Hilton International, Abu Dhabi

...or both. Either way, the Hilton is well located for both.

OK the hotel is not actually on the beach - but it is just across the road and there is a handy subway that goes almost from the front door of the hotel to the Hiltonia beach club. But more on that later.


Arrival
I had booked an airport pickup and sure enough, I was picked up. As we emerged from customs, there was our name on the board. I identified ...
...there are also the Bayouneh Hilton and the Hilton Corniche Residence. Make sure you get to the right one - you'd be really hacked off if you unloaded two suitcases, a couple of cabin bags, a pushchair, the occupant of aforementioned pushchair, paid the taxi, sent it on its way then found you were half a mile down the road from where you wanted to be. No, it didn't happen to me - well, not here anyway! But there was that occasion....

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If you're going to Abu Dhabi the chances are that you want to chill out, shop, or both. Either way, the Hilton is well located for both.

OK the hotel is not actually on the beach - but it is just across the road and there is a handy subway that goes almost from the front door of the hotel to the Hiltonia beach club. But more on that later.

Arrival
I had booked an airport pickup and sure enough, I was picked up. As we emerged from customs, there was our name on the board. I identified myself and moments later we were escorted to the door and we, and our bags, were loaded into a Mercedes taxi, no less, and we were on our way. A fine start, we were impressed already.

There are three Hiltons in Abu Dhabi; as well as this one there are also the Bayouneh Hilton and the Hilton Corniche Residence. Make sure you get to the right one - you'd be really hacked off if you unloaded two suitcases, a couple of cabin bags, a pushchair, the occupant of aforementioned pushchair, paid the taxi, sent it on its way then found you were half a mile down the road from where you wanted to be. No, it didn't happen to me - well, not here anyway! But there was that occasion....

This one is the Hilton International and is at one end of the Corniche seafront road, close to the Emirates Palace Hotel and the Marina Mall shopping centre.

It is at the far end of the Corniche, coming from the airport, so takes a few minutes longer than some of the central hotels but we were there within half an hour.

Check In and the Lobby
We and our bags were quickly unloaded out of the cool, air conditioned car, through the baking 40 degree heat and into the nicely chilled lobby. As the doorman unloaded the bags, I looked around.

The square lobby comprised mostly a lounge area; to the right was the beautifully landscaped entrance to the Lebanese restaurant. To the left was a long, wide corridor stretching past the Concierge and Reception desks, a small parade of little shops made to look like a village street, to the lifts.

In the mornings, next to the check in desks, a trolley offered complimentary iced lemon tea - and delicious it was after a walk in the sun! - and in the evenings it offered traditional Arabic coffee and dates. A welcome touch.

When we arrived, check in was done very quickly. The receptionist was welcoming, cheerful and friendly and minutes later we were on our way to our room.

The Room
The room was fairly standard hotel room size and decorated in the predominantly bland colours. However it was quite well stocked and furnished, certainly comfortable.

First, most important, the bed. The double bed was well sized and comfortable even for three. The cover was a bit weird, it was a duvet that tucked in at the bottom, but once I had ripped it off the bed and thrown it back on again I was comfortable enough! In fact the bed was, quite honestly, very comfortable indeed.

Of the less important features, there was a unit of four drawers for storage, with a good sized TV on top. Next to that, another small unit containing the minibar and, on top of that, a kettle with tea and coffee.

Inside the cupboard there was a small safe, useful for holding passports etc, and also an ironing board.

The bathroom was averagely small sized. The bath doubled as a shower - the water was strong and the temparature easily controlled and stable (take note some other hotels!) and the Crabtree and Evelyn shampoo, shower gel and conditioner were pleasant and felt effective.

Food and Drink
There are a total of 11 joints around the hotel and the beach club where a horse can get a nosebag. I won't list them all - if you are that interested, check the website! However, highlights are:

Mawal the Lebanese restaurant off the lobby, over a small wooden bridge past the waterfall - beautifully entrancing entrance.

There is also the Four Corners buffet cafe which serves breakfast and, some nights, has themed nights. There is also a Thai restaurant, whose name I can't remember and an Italian restaurant called BiCE - how does one pronounce that?

Hemingway's bar in the hotel is one of the most popular, happening bars in the city - at weekends it is packed. If you are looking for a lively evening on a Wednesday, thursday or even Friday night, this is the place to look! Adjoining is the Jazz Bar which has live music late at night and also offers good food for the late diner.

In the beach club across the road is Vasco's, a restaurant popular with all sections of society, and great for a quiet, romantic dinner.

There is also an outdoor cafe at the Beach Club, a cafe bar above the lobby, and of course 24 hour room service.

So there is no reason to ever go hungry - or thirsty!

Facilities
Well, I've hinted a few times at the beach club so let's start there! The Hiltonia - or Hiltinya as it became known by yours immaturely - is across the road from the hotel, connected via a subway, and is funnily enough on the beach. Here they offer a large pool with swim-up bar offering fantastic cocktails, a children's pool without bar, and a couple of water slides into a separate pool. To one side is the beach which is nice and sandy and clean enough that I have seen fish almost the size of my hand swimming up to within two or three feet of the water's edge. It's a fantastic place to laze way the hours - the babes are hot, the vodkas are chilled, the sand is soft and the water refreshing. What more do you need?

Just next to the Hiltonia is the Spa, which offers a large and well equipped fitness centre, jacuzzis, massages and other treatments and yet another pool, this one split level!

With all of this, one wonders why they bothered putting a fitness centre and pool into the main hotel. Well they did put a fitness centre in but then it seems as if someone else asked "why bother?" because the pool at the hotel itself is tiny. If you dive in one side you are in danger of hitting your head on the other side before you surface.

If you must work while you're here, and you won't do it from the room, there is a well equipped business centre offering internet PCs, copying, printing and all the other services you might get from your secretary apart from sexual favours. And, if you need an excuse to get a dozen of your mates here for a great weekend, there are meetings and conference facilities for a varied number of guests. So go ahead and book a meeting then spend the time on the beach!

For guests staying on one of the Executive floors, there is a lounge on the tenth floor offering complimentary snacks, free cocktails in the evening (mine's a vodka please) and a buffet breakfast in the mornings complete with smoked salmon and trimmngs. Well worth the extra few bucks!

Location
On the corner of the Corniche, it is a bit far from parts of the city but just minutes away from the Marina Mall shopping centre and opposite the 7-star Emirates Palace Hotel. Even if you want something at the other end of the Corniche, it is at most ten minutes and two bucks in a cab, so not something to worry about.

Summary
I used to be a fan of the Millennium Hotel for my stays in Abu dhabi but I am now quite a convert to the Hilton. After all, the rooms may be no bigger but with the beach club across the road, one of the two biggest shopping centres five minutes away, and around a dozen cuisines to choose from on site, what more could one ask for. Top hotel!
 

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