“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
I visited Anantara Qasr Al Sarab with a friend of mine (who is also my lovely photographer – thank you Zahra for taking amazing photos of me!) for the Eid Al Adha weekend.
This impressive luxury resort is located 2 hours away from Abu Dhabi Corniche in the world’s largest sand desert – the Empty Quarter. At that time I was still based in Abu Dhabi, however Zahra and I both were in Dubai for that weekend so it took us 3.5 hours by car to reach Qasr Al Sarab from Dubai Downtown.
While driving for 3.5 hours seems like a daunting experience, it was totally worth it and when we got to Abu Dhabi-Liwa Road we were rewarded with spectacular views of ever-changing sand dunes. The sand colour in that area is very rich and deep with high dunes and occasional trees and shrubs so have your cameras ready for some stunning photography! Unfortunately, we did not have time to stop to take proper photos.
The check in formalities were completed in the lobby while seated on comfy sofas. That weekend was particularly busy due to Eid holidays but there were very few people in the lobby and elsewhere around the resort.
After settling in our suite we went out to explore the Arabian fortress-style hotel and its grounds and the place was every bit as picturesque and beautiful as we had imagined and more!
We took a walk along the Scenic Walkway and took some stunning photos but it was too hot to spend too long outside so we had to rush back inside to cool down sooner than expected.
The hotel is too far away from Abu Dhabi so you cannot easily drive back there for a quick lunch but luckily the property offers a decent selection of restaurants. My friend and I were too busy exploring the grounds so only tried the Mediterranean restaurant by the pool called Ghadeer which we liked.
We were also tempted to try the terrace of Al Liwan, the lobby lounge overlooking the dramatic sand dune, as the view from there looked spectacular. Unfortunately, it was early September so it was still too hot to stay there for more than 10 minutes (my phone got overheated so much it switched off!).
If you don’t feel like having a proper meal, they also serve high tea in the lobby. The selection of teas was excellent – we especially enjoyed 1001 Nights and Emirates Spice – however, the sandwiches and sweets were pretty standard.
Early evening is the best time to walk around the property without getting too overheated if you come here during the hotter months. But the sand still gets very hot so please learn from our mistake and wear some closed-toe shoes with thick soles to protect your feet!
Make sure you stroll outside just before sunset to take some majestic photos of the sun setting down.
If you climb over this massive dune just before sunset you will be able to take truly scenic photos of the sun setting over the distant dunes from a high vantage point. As it was still too hot to endure this long trek we decided against it.
The best way to enjoy your staycation at this beautiful desert resort is to book a 2-bedroom villa with the desert view. The view was magical with endless dunes stretching as far as you could see and it felt very private, and the villa itself was lovely and spacious.
The best feature of the villa is this impressive pool overlooking the picture-perfect desert.
As an alternative option, I recommend booking a terrace room rather than a suite. Although terrace rooms are a lower category, they are located on the first floor above suites and standard garden rooms which means no one will be walking on your property. It felt like the garden room (the lowest category) was not much different from the suite in terms of privacy because people were walking past our garden patch all the time.
Overall, this resort is simply stunning and it’s a great way to discover the beauty of the mysterious and mostly unexplored Empty Quarter at a slow pace.
It’s worth noting that the hotel and its facilities deserve a separate review with details of what I liked and what could be improved but I’ll leave this for another time.
Bisous
Yasmina
