Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club — Attraction in Dubai

UPDATE: Customer service seems to have replied to this review stating they will get back to me, but it has been two weeks and no one has responded to my email complaint or called me. Absolutely terrible and unprofessional service. ————— Extremely Disappointed with Dubai Equestrian and Polo Club – Unprofessional, Disorganized, and Neglectful of Animals

I had high hopes for Dubai Polo Club, given its reputation and pricing, but my experience has been nothing short of disappointing and concerning. The lack of basic signage and clueless security made it incredibly difficult to navigate, and the staff’s disorganization was shocking. There were no directions to the school reception, and when I arrived, the security at the gate annoyingly told me to go to the main reception and ask them - there was no one available to assist at the main club reception, despite a wedding happening inside the venue.

The horses also appeared sad, tired, under-cared for, and were kept in saddles and bridles despite there being no lessons and the end of the day. The horse I rode, Mafiosa, had very visible irritation and large raw skin patches from the bridle on the back of her ears, which is unacceptable for an establishment charging premium rates. It’s clear the management’s lack of attention to detail and care extends to both the animals and the riders.

The scheduling was poorly managed on the first lesson. I was booked for an 8:30pm lesson, despite being told the 7:30pm class was full and when I arrived I was told the other two riders had moved to 7:30pm so I was left alone, which clearly shows I was lied to about it being full. The horses were clearly exhausted at this late hour, and the loud wedding next door with colorful flashing lights caused the horse I was riding to get spooked, making it unsafe to continue and I had to jump off the horse at 9:10!!! All of this despite Sherif telling me I can get an extra 5 mins since I was lost and didn’t find the school on time (although I arrived in the main reception approx. 10 min prior to my lesson time but became late because I was lost). In the end I only had 25 mins of riding time on the horse and still I overlooked this and didn’t request anything from them and paid anyway and still decided to take a second lesson because I liked the instructor.

My second lesson, which should have been a group class again, was mishandled from the start. I was told I’d be in a group of 3, but ended up alone because the other 2 people cancelled at the last minute. I was given a poorly lit, cramped paddock, with no proper step (the step I was given was tiny and looked like it was for a pony) while other beginner riders were allowed to use the proper arenas that were well lit and had proper sand. When I raised this with Sherif, the receptionist and schedule manager, he gave a vague and unprofessional response. The instructor wasn’t even informed of the schedule being a group lesson and stated he was told from the start it was only one person. It became clear that both Sherif and the rest of the staff were either disorganized or dishonest about the class arrangements.

The lack of professionalism, poor animal care, and unsafe practices make it clear that this is not a place I will be returning to or recommending to anyone ever. It’s unfortunate, because the facilities have potential, but the management's neglectful approach to the instructors, riders and horses is absolutely unacceptable. The state of the horses that are made to work such late lessons and are not cleaned, brushed or looked after once the lessons end at night is appalling misuse of a living being and needs to be reported to the...

Used to go there in pool, gym, lounge. All is good, not perfect and not bad, nice silente place. The only dissapointment is the spa. I visited it twice- in may and in september. In may my specialist was new, so i accepted her unprofessional massage and sharp nails (cutted, but you still can feel them). However today out of 1.5 hours treatment i enjoyed only 30 min, the rest was a total stress.

1. it was REALLY cold there in the treatment room. there is no separate AC so you get same temperature as in the ladies changing room (locker room). you can feel the freeze, my hands and legs were so cold under 2 towels and even nose was cold. then i got hot pillow and it was Ok. Specialist was cold too. Back massage was good. then... head, breast and hands massage i didnt like as i felt nails of specialist and sharp skin on the hands if specialist. (so sorry to mention it here!!!). the worst part was body polish (scrub). It was done AFTER the massage, scrub itself was very liquid (watery, with few scrub pieces in it), and really COLD especially in a cold room and especially after massage(body was hot). It was a total stress and i wanted to quit it, but needed scrub on my skin and the money were paid so i decided to continue. Imagine you are laying in a cold room on a wet towel, cause liquid scrub made everything wet. Guys, spa in Atlantis, Sofitel, they use nice solid scrubs, which are not liquid and which contain 90% of scrub pieces, did you specially put body milk in the scrub to use it less due to promotion? its unbearable. we come to Spa to relax, not to suffer and stress. Just a massage we can get everywhere. And money is paid for the service, for relaxation and atmosphere.

Minuses: cold. therapists are not trained enough. 2 times i took Aroma massage and was not explained which essential oil is used and what is the spice of the massage. both times- just a massage. I am tired to ask questiones. on arrival reception just guessed straight away- you want 1 hour massage? (typical service of cheap beauty salon). Why treatment list was not offered, why each time i have ti ask and ask to explain what is what . bath robes are too warn out/tired. before massage started there was NO breath IN/BREATH out session ( takes 30 seconds but it's important). in relaxation room there are no fruits and flavored water and tea to take, but you shall ask what you want- not nice. head massage is really bad.Each time my ears were touched/folded in a bad way. Had to tell about it and stop the massage.

as a conclusion i want to tell that you get 3 star service for a 5 star price.

Yes, Maybe these 2 times i got wrong specialist. Maybe others are good. Maybe i expected too much. But I can feel people and I felt the rush and hurry in my specialist. I truly believe that Spa services must bring total comfort for the customer, because its our money which are paid for this. In high class spa this is not acceptable. in just a beauty salons it can happen. but not in spa in polo club. there are no such things like deodorant and hair brush in changing rooms. Left the place really SAD.

Your specialists are trying to do all noce but they just dont kniw how. They are welcoming and kind , it makes me feel welcome but doesnt compensate the average service. Problem is clearly in management. Who don't train...

Be very very careful if you are planning to buy some private lessons (never buy). Be more careful than you sign a mortgage contract to buy a house. They have very unfair management policy.

We were looking for a group session for my daughter. They said they can only offer private lessons (around AED350 per hour) They said that my daughter will be in waiting list for group sessions, and till that time, we can buy 10 private sessions and wait for group availability.

Without having any more details, we bought the lessons. This is only 10 tickets for horse riding, what we have to consider? Then they said a parent must be ride with her as she is young. We were spending 2 lessons per hour (Aed700). That was also okay for us.

I asked to book some lessons for us but they said it's fully booked for private sessions as well, the only available slot is 9am for last 2 months. I couldn't even find 10 or 11 am slot during that time frame. Even for afternoons.

We managed to go there and ride couple of times in early morning. I asked many times to ride but they said there is no available slots. So we went there almost every weeks for breakfast, brunch or have some drink for many of friends.

Just today, the business contact told me our lessons are expiring in 10 days and we must spend 4 more lessons in 10 days. I was really shocked. They mentioned first time since I met with them, I have more than 50 messages already in whatsapp, but they mentioned expire policy first time when we have only 10 days left to spend 4 more lessons.

I can also share all whatsapp messages showing my requests to ride but they said it's not available. And now they are burning our hours and couple of thousands of AED. Totally unfair and unprofessional process.

You may see many good comments here from people going there for breakfast or kidsplay. I agree, very good place for having breakfast and spending time. But for horse riding, it was 100% disappointing experience. Never ever buy a private lessons without having a lawyer with you to read policies for...