Mövenpick Amman

Amman was a 2-night stay but in fact only one day spent there as I checked-in around 1am. The hotel is located in a quiet residential neighborhood. It used to be a former Holiday Inn that has been totally refurbished when moving to Mövenpick brand sometime in 2018 or 2019.

I was very nicely welcomed as a Diamond member, you feel that the loyalty program and the status are very important and they are happy to provide the maximum attention and benefits to top status holders. Several times during the stay, I was greeted by my name by some staff members that I did not know but apparently they knew who I was. I really felt special. Free parking is available for guests. As I had a rental car, it was very useful to me. 

I used SNU and my room was an Executive Suite, on the 13th floor. The different facilities of the hotel were explained, including the Club Millesime on the top floor. Drink voucher was given.

Views of the nice hotel lobby

The room was composed of 2 distincts rooms : living room and bedroom. There was a small kitchenette in the room entrance. The living room had a full bathroom with toilets and shower, while the “main bathroom” had also a bath tub on top of the shower. If I had one criticism to formulate, it would be the for the main bathroom where all those glass walls are creating small spaces and it was not “easy” to use the toilets there because of the very small place. But you could still use those of the other bathroom. 

Welcome gift was a fruit plate. Plenty of water provided. Nespresso machine and kettle. Slippers were provided but, surprisingly, no bathrobe. I tend to believe that it’s not a policy and it was simply forgotten. As my stay was short, I didn’t bother to ask. Soundproofing was perfect. 

Breakfast can be taken only at the main restaurant, called The Senate, on the ground floor (so, not at the lounge). It’s a buffet proposing a large selection. Usual cold and warm buffet product without pork-based products as expected in a Muslim country. There were also a large selections of various grains and local products that were nicely presented (see pictures). Service (for coffee) was a bit relaxed but no big deal and the waiters were all very nice. This restaurant is also open for lunch and dinner, where I believe they provide a buffet. 

There is also a bar on the ground floor. (Cappuccino lounge) 

The Club lounge is located on the 14th floor and has a very elegant atmosphere. It offers nice views over the city. As you can see on the pictures, there is a dining area part and another part with sofas and armchairs. It is open from 10 am to 9 or 10pm (don’t remember). All day you can have soft drinks there. There is a happy hour from 6 to 8 pm, but it’s not like in any other lounge we are used too : this happy hour is for providing canapés but there is no free flow of alcohol or cocktails. Those are proposed but you need to pay. However, the happy hour slot, gives you one free for one bought.

We had an interesting misunderstanding this evening and I don’t know if I had explanations and did not understand or if they forgot to give me explanations : for dinner, I wanted to try the other restaurant called Rumors lounge on the 3rd floor because it has an outdoor seating part with nice views over Amman. So I left the lounge and went down to this restaurant where I retrieved one of the server of the lounge. I felt he was surprised to see me there but he asked me where I wanted to be seated and I chose outside. A few minutes later, one of the managers that I saw briefly at the lounge came to see me and asked if there was anything wrong with the lounge, if I was unhappy about something. I assured him that there was zero problem, that my stay was going very well and that I simply wanted to try this restaurant. So I understood between the lines that, having dinner at the hotel, I would have had it at the lounge instead. Food was good and a nice surprise came with the bill because when I asked for it, I was told that it was complimentary for me as a club lounge-eligible guest. Very nice, really. 

The sunset was beautiful from there.

After a hot day around, the pool was appreciated. Divided in 2 parts : the one for young kids and the one (deeper) for adults or older children. Summer time obliged, lot of screaming kids playing in water ;). A big negative point : the pool closes at 6 pm, which is way too early.

Checkout without issues the next day by a very courteous person who wanted to make sure I had a great stay and that they will see me again (hopefully !). 

In summary, very good stay, nice hotel, nice people. I would return without hesitation. There was a project of “Le Grand Amman, managed by Sofitel” that was supposed to materialize end 2019, but nothing showed up so far. 

Now, en route for 2nd step : Mövenpick Petra.