Rixos Al Mairid Ras Al Khaimah — Hotel in Al Mairid

On arrival it looked like a dream and I was surprised to be informed that our room wasn’t ready, and if we wanted to check in early it would cost £60 each which included Breakfast. After a 7 hour journey with a few delays, we paid for this pleasure. The Dome Restaurant was more like a Canteen but the staff were friendly and welcoming. We went to our room afterwards which was clean and spacious but didn’t really appreciate our room over looking the pool area with music which continued to the early evening. No good, when you wanted to have a few hours sleep before we explored the resort. ||The Resort is Huge with 4 restaurants, Numerous Bars including a sports bar showing premier league and various other sports. 3- 4 Swimming Locations including a Salt Pool which was refreshing but we chose to walk slightly up the beach and stay around the Sol Bar where the pool was slightly colder and more desirable for the warmer climates. ||After the 2nd Night we decided to explore the chances of getting an upgrade from the main hotel to a garden room which was the best decision and well worth the money.. slightly further away from the crowds and about 10 - 15 minutes walk to the main hotel. Thank God for the buggy’s that are free around the resort, it’s a life saver in 38 degrees heat. ||Our Garden room was spacious and luxurious with all the trimmings and a small patio area and a shared garden, which was nice to have a morning coffee or breakfast which costs extra as room|service isn’t included in your package. Breakfast cost around £40 and it was ok as for the rest of the restaurants. The Dome was more of less the same as previous nights, but did do different cuisines some nights which wasn’t excessive but a joy than having the same over and over again. |If you wanted to try the other restaurants which you had to book between 11am - 5pm via the app, which we found that most restaurants were fully booked by 11.15am due to the system. That includes the Steak Restaurant, The Italian and the Turkish restaurant. |We tried all 3 restaurants whilst we were there. The Turkish was pleasant and great surroundings with friendly staff if you can get their attention but the portions were small and we had finished within 1 hour. The Steak Restaurant was lively and it seemed a warming environment but, yes there’s a but because of the menu. There wasn’t a lot on it, it would have been better with a seafood bar was well but that’s my opinion but the food was better than average and we had an enjoyable evening. Lastly the Italian Restaurant, situated within the main lobby we expected something to blow our mind but got hugely disappointed. The decor was really nice, the service was impeccable but the food including the starters and our mains the Spaghetti Bolognese was bland and cold. Not the best experience.||We were looking forward to the Sol Bar Fish Restaurant but it was closed due to it being too hot. Which why I mentioned earlier about the Steak and Fish Restaurant combined. It would make sense ||Anyway the Sol Bar, the one where we spent more of our days around. Don’t expect the food to be any good, we were there for over a week and only had a few good lunches there. The Staff are normally on the lap top or on there phones but are happy to put them down whilst they serve you just to go back to them afterwoods. Not the Best but it plays chilled music through out the day and it was easier to get a drink when the rest of the resort was busy. ||The Juice Bar was a good alternative serving ice creams and fresh fruit and Shakes as you can’t get food between 4pm - 6pm in any off the resort. ||We didn’t use the Kids Club or the Beauty Saloons which I hear from other families it was Ok and Done the trick for a few Hours. ||My Verdict : ( 6/10 ) Would I stay there again, possibly.. the resort was impeccable and our garden room was amazing but the food let it down, the staff are friendly and get ready to be conned by the guys in green trying to sell you massages whilst you relax then try and charge you over £120 for a foot massage and beard trim and all the europeans taking there kids on vacation with families at the start of September.. that’s why we chose to get a garden room, it...

A long review I have posted in a while

We had a 1 night stay booked at the Rixos Al Mairid and my short overnight stay I would say did not meet my high expectations that I had with the Rixos brand not because I have any complaints with the brand but because of the Rixos Al Mairid Property.

Shout out to the Rixos Bab Al Bahr at this time for always meeting or at most times exceeding expectations most of the times.

Why I say this? From the moment you enter a Rixos property you expect 5 star treatment from the front desk team, the staff, the restaurants and overall from every single team member meant to serve the guests, upon checking in the front desk staff no doubt handled my check in very well, explained the property well and as our room was not ready requested us to enjoy the amenities at the property while we wait for our room so no complaints there.

Where my complaints started were during lunch followed by dinner and to be fairly honest the 80% of the reason of my disappointment with Rixos Al Mairid was majorly because of the Main Buffet Restaurant cause lets be honest if your stomach isn't happy then you aren't happy it's that simple.

As we have stayed at Rixos Properties before, We know that the Main restaurant DOES accommodate special request dishes for the NEXT COURSE if informed in advance, For eg: If you request for a special order for Dinner at the Main restaurant at the Rixos Bab Al Bahr at lunch, You are guaranteed to be heard and to be served what you expect during dinner service unless and until if its a request that is a little challenging to fulfill then you also have to be considerate.

As we are vegetarians we had asked the Head chef in the main restaurant at Rixos Al Mairid to help us with a special request dish for DINNER, We also weren't demanding that we want this and this only, we understood that it's not always possible to get what you want so we asked the chef to prepare any appetizer or main course "that would be possible for you to prepare for us." Apparently the head chef did not seem to care enough about our needs and just told us that we have a few vegetarian options in the dinner buffet please help yourself. Now anyone would agree with the chef if the LUNCH buffet itself had some real options for us, the option available were salads, breads, fries, a few deserts and ice-cream so it just made more sense for me to request for a special dish.

After being turned down by the Head chef during Lunch, we continued enjoying the amenities at the property where around late afternoon a staff member came to ask for reviews and how our stay was going, We of course expressed our disappointments and were offered to be served with a special request dish during DINNER.

Unfortunately when it came to Dinner time, the kitchen had no information of a special order and once again the Head chef turned us down by telling us we had no prior information, This is when we tried calling the restaurant manager on duty and explained the situation to him and mentioned how a staff member came to ask for reviews and he himself couldn't fulfill the guests request.

This is when we were lucky enough to be served with a special request dish, my guess would be after possibly finding out that we had been let down enough to give us what we asked to not let their reputation down but unfortunately it was now too late to reverse the disappointment.

Overall The Rixos Al Mairid is a good property to visit for a staycation but if the Main engine (The restaurant) starts neglecting and turning down guests specially the Head chef being so arrogant, the Overall effects can hit not just the specific property's image but can hit the reputation of the Rixos brand as well.

Once again shout out and cheers to the Rixos Bab Al Bahr for always standing out, listening to the guests requests and to fulfill the requests to the most possible extent not just at the Main restaurant but anywhere overall and at this point I hope that the Rixos Al Mairid team take this review and regroup again properly to not let guests down...

Good hotel with room for improvement to achieve a 5 star experience

There are many positives about this hotel which was a Hilton resort until May 2024. The resort is beautiful with lovely grounds and direct access to the beach. Lots of activities and entertainment. Great for children. Clean and well manicured. We went during the kids half term holiday, the hotel was fully booked and finding a sun lounger was not a problem given the number available and the hotels policy of not being able to reserve them. The resort staff were helpful in finding loungers, chairs at the dance shows etc. A few stray cats around the resort but harmless.

The service with the exception of one interaction is fantastic. From checking in, to housekeeping to restaurant and bar staff, everyone was so friendly. A particular shout out to Dilip from the Turquoise Restaurant who made sure we had vegan and vegetarian food to eat.

Plenty of variety at the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet, and a special kids buffet. However as vegetarians it is not easy to navigate. Whilst allergens are displayed on the food labels you cannot assume the food is vegetarian. For example, the Mexican bean soup with gluten listed as the only allergen was made with some sort of meat stock. This means you need a chef who speaks your language to take you through which items are vegetarian at every buffet. A simple change to mark items with a V as other hotels do would be so much better and a quick fix. For vegans it is more difficult but the restaurant was more than happy to make special meals if you told them what you wanted to eat in advance. The salad bar and fruit bar were always there for fall back.

The a la carte restaurants had little vegetarian/vegan choice on the menus. I wish I could tell you they accommodated food alterations however in our 5 night stay we were not able to eat anywhere other than the buffet. This is where the Rixos lets itself down as a 5 star hotel. You can only book a restaurant in person at 9am at a special desk in the lobby. The queues at start at 8:30am. I’ve never seen anything like it. Actually, I have - it’s the budget airline model where you have to queue for everything. But definitely not in a 5 star hotel. Sadly Cecilia who was responsible for making the bookings the day we tried was unfriendly and unapproachable. I guess she is the face of managements poor process, so in the firing line for customers unhappiness in this regard. You will see from multiple reviews that others have complained about this for months yet there have been no changes to let guests have at least one experience in a proper restaurant during their stay.

The indoor and outdoor gyms were good but the spa facilities need updating. The communal changing rooms, sauna and spa is unusual in the Middle East and stopped us from using them. The ladies hairdresser (Jack) is excellent and the rest of the team were also very friendly.

The rooms are standard and can do with sprucing up. We had a nice view of the beach away from the pool area so it was very peaceful. Unfortunately our room had an issue with the noise from the air conditioning system. Prakash in reception was quick to find us a solution.

The ultra all inclusive package is good if you like to drink with a full set of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks included. You really don’t need to spend any more money whilst you are here. We loved the fruit bar where there was someone on hand to cut fresh fruit and juice fruit and vegetables in the afternoon. Baskin Robins ice cream available on site too. No poolside drink service available for those who may like that. The hotel mini bar was also included in the package (soft drinks only) and there were a couple of snack options there. Food was in plentiful supply so we did not need to use room service which did have a couple of clearly labelled vegan options and easy to identify vegetarian options unlike the buffet.

Overall good value for money and in my opinion sits comfortably as a 4 star experience with the potential for 5 stars with...