Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai — Hotel in Dubai

Here’s a very honest account of our trip.|7 nights, All Inclusive, end of March.||Little context, this was our 6th trip to Dubai, always on the week of the Dubai World Cup. We (Me and Wife) usually rent an apartment on the Marina. However this was the first time coming with our little boy, so needed a resort that was child centred.||Firstly I have to start with how rude the other patrons have been. I have never been to any resort anywhere in the world and encountered rudeness like it. Whether it be pushing in at the buffet, pushing in at lifts, in the pool, holding doors or letting people past you with no thank you, standing in front of you at shows, I’ve never come across such a disrespectful group of people. On two occasions during a kids Science show Arabic mothers walked up to the stage to the performer and demanded their kids be chosen to go on stage. My son is three and half and loves the football simulator, I had to stand and Police the line as bigger kids tried to push in front of him time and time again. Poor general respect leads to lots of poor behaviour from kids. Again, I’m not lying when I say a family allowed a 3/4 year old child to cycle round the 8th floor Sheesh Restaurant on a scooter, completely unattended and banging into everyone. On an evening there’s nothing for anyone to do, the games room is packed the rest of kids are running riot across the hotel. On one occasion in the lift an Arabic lady slapped her 8/9 year old son across the face!||CheckIn, we were given the wrong rooms, Mums room had two beds and ours had one, also meant Mums birthday cake was in the wrong room. Not the end of the world, more disappointing was that we got the construction side.||All Inclusive, if you’re expecting a traditional all inclusive then forget it. This hotel caters for half board, full board, all inclusive and a Mirage all inclusive. Typical Caribbean and even good European resorts, everything is included, coffee shops, cakes, all types of beer. Not here, I kid you not, ‘Sweet Potato Fries’ are not available on the AI package and are chargeable. The coffee shop is chargeable, the ice cream shop is chargeable (other than the little hut where you get one scoop), the hot dog stall is chargeable, If you want any other beer than Chang, it’s chargeable.||There is one ‘proper Ala Carte’ restaurant, that’s Uno Mas, for the first 3 days, completely impossible to book. App said it was full and you can’t book over 24 hours before, so I tried booking the 6.30 slot at 7.00 the next night, still no availability. I went down and mentioned it, to which a booking was made immediately. ||We used Careem to make an order of snacks, chocolate, sweets, crisps and drinks between meals and in down time, it was excellent, cheap and efficient. There is a fridge in the room, but you won’t be surprised to read it came empty and stayed empty.||Food, I have to say the quality of the food was very good. I was impressed with the taste, freshness and ingredients used in the buffet. Sheesh, whilst very niche, again was very tasty. Sands had great pizza’s and BBQ. By 7 nights we’d probably exhausted all the usual food options but I can’t fault the taste or quality of any of the restaurants. Uno Mas was very impressive, not too much choice but very very good food. A couple of things let the night down, firstly the restaurant backs onto the buffet and is actually used as a cut through to the toilet. Secondly we asked for a break in between starter and main, we were asked to give them 10 minute notice when we wanted it to be cooked however it arrived straight away, there was some argument between the waiters, the food was taken back but brought back to the table 2/3 minutes later.||Evening/Entertainment, or lack of. Literally nothing to do on a night. Watch a film, watch a poor show for 30 mins or kick a ball against a a virtual goal. Even for adults there’s one bar, that must host 6-8 people inside, 30 outside. There’s no fun, no vibe, no English music. Wherever you are in the hotel, if you want a drink it’s down to Waves or Dunes as they call it on an evening then back whatever you were doing, watching paint dry probably. There is a beautiful bar right next to the kids club, you guessed it, cash only bar and you you couldn’t bring any drinks in.||Pools are awesome, something for kids of all ages and a reason we booked. However if you want to sleep past 9, you have no chance of getting a sun lounger, even one that’s consistently in the shade (very bizarre design at lots are in the shade, as is the whole of the walk ways tbh). We found ourselves based on the beach and popping to the pools as and when. On the one occasions Mum did get up early and get us 3 sun lounges at 8am, by the time we’d met her at Breakfast and returned to the loungers at 9.30am, we’d had a towel taken.||Staff were mostly great and super attentive. They really did make a fuss of my little boy, he absolutely loved the attention.||Planes - Hundreds per day over head going both ways, once you’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all, didn’t have affect when in the room or sleeping.||Overall, it’s not a cheap place and it’s far from value for money. Dubai is known for excellent customer service, for being premium and having class. Due to circumstances (Dad passing away, booking quite late and single person occupancy) my mum paid almost £3,500 for a week, to be told she has to pay for sweet potato fries, this can’t be right. ||The little lad loved it but Ultimately as an hotel and a resort (forgetting stuff it can’t control, like clientele and child behaviour) it misses the mark.|The whole additional charge, sells us short of what a real all inclusive is. Lack of what is available, what isn’t available, where you can and can’t go, just becomes an unwanted hazard a stress you shouldn’t have on holiday. Then there’s the limited menu/drinks again, we’re just sold short. And finally, complete lack of entertainment on a night with nothing to do and 3 day mountain trek for a beers, it’s just all so frustrating. If you can be bothered to trek the mountains for a drink, there’s no where to go with it.||Horse Racing is my passion, so we only really come for that. I’ve probably seen enough of Dubai now over the last 10 years. I probably wouldn’t do another all inclusive in Dubai and if we did, it definitely...

Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai – Honest Family Review (July 2025)

We recently spent five nights (14–19 July 2025) at Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai, and while we had an overall enjoyable time, we felt it’s important to share a few insights—especially for families with older children.

🌴 Family Focused – But Skews Very Young

Centara markets itself as a family-friendly resort, and it absolutely lives up to that—but predominantly for younger families. If your children are under 10, they’ll be in paradise. However, with two teens aged 13 and 15, we found that many of the activities and pools were a bit too juvenile for them.

The resort was teeming with toddlers and younger children, which isn't a problem in itself, but it did limit our older kids' engagement with the on-site amenities. A few adjustments, like designating an older kids/teens pool or activity zone, would have made a big difference.

🍽️ Food & Drink – Surprisingly Excellent

The all-inclusive offering was a real highlight. We enjoyed delicious steak every night and were impressed by the consistent quality across the restaurants. There’s plenty of variety, and we never felt restricted by the menu options. The beer selection is limited to Chang lager—but to be fair, it's very decent for a single option.

As for the "Mirage" all-inclusive tier vs the standard one—we didn’t really see what the additional benefit was. The base all-inclusive package was already excellent and covered everything we needed.

🍷 Service Shout-Out – Sands Restaurant

Special thanks to the team at Sands Restaurant, who delivered standout service every time. Friendly, attentive, and genuinely committed to making our experience memorable. Easily one of the resort’s strongest assets.

🌊 Grounds & Facilities – Mixed Experience

The hotel grounds were spotless and beautifully maintained. No complaints there.

The infinity pool was chaotic at times. While it’s a beautiful setting, it's filled with very young children using inflatables and armbands, making it hard to enjoy for older guests. There is a time limit of 11am before children are allowed in the pool, but we feel an all day minimum age limit (e.g. 13+) would be a fairer policy, considering the multiple other kid-friendly pools.

The adult-only pool exists but is tiny, barely a sanctuary amid the noise and chaos elsewhere.

🚫 Areas for Improvement

Inflatables Pool – Closed for maintenance 3 out of 5 days. A shame for our teens who were really looking forward to this.

High Ropes Course – Closed for the entire summer (June–August), which we found misleading. The hotel’s recent social media posts implied it was open. Better communication is needed.

Rooms – Functional, but quite basic for Dubai. We’d rate them at 3-star level in comparison to other stays we’ve had in the city.

Lift Delays – Frustratingly long wait times. With one lift apparently out of order, congestion was a real issue.

Waves Beach Bar – Needs fans in the outdoor seating area. Also, there’s no paved path between the bar and towel area, which means you’re constantly dealing with sand in your shoes. Small fixes, but they would go a long way.

Pool Closures Due to Accidents – With so many young children in the pools, there were unfortunately a few closures due to "accidents" during our stay. This could be mitigated with better zoning of pools by age.

🧳 Final Thoughts

Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai offers good value for families, especially those with younger children. The all-inclusive food and drink are top-notch, and the staff—especially at Sands—work hard to deliver a great experience.

However, if you have teenagers or are used to the higher-end hotel standards Dubai is known for, you may find parts of the experience lacking. With a few strategic adjustments (age-specific pool areas, clearer comms on closures, and lift upgrades), this could be an exceptional resort for all ages.

Would we return? Perhaps—not with teens, but we would certainly recommend it for families with...

We stayed at Centara Mirage Resort for my daughter’s birthday, hoping for a fun and memorable experience, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a little disappointing.

We booked through the resort’s official website, which mentioned a 20% discount at their restaurants F&B. However, when we tried to use it at the beachside restaurant, the staff denied any knowledge of the offer—even after we showed them the confirmation email. We tried calling reception for nearly 20 minutes with no response. I had to leave the pool area and go to reception in my swimwear to sort it out. Thankfully, the spa manager Maria was kind enough to help and get the discount sorted, but by then, the pool had closed, and we missed enjoying it.

We had also mentioned during booking that it was our daughter’s birthday and requested a small celebration arrangement, as is common at most resorts like Rotana properties did a very good job for her last birthday without follow up. Centara said a small cake will be arranged but for small decor an additional cost will be charged about 200aed. For complimentary cake—which was promised will be done when we arrive which was not done, I wanted to surprise my daughter if they would have informed earlier we could have got our own. We he reception staff mentioned at 6 PM the cake will be delivered however it was not. They brought the cake to the room at 9 PM when the birthday was nearly over. There were no decorations, no special effort—just very poor coordination.

We also paid for the buffet at check in, but the staff never informed us that drinks weren’t included. Even water had to be paid for, which was surprising and disappointing for a family buffet setup.

The check-out experience was equally stressful. At exactly 12 PM, our key cards were deactivated without warning. I was with my child in the play area, and my husband got locked out of the room while handling the check-out. Our bags were stuck inside, and no staff was available or willing to help. After several follow-ups, we waited almost an hour in the lobby before we got our luggage. There was no assistance offered to take the bags to the car—unlike the arrival experience.So assistance offered only while welcoming the guest but neglected at check out.

We had booked a room with a view which we got but disappointingly were assigned on the 1st floor without being given any options. The resort was extremely crowded, and it felt like the staff was not prepared to handle the number of guests.

Overall, it was a disappointing stay with poor service, lack of attention to detail, and no special care for guests—even for special occasions. I would rate it 3/5. The management needs to seriously look into these service issues to prevent future guest dissatisfaction. Good resort for kids activities like build a bear and soft toys, open theatre beach movie, kids play area,...