Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai — Hotel in Dubai

If you are looking for a nice room and don't care much about the service that's included, you should be fine.

My experience is mainly regarding the residence section of the place, however, I do obviously use all the same facilities as hotel guests and have spoken to other residence and some repeat-hotel-guests who all noticed a stark decline. Below are the most recent examples of their horrendous customer service.

Recently, my cousin was supposed to stay in my apartment. After initially not granting him access to my apartment at all, he was treated like an intruder, my room-card declined every other day forcing him to reactivate it at the reception (and no, he did not keep it too close to his phone). Not only did the front desk simply ignore my request to have him stay in my place, after he showed up they started lengthy discussions with me per e-mail. First, I had to fill out a form, which was not mentioned when I made the original request of him staying in my place at the time of my departure, then they informed my cousin that "management does not believe he is truly my cousin" therefore the filled out form I sent was ignored and may he please tell me to send another e-mail stating yet again that we are indeed related. By the time things got resolved, around 15 e-mails were exchanged. Full disclosure: I am half Iranian half German, my cousin is fully Iranian, we really do not look much alike, it's mainly my first name that gives away half of my origins - not that any of this SHOULD matter.

I am now back here and have my brother from Germany stay over. I requested that they prepare my sofa bed for him as he is staying for 7 days. First issue: no card payments accepted. The front desk suggested transfer the money and send them confirmation instead, which I did. They prepared the bed, however, a few days later removed it as they said their finance department could not "find" the payment. My request that the bed be re-prepared was ignored with the reasoning that housekeeping leaves at 5 or 6 pm. The next day, I called reception and asked them to not only reconfirm with the finance department after again providing proof of payment on my phone as well as per e-mail but to also return the bed linen to my brother, to which they replied they would call me back. They did not. I went to the front desk personally where they repeated that the finance department could not confirm the transfer as they do not work on weekends. Long story short: my brother is sleeping on my sofa bed with towels for blankets and pillows from my bed because a Hotel that costs over 12k a month is incapable of figuring out payment and key staff is not available on weekends and after 6pm. EDIT: they have indeed "found" the payment and now would like an additional 30 AED after not providing the service I requested, because their bank charged them a fee since this was an international transfer - mind you, this would be a non-issue if they would accept card payments like ANY OTHER hotel or residence building would.

The issue with accepting card payments is not new either. In December, I lost my wallet right after stepping of the plane in Dubai. When I arrived at the residence reception and asked for a spare room key, I was told "Sure mam, that'll be 300AED". Not great but common for lost hotel keys even if the price seems a bit steep. They could not put the cost on my room but wanted cash. I asked them if they had understood that my wallet was gone and that the maximum I could do was unfreeze one of my cards and pay with apple pay, which they repeated was not an option. They seemed rather perplexed when I asked them how they suggest I get to my room now and decided to accopmany me upstairs and open my room for me instead. Luckily another employee the next day had a bit more common sense. I got my wallet back in the end and returned the spare key within a week.

To make things better: since January, my Residence key card deactivates after 2 or 3 days. Front desk as no explanation other than the standard "Did you keep it too close to your...

I had a very disappointing experience with my recent stay at the Kempinski Boulevard Hotel Dubai, booked through Almosafer. After a long flight from New York, I arrived at around 8:00 p.m., only to be told that my booking was canceled and that they had no valid confirmation number. I showed the staff my confirmed booking, the email, and the reference from Almosafer’s app, yet they insisted they couldn’t find it and told me to “contact my agent.”!! I was made to wait for more than two hours at the reception without any support, apology, or even basic courtesy. It was very unprofessional, I had all the proof of my booking, yet I was treated as if I wasn’t being truthful.

I believe the situation could have been handled in a much better and more professional way. After a long flight, I was exhausted and simply needed to rest. Even if there was a system error or confusion, they could have at least allowed me to check into my room while resolving the issue, instead of keeping me waiting for hours. I had no reason to lie; I had every document and confirmation to prove my booking. The lack of empathy and trust was truly disappointing.

Only after I insisted they contact the reservations department did they finally confirm the booking and allow me to check in. Yet, there was no gesture of apology, no welcome amenity, no complimentary meal, not even a fruit basket nothing to acknowledge the inconvenience I went through late at night. The next day, when I mentioned this to one of the staff, I said that at least they could have send me dinner or a fruit basket the previous night. He offered to send something then, but honestly, it was too late. It clearly showed a lack of care and professionalism. I even sent an email explaining the situation in detail to the reservations department, but there was no reply, no apology, and not even a simple acknowledgment. It’s honestly disappointing and embarrassing to see such a lack of professionalism and care from a hotel of this level.

On top of that, my room was not as booked, I had requested a king bed with a Burj Khalifa view, but I was given a twin room instead. The next day, they moved me to a king room after I refused the twin room !! Furthermore, the cleanliness: the sofa was dirty, the bed was poorly made, the sheets had an unpleasant odor that made me call housekeeping several times at night to change them. This is absolutely unacceptable for a five star property !!

Also, if you plan to stay near Dubai Mall, I honestly wouldn’t recommend this hotel at all. The location is inconvenient, you have to walk through the metro corridor with crowds to reach the mall, unlike other nearby hotels that are directly connected. Overall, this property does not reflect the level of service, comfort, or hospitality expected from a...

ARRIVAL - Our welcome was great, a stunning reception area and a friendly welcome from the valet, reception and concierge staff. We instantly felt at ease with the hotel and love the hotel ‘scent’ (this is amazing!).

ROOM - Our room was immaculately kept everyday! The fresh linen, towels and cleanliness make you feel like you have only just arrived each time you return to your room. The modern technology was great too, with the iPad controls for the lighting, air conditioning, in room dining etc! It’s all there! The in room facilities are constantly kept topped up such as the Nespresso pods, bottled water, drinks glasses and so on. Also, with frequent visits to your room in the evening, the staff are always checking if you need anything else. The in room dining is as quick as you could expect and nothing is too much trouble!

POOL - This has to be one of our favourite areas of the hotel. The pool staff are continuously taking care of you. All of the sunbeds are (freshly) pre-towelled on your arrival to the pool and the attendants are quickly over to you as you make your way to the area to guide you to your chosen spot. They bring you another fresh towel, cold bottled water and make you as comfortable as possible. All of the staff are fantastic, the lifeguards lend a hand where they can, the bar/food staff are efficient too! We have to lend a special mention to Ramesh, Conrad and the one who looked after us more than any was Kenneth! Such a happy guy who was quick to respond to any request and make sure we were located where we wanted to be! As soon as you leave your sunbed, the towels are taken away and replaced with fresh ones for the next guest.

MALL CONNECTION- This is great part of the hotel. Having direct access to the Worlds largest shopping Mall was a highlight of our holiday and is great for those keen shoppers! There are so many good options too for people who want to venture out rather than stay at the hotel for food.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE - We would 100% revisit this Hotel. This was our first time in Dubai and this Hotel made our experience even better. We labelled the Address Boulevard our own ‘small piece of tranquility within the madness of Dubai’.

Thank you to all of the staff for an amazing...