Unfortunately, the legend has plummeted into complete decline! The Burj al Arab hotel is unlikely to ever regain its former glory! I will share my experience and caution others not to spend their money here. Instead, you will only receive complete disappointment, if not outright insult! I first stayed at this hotel in 2014 and have often returned, inviting my guests as well. My friends and elder brothers lived here long-term from 2015 to 2018. And now, I have experienced firsthand why they no longer live here and don't recommend it to their friends and guests! I made a reservation for the period from March 3 to March 8, 2024, for 5 days. I booked over the phone, paying the full amount with my personal card for my dear friend, without any discounts. The reservation over the phone was correct, the money was deducted without any issues. But then the chaos began, unparalleled even with 4-star hotels!!! Upon entering the room, we immediately went down to the poolside restaurant for a snack. Particularly noteworthy is that no one escorted us, and there was no butler on the floor, as we were accustomed to before. The carpets throughout the hotel were dirty, the hotel was empty, and it looked abandoned. Approaching the entrance to the restaurant, we were not greeted by an aggressive hostess. Passing by the unfriendly girl, we heard ourselves being rudely called. Surprised, we stopped and turned around, and she asked if we had a reservation. Informing her that we were hotel guests and wanted to eat, she, without leaving her place, rudely asked if we had a reservation (the restaurant was half empty), and there was a distance between us, forcing her to shout at us. We waited for her to understand that she needed to come over herself, she sternly grabbed her tablet from the charger, approached us, asked for the room number, and grumbled that we could go now. Amazed by such hospitality, we went to the table, noting with my friend that such behavior was simply unacceptable before. In the restaurant itself, the waiter knew the menu, recommended dishes, no complaints. However, the menu was very ordinary, and my friend, being on a diet, couldn't order anything dietetic. While waiting for my guest's spouse to arrive, we went up to the room. This time the butler was in his place, but we noted among ourselves that he didn't bother to open the door, just greeted us. We asked if we could get a box of dates, as it was always placed in the room upon check-in. The butler only said he would try to come up with something. After spending about an hour in the room, we left to go to the airport to meet my friend's wife. We asked the same butler about the dates, to which he replied that there would be no dates, laughed loudly for no reason at us, added that he asked the manager about it, but he refused. The butler shook his head, complained about the manager, and said (attention) that the manager, a Chinese man, didn't understand anything about service. We were stunned by such an attitude. In the sauna and spa, things were not as they used to be, to say the least. Nobody greeted us, although there were 3 people at the reception. They were busy with their own affairs, barely noticing us. We threw our room number over our shoulder, but they weren't interested. Inside, a cheerful cleaner, quite the master of the house, said he had been there for a long time and recognized us. We complained to him that the hotel service had fallen to zero, with which he agreed, constantly laughing. We were told that the spa closes at 9:00 pm, but at 8:00 pm a security guard approached, saying that everything was closing and we needed to leave. The climax was a message in the messenger, which was sent to my phone, indicating the name of my ex-girlfriend! This shook me up, and I began to complain to the manager, how is this possible? My profile has existed for 10 years, I paid with my card, and here's a woman's name. Asking the manager, I decided that at least on the last day they would listen to me. After stating all the complaints, I asked him to meet us upon checkout. Philip listened to us again, but indifferently, only offering apologies. My friend and I argued that Philip, the manager, wouldn't restore the service either, and my friend won. Varaul came out to us 20 minutes late with a box. He himself was unshaven and unkempt (before, everyone, not just managers, looked sharp), repeating routine phrases and apologies, this manager handed us a box of something cheap (scented candles, which he might have been looking for all this time). Explaining to him that we regretted spending our money and would never return, he just shrugged. On the way to the airport, my friend asked to call back and ask for a one-time entry to the sauna for me. I suspected that these demotivated guys wouldn't do it, and we started calling. Manager Varaul said that you have to pay for the spa and didn't even try to accommodate us in the end. Perhaps it's our own fault, accustomed to first-class service for which we paid in full, but this time we only received ridicule. By the way, every night they clean something there, and you have to bypass the fenced lobby. One evening in the Sahn Eddar Lounge, sitting down to talk on the phone, I saw 3 guys behind the counter who didn't approach me. I waved my hand, a nervous lady approached, saying they were closed, but they would give me some water anyway. Is it nothing that I sat and waited for you for 10 minutes, and you approached exactly at closing time to tell me about it?!…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.