Jumeirah Al Naseem – Dubai Staycation Review

Amid the coronavirus spread, hotels in the UAE remained either closed or open with a reduced capacity from mid-March. As further precautionary measure, the local government closed public places like parks, beaches and pools.

When the government eased restrictions, allowing residents to have staycations in hotels, we couldn’t wait to go to the beach again. Since only hotel beaches were open, we decided to book a weekend staycation in a 5-star resort. We picked Jumeirah Al Naseem for its sandy beach, crystal-clear waters and magnificent view of the iconic Burj Al Arab. The resort is relatively new and has modern design, elegant common areas and contemporary designed rooms.

We were a bit concerned about the sanitation protocols out in place. But the amount of care the staff dedicated to this aspect put us at ease. We have seen around the clock sanitation of common areas and restaurants and the staff always wearing masks. Also, we appreciated that at check-in any item the member of the staff touched was carefully disinfected before being returned.  Our stay could have been memorable had the F&B experience not been disappointing. We understood that the re-opening notice was too short, rushing the hotel to open restaurants in less than 48 hours. The result was a well below standard experience.

Excellent Location

Jumeirah Al Naseem is located within the Madinat Jumeirah complex, which hosts a locally inspired mall and three hotels. It is the closest hotel to the iconic Burj Al Arab, whose beauty can be enjoyed from the beach and most of the rooms. For a memorable stay, pick a room with the Burj view. It is slightly more expensive but you won’t regret it. The resort is few minutes away from the Mall of the Emirates and the famous Dubai Marina district. Dubai Downtown is about 20 minutes’ drive.

The Beach

You will be in love with Jumeirah Al Naseem’s beach. A long stretch of white fine sand with crystal clear waters and the stunning view of Burj Al Arab. The service at the beach is commendable with well-trained staffs, which are generally very attentive. We got complementary cold water and wet towels during the day and extra towels in the morning upon request.

There was a bit of commotion the first day of re-opening. The staff run left and right to place sunbeds, take out umbrellas from the storage area and assure the safe distance between guests. But the day after everything worked smoothly. We ordered some lunch at the beach cafe and the food came quickly and it was of good quality.

The hotel also offers watersports if you feel adventurous, even though they are a bit more expensive than what you can find in a public beach.

Jumeirah Al Naseem Restaurants

In normal times, you can find many options available at Jumeirah Al Naseem. You can dine by the beach, in a beach club or in one of the many restaurants available. However, during the (almost) post-pandemic re-opening, only Kayto and Rockfish were open, other than the beach cafe.

We expected some degree of confusion after the long lockdown and the rushed re-opening. However, things were worse than we thought. Leaving aside the misunderstanding in booking a table for dinner, Rockfish restaurant ran out of food and drinks after we placed our order. No more squid, octopus, tiramisu and orange juice after only 1 hour of serving dinner.

We chose alternatives that however, were delivered at random. We got a main course, then an appetizer, then after 30 minutes the last main and appetizer followed by desserts. While the waiters did everything they could to keep all guests calm and appeased, it was clear the restaurant was not prepared for the amount of people they were serving. The manager on duty came to our table to apologize and offer some complementary drinks. At breakfast we had to speak with the restaurant and F&B manager before they delivered our breakfast at the beach after having waited at the table for more than one hour. When we finally received our sad looking order, we found a hair in the eggs.

COVID-19 Protocols at Jumeirah Al Naseem

In the current situation, sanitation protocols are very important to guarantee all guests’ safety and Jumeirah Al Naseem seem to be adhering to this. When you arrive, they take your temperature, disinfect your bags and ask you to walk through a disinfecting gate.

During check-in staff members disinfect every item they touch before handing it back. They cleaned everything, from the pen to sign the receipt to the room keys. Staff wore masks at all times, even at the beach and disinfection of tables, chairs and common areas were regular.

The hotel provides sanitizing spray and wet wipes among the other room amenities, which you can use anywhere for extra safety. We used them to wipe all surface areas in the room, just to be on the safe side.

At the beach sunbeds are far from each other (at least 2-3 meters). Face masks are mandatory if you are not in water, although hardly any guests used them while suntanning.

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