Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort — Hotel in Abu Dhabi

My family and I have been part of the Marriott Bonvoy program for many years because of the level of service the hotel group provides. In addition, we joined Marriott Vacation Club last year. Therefore, we feel a level of responsibility to ensure Marriott Hotel group continues to be the beckon of service it is known for. It is to that end that I felt quite disappointed with the level of service my family and I received at Shareton Abu Dhabi Hotels & Resort, Abu Dhabi Corniche* on May 10 2025.

My family and I drove 140 km from Dubai to spend the weekend in Abu Dhabi and to watch a Michael Micintyre show. Our plan was to settle our three children at the hotel and head off to the show. When we arrived at the reception we were told we needed physical IDs for all the 5 of us. We were quite surprised by that requirement because the UAE has a government App which has all the government issued IDs so we barely carry our physical IDs in Dubai. Apparently, that is not the case in Abu Dhabi. One needs to present physical IDs for many services.

As confused and disillusioned as we were, considering that our show was about to start in less than two hours at Etihad Arena, about 30 minutes drive from the hotel and we had no where to settle our 3 children, it is the attitude of the front office staff, Sajjad that really shocked us. His response was, “sorry, we need physical IDs for all the 5 of you, without that I can’t check you in.” Since I had my ID, I asked if it was possible for him to give us one of the rooms so that we can settle the children and think of other solutions. His comment was “No, that is not possible. Without ID, I cannot even let you in the elevator since it is a government requirement and we cannot pay a fine because of you. And he added, “how can you book two hotel rooms and have only one ID?” He then told us that we were not the first people to be turned away that day, there have been other guests who had been tuned away with similar situations. The fact that this front desk officer who is supposed to be the face of Marriott was proud that other guests who had probably traveled had been turned away was concerning for us as people who have vested interest in the Marriott group.

At this point, both my wife and I were getting really frustrated. This is a customer service officer who is supposed to help guests find solutions and here he was with zero respect for guests and no clue about customer service.

We do understand that there is government requirement for physical IDs. Our frustration was in the fact that we were not made aware of this requirement when we booked our hotel rooms on the Marriot Bonvoy App. Moreover, the day before our trip, we received a confirmation about our stay, but no mention was made of this physical ID requirement. Considering that there is such a strict government requirement, the least the hotel could do is to remind their guests the day before their stay.

The other reason for our frustration was that this was a customer service staff who had no clue on how to treat guests. He showed zero sense of empathy to our plight and was not willing to explore solutions with us. We were eventually turned way with my 9 year old son, who was so much looking forward to the weekend stay in tears.

Our deep connection to Marriott places a responsibility on us to write this review. Our objective is not to name and shame or put Sajjad in trouble. There are two things we recommend should be done to ensure Marriott continues to be a successful brand. Since there is a strict government requirement for physical IDs in Abu Dhabi, Marriot hotels should make sure that guests are informed a day before their visit to carry their physical IDs. Secondly, we suggest that front desk staff should be given additional training on customer service and solution-based engagement...

This was the worst experience I have ever had in any hotel. When we arrived to the hotel there was a long queue to check-in and only 1 person working so we had to wait for a long time. Once we finally got to the counter we got a free "room upgrade" from the receptionist. We were happy at first only to then realize that the "upgrade" was in fact a downgrade (Probably nobody wanted that room so they offered it as a so called "upgrade"). The room that we got was on the other side of the hotel, facing the pool. And I have no idea who hired that DJ and who thought that blasting such loud music is a good idea but it was a nightmare. I'm not even gonna speak about the quality of that music but the volume was unbearable. Imagine that a 5 star hotel does not have soundproofing, and you get a room facing the pool where a DJ is blasting music so loud that even with closed balcony you can hear it in the bathroom which is on the other side of the room! And it's not like you can barely hear it, it's like a disco in the room. So we asked to have our room changed about 10 minutes after we got the room as the music was unbearable. The lady at the reception told us that she will see what she can do and will call us back very soon. 20 minutes have passed by and nobody called so we went downstairs. Both of the receptionists acted as if they did not know us and completely ignored us. When we finally got to the counter the man was annoyed at us and acted all surprised (he acted as if he did not remember us and asked for the room number even though he was the one that checked us in literally 30 minutes before and he must have known about the room change so he was just being rude for no reason). And he started looking for a room in the system. He told us there was no room available which was absolutely ridiculous as we got a different room than the one we booked and we just wanted to switch to our original room - he said it was unavailable! He finally managed to find some room and told us to relax for 30 minutes in the room and that the cleaning team will clean the room and someone will come to us. After over an hour of being ignored again, we called the reception. The lady receptionist answered and once again acted all surprised and as if she did not know what we wanted. We went through the whole thing again where she said she didn't have the room etc. When she finally found it she said it was not ready and told us to wait and that she would call us back very soon. ONCE AGAIN, over 20 minutes passed and nobody called, so I called the manager as I had enough already. He finally did something and we managed to get our room. However, he did not even come to us to apologise but rather sent the bellboy to help us move our luggage and we never heard from him again. We lost almost 3h waiting idly in the room. We were treated like garbage, especially by the male receptionist who looked at as with contempt and did not even apologise and we got absolutely zero compensation at all. The manager just sent the bellboy to take our luggage and did not even ask if he could do anything else after how we were treated. I have never experienced anything like that before. I would have never thought that a hotel with such prestige could hire people who treat guests this way. Additionally, if you think of choosing this hotel because of the pool or the beach, go somewhere else - The music played by the DJ is so loud that there is absolutely no way you can ever relax there, you will be able to hear that music even through your headphones (and the music is terrible, full of bad remixes). I have stayed in many 2/3/4 star hotels that treated me way better and had better standards. I will...

Just posting my review so that other people can avoid this property. Anything can be stolen from your room and as a security breach please think twice before staying here. They have no feedback mechanism and they dont take your complains seriously. To our surprise, there was no follow-up from the team before or after the wedding event, which is unusual given our history of hosting numerous events with Sheraton. There was no one present there and no courtesy calls were received. Our specific requests, such as having sofas instead of a dance floor in the front, were not met, leading to dissatisfaction. If there was any confusion, we were always available. There was no follow up also. How do you follow your continual improvement process if you dont follow up with your customers. Moreover, the team did not answer our calls. It was only after repeated attempts that they answered our calls. Plus no one was present that day during the wedding event. We had a pre wedding event at a smaller property and they were much better.

The absence of a spotlight, contrary to our expectations based on previous events, and the mismanagement during the pre-wedding experience, including difficulties with obtaining the hotel key and accessing the makeup room, added further frustration. I am not sure why the make up room was locked and the bride and the groom had to roam around. We were supposed to get our photoshoot there. Despite the commitment in our package, the delivered post-wedding food did not align with even 50% of the agreed-upon menu. Additionally, the mishandling of my husband's forgotten nol card and the subsequent delayed response from your team, resulting in unauthorized charges, further marred our experience. I cant believe it was stolen from our room. Sheraton is a big name and to experience that was such a disappointment. Moreover, the case was only follow up when there was different customer who had complained about their airpods. We weren’t even told that our card is in lost and found. We chose Sheraton based on the assurance of Shabnam, our point of contact, and our positive past experiences. Regrettably, the mismanagement and lack of coordination during our wedding were unexpected and disappointing. We had recommended Sheraton to friends in the past, and one recently had their wedding at your venue. However, our experience compels us to reconsider future recommendations to friends and family. If you are thinking of staying here, please dont. If you are thinking of organising a big wedding event here, please dont fall for their false promises. It would only ruin your experience which is supposed to be...