PARK HYATT, DUBAI

We arrive in Dubai first thing in the morning, around 7am. The Park Hyatt is conveniently located only fifteen minutes drive from the airport, so after hopping in a car and enjoying the long, winding drive through the grounds of the Park Hyatt and Dubai Creek golf club up towards the hotel, we arrive fresh-faced and eager to check in.

Our room will be ready in about fifteen minutes, so we decide to make use of the breakfast buffet whilst we wait. All manner of baked goods, cold cuts, fresh fruit and even an entire honeycomb (see the left photo below) are available. Tempted as I am, I load up on a healthy plate of fruit and order an egg white omelette (how good am I?!).

Back to the lobby to collect our keycards after breakfast, and we excitedly hurry towards 2306.

It's as dreamy as one could hope for.

We have a gorgeous view of the Dubai Creek, where a seaplane can occasionally be seen waiting for its next passenger, and the Burj Khalifa stands tall in the distance, dwarfing every other high rise in sight.

The only negative feature in an otherwise beautiful bathroom is the toilet - a frosted glass door which swings shut provides very little privacy, especially considering the rest of the bathroom doesn't really even have a door separating it from the rest of the suite. 

The rest of the hotel is just as lovely. Typical Park Hyatt tones and decor, with a touch of Middle Eastern style. Beautiful exotic lamps and vases, enormous scented candles encased in glass holders, marble floors.

Then there are certain aspects of the hotel which are reminiscent of Greece - clean, white walls and rich blue, rounded roofs seem to inspire a certain nostalgia for Santorini (though I myself have never been).

The first thing I want to see (after giddily bouncing around our room for an hour or so) is the pool. With two jacuzzi features, palm trees every which way and water as comfortable as a warm bath, this is my idea of paradise. For the rest of our holiday, we manage to spend mornings reading in the shade, afternoons dipping in every twenty minutes to relieve our bodies of the heat, and evenings falling asleep on our lounge chairs to the pleasant sounds of chipper birds teasing and calling out to one another.

My only issue with an otherwise perfect stay (and it's a small issue, really) is with the room service. Although everybody is perfectly well meaning, any time somebody rings the doorbell, they barely give you a minute to get dressed or answer the door, ringing frantically two, three times and then simply entering with a "Helloooo!" Not too patient. 

Okay, I suppose I have one other - after our bill had been settled, we received an email claiming that we were meant to pay for one of the breakfasts we had, and could they charge it to the card? In actuality, we had breakfast included with our stay, not to mention the fact that we didn't even eat at the buffet on two of the four mornings. It felt like they were counting their pennies. Not something you really expect from a PH.

On the other hand, I have to mention just how lovely the pool guys are - smiling, friendly, and incredibly helpful. 

In almost every aspect, the Park Hyatt, Dubai is the ideal haven from the rest of the city. Private, beautiful, luxurious and just a little bit out of the way. A peaceful paradise. Then, of course, Friday brunch rolls around, and it's a whole other matter - but I'll leave that for another day.