Awesome Andaz

Andaz Dubai The Palm, opened in December 2019, is Dubai’s first Andaz [Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle brand]. Originally intended to be a Hyatt Centric, the property was repositioned as an Andaz and reflects the colorful, casual nature of the brand in its design and service approach. As the name implies, it is located on the Palm Jumeirah, but thankfully it is located on the stem rather than on the crescent, which dramatically shortens transit time as the Palm can become a nightmare getting into and out of with its single entry and exit points. This is also helpful as the location affords the hotel a degree of solitude and quiet, while being easily accessible to/from Jumeirah and the rest of the city.

Dubai International Airport [DXB] is twenty-five minutes by car away.

Located within the Tiara residential complex, the Andaz occupies two fifteen floor towers split between the hotel in one and serviced residences in the other, and joined together on the fourteenth floor by an adults-only pool with cabanas.

The lobby is a compact but airy double-ceilinged space with the reception and concierge desks to the left, a communal table in the center and sitting areas to the right. Upon arrival, my bag was unloaded by a staff member wearing a t-shirt and khakis [I could’ve sworn he was a guest and not an official hotel employee, but Andaz is all about casual luxury and the staff dress casually but stylishly with no name tags]. My temperature was taken as I entered the lobby, and I proceeded to the plexiglas-partitioned check-in desk.Check-in was conducted by a friendly agent who explained the benefits of my Hyatt Privé booking [which included breakfast and a 50 USD food and beverage credit per stay], informed me of an upgrade from a standard to a balcony room and then offered me a voucher for two complimentary drinks at the restaurant. While the Andaz brand offers a complimentary ‘happy hour’ in the evenings for all in-house guests at its properties with wine and canapés, this hotel doesn’t offer it. I’m not sure if it’s COVID-19-related or otherwise, but the voucher was a nice touch. All in all, check-in took about ten minutes and I was issued keys - made of wood, as it were - and shown to the lifts.

My balcony room was on the tenth floor, and occupied a corner of the building. This meant that the wedge-shaped room was split into two zones: a sitting area at the room entrance with a two-seater couch and armchair with coffee and side tables, and a sleeping area with bed, desk and two bedside tables just beyond it. The room size is listed as 40 square meters, but the wedge shape means that the sleeping area is a little bit tight. The bed was exceptional - firm as I like it, with excellent sheets and pillows.

The bathroom, located off the living area, features a pedestal sink upon entry, a wet area with freestanding soaking tub and shower to the left, and the toilet in a separate compartment. The doors are made of metal and glass for an industrial chic aesthetic, and are quite solid - be careful slamming them against one another as the bathroom is also on the tight side! The fixtures are of a high quality, and the proprietary toiletries are provided in bulk-sized jars. They’re crafted from ingredients like cucumber and vetiver, so they’ve got a masculine, woody fragrance that I rather enjoyed.

The room featured not one but two separate balconies, one furnished with two chairs and a table and the other with a reclining chair and table. Both views included slivers of sea and the neighboring buildings of the Palm and Tiara residences, and were perfect for lounging about and getting some air and sun in privacy.

Wi-fi is complimentary for World of Hyatt members, and functioned well across the property throughout the stay - although it had a tendency for getting choppy in different parts of the room.

Breakfast was included in my room rate, as well as a 50 USD credit for food and beverage. Breakfast, offered between 7 and 11 AM at The Locale, the hotel’s main restaurant, is an à la carte affair given COVID-19, but I was informed that the choices were unlimited which is great given that the portions veer a little small. As a vegetarian, I had plenty of options which were all presented well and were made of high-quality ingredients: smashed avocado toast with two poached eggs [their bread is excellent], a vegan plant-based breakfast with tofu scramble on mushroom with sautéed spinach and kale, side dishes of potatoes and mushrooms, and an excellent granola. The carnivores among us will also be pleased with dishes including merguez lamb and other options.

To spend my F&B credit, I ordered room service. The in-room dining menu, available on the hotel’s website, was a little small and lacking in vegetarian-friendly mains, but the staff member on the phone offered me a Thai vegetable green curry as an option, which I selected in addition to vegetable dumplings and the power protein salad. They arrived within thirty minutes as promised, and the portions were very generous. The power protein salad, with ingredients including quinoa, roasted chickpeas, pomegranates and pomelo was truly excellent, and could’ve made a meal in itself given its size and contents… but I continued to gorge myself on the other items. Excellent food.

I used my drinks voucher at The Locale, and was offered a menu of house beverages including one red, white and rosé wine each and several beer options. I chose two glasses of the Da Luca Pinot Grigio, and found it quite satisfactory.

While I didn’t partake of any of the hotel’s facilities this trip, there is an infinity pool and beach that I believe are shared with the Tiara residences on the ground floor. The hotel has a private, adults-only pool on the fourteenth floor which is colorfully-tiled and nicely-decorated with cabanas and loungers.

There is also a spa on the fourteenth floor, but I’m not sure what it entails aside from the requisite treatment rooms.

The hotel offers a lovely, colorful Andaz Lounge on the mezzanine for working and hanging out, as well as meeting rooms that I didn’t see used given COVID-19.

Service was lovely throughout my stay - staff were friendly, cheerful and professional from check-in to check-out. The staff at The Locale - Jenny [the manager] and her colleagues need special shout-outs for their great energy.

One word of advice for the hotel is that the staff need to be more vocal about guests’ adherence to mask-wearing - many guests I saw on property walked around the public areas with no masks at all, or those that did have them were carrying them in their hands.

I greatly enjoyed my stay at Andaz Dubai The Palm, and look forward to returning when the opportunity allows - and hopefully in a near future where COVID-19 is hopefully recessed as a distant, unfortunate memory.I greatly enjoyed my stay at Andaz Dubai The Palm, and look forward to returning when the opportunity allows - and hopefully in a near future where COVID-19 is hopefully recessed as a distant, unfortunate memory.