner, I walked over to Pearls and Caviar. I must admit it was the sound of the music that attracted me to the place. It was not crowded considering that it was a weekend. The place was quite nice with comfortable lounge sofas to immerse oneself in with a few good friends around and brilliant music playing in the background, this place deserves more visitors and during winter time, Pearls and Caviar would be pure perfection.
It was ZZzzzz time so, I got the security to call for a golf cart to take me back to Traders Hotel concluding a very beautiful day.
For the next day I planned to wake up early and go back to the beach for a swim, that didn’t happen solely because the bed said that I should not wake up so I listened to it. Great decision; I attained my REM sleep.
I headed to lunch by foot at the Souq and explored the Souq and its many kiosks and restaurants before heading to a bench, which was strategically located offering a brilliant view of the water, the sun and serenely enjoying this oasis within the city of Abu Dhabi.
I checked out of the hotel knowing very well I will come back again and bring whoever is visiting Abu Dhabi to it. I honestly did feel like I had a vacation and I was just barely 20 minutes away from my home.
Traders Hotel, Qarayat Al Beri, Shangri-La, Abu Dhabi, is truly from the mind of Nive Prem approved.
Strengths of the hotel:
-The Location;
-The Beach;
-The Abra connection;
-The well-trained and ever hospitable staff.
Recommendation:
Get the Golden Circle Loyalty Card, it offers various offers and discounts within the hotel and enables you to earn points on hotel usage. It’s Shangri-La so once you have experienced them you are bound to return over and over again, I know I will.
Enjoy !
