InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Mina Al Arab Resort & Spa, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Mina Al arab

Writing this review on here as I have had no reply back on my 2 emails I have sent.

I am writing to express my deep disappointment following our recent stay at the Intercontinental, which fell far below the standards we expected from a 5-star hotel.

We arrived on the 17th around 11am, understanding that our room might not be ready. However, what was unacceptable was the lack of communication. My husband returned to reception after 3pm and only then discovered our room was ready. Had he not checked, we would have continued waiting unnecessarily.

We had booked two rooms and were told they couldn’t be placed near each other, but that efforts would be made to accommodate us. We never received any follow-up, and the rooms remained apart throughout our stay.

Despite informing the hotel in advance that I am a travel agent and intended to capture content to promote the property, we were not offered any additional amenities or support. This was a missed opportunity for the hotel to showcase its hospitality.

Breakfast was not included in our booking, which was surprising and disappointing given the nature of our reservation. We were also told the mini bar would be stocked with complimentary soft drinks, yet my parents’ mini bar was never replenished.

Housekeeping was another issue. I requested turn-down service to be done after 7pm as we were heading out for dinner. We returned at 9:30pm to find the room untouched and dirty towels still on the floor.

My parents needed an extra bed for a child, which I requested at 1:15pm. It still hadn’t arrived by 7pm.

The bathroom in our room had a persistent sewage smell every time the bath or shower was used. It was so severe that one of my daughters was physically sick.

The swimming pool was dangerously maintained, with numerous missing tiles that caused injuries—including my daughter cutting her toe. There was visible mould around the pool area, which was both unsightly and unhygienic. Unlike other hotels such as Jumeirah Beach Hotel, where pool maintenance is done nightly by divers, this was clearly not the case here.

The service at Shaha and NoHo restaurants was appalling. Drink orders were either not taken or never arrived, and food was consistently served cold. Despite raising concerns early in our stay, nothing improved.

The only positive experience we had was at the pool bar, where the food and service were excellent. That team deserves recognition.

Overall, our stay was extremely disappointing. While some issues were acknowledged by management, the lack of meaningful resolution left us feeling let down. I travel to Dubai at least three times a year and never expected such poor service from a hotel of this calibre. I will not be recommending this property to clients or friends.

I hope you take this feedback seriously and address these issues to prevent future guests from having a similarly...

On arrival and during check in, we were greeted with cold water bottles. We arrived at the hotel around 4:30am and we were offered complimentary room service as we had missed dinner for that evening. The room service was absolutely fantastic! The man at check in was professional and informative. The rooms were cleaned to a high standard, the only fault we found was the maintenance of the resort wasn’t very good. For such a new hotel, we found a few faults with door handles and locks not working as well as missing tiles at the bottom of the pool. I totally get that replacing tiles in a pool filled with thousands of gallons of water can be quite a challenge so that I do understand isn’t so simple, but the overall service and cleanliness really makes up for those minor repairs. A special thanks to the buffet staff who would greet us each morning with a tea pot of honey, lemon and ginger after finding out my mother had a sore throat. Moses, always had a smile and welcomed us each time with such joy and great service! The staff in the buffet, as well as the chefs are a total credit to the hotel! Shibin, one of the main chefs would come out to greet his guests and show such an interest in the happiness of us and couldn’t do enough for you, he even prepared dishes especially for my father and offered us choices of additional items. Nothing was too much trouble for him! So much food variety and everything was fresh and hot! The breakfast was brilliant with such a vast choice of pastries and different hot dishes. We were always given a choice of where to sit and never went without drinks each morning and evening. The service by the main pool was also very good, the men will greet you and give you a choice of sunbeds as well as lay your towels out for you and then bring metal iced buckets with bottled water. You are also given a QR code next to the sun lounger for you to order drinks and food. You can view the menu on there too. Thomas bringing the drinks to us worked absolutely tirelessly throughout our stay and we never went less than 5 mins from ordering drinks to receiving them. Even in extremely hot temperatures Thomas worked so hard! Thank you! We experienced lovely food at Noho as well as great service, levant and nar was in a lovely location looking over the ocean and in cooler weather it would be great to eat outside however the food was not really to our liking so we only ate their on one occasion. The service from the bar man in the cigar lounge was excellent and we never went without drinks! Thank you. Every member of staff is a credit to this hotel from reception to restaurant to pool to gardeners to cleaners, everyone was an asset to this hotel and it really made our stay memorable, I would not hesitate in recommending this hotel and hope to return in the future! Thank...

Very Disappointing Experience

I stayed at this hotel and, unfortunately, my overall experience was not pleasant—especially when it comes to service. The front desk staff lacked professionalism and showed little to no interest in guest satisfaction.

I had an issue with a spa discount (AED 150) that was confirmed by the front desk upon check-in and again by a spa employee in the morning. However, when I returned to the spa around 4 PM, two different staff members told me the discount was not valid during holidays—even though the original front desk staff knew I had booked during a holiday and still confirmed the discount.

I called the reception three times to clarify the matter but received no helpful response. I asked to speak with the hotel manager, who eventually called me and claimed there was an issue with the room phone. When I asked him to try calling me while I was on my mobile, the room phone rang just fine—proving there was no technical issue, just a clear lack of care from the staff.

Although the manager tried to calm the situation, he couldn’t offer a proper solution. Later, the spa called to say they would honor the discount, but by then, the spa was fully booked.

The room was generally clean, but I was surprised to find a dirty trash bin in the bathroom, and I forgot to ask about it.

We booked 3 rooms and specifically requested them to be adjacent. However, the rooms were far apart, and no upgrade or proper arrangement was offered, even though it was clearly needed. This added more disappointment to the experience.

Sadly, the stay did not match the value paid. For the price, we expected much better service and coordination.

The booking process itself was fast and easy thanks to Mr. Mina, who was very helpful. The welcome upon arrival was by request—not automatic or warm.

Pros: • Breakfast at the lounge was very good • The resort is large and includes a ladies’ salon, kids’ club, gym, and free bike rentals • On-site clothing shop and other facilities (though prices are very high)

Cons: • Poor customer service and lack of accountability • Inconsistent information about offers and discounts • Dinner was a zero for me: small portions, and I never received a meal I ordered despite waiting • Afternoon tea was weak and not suitable for children • The beach area is small compared to the resort size • Services and products are overpriced • Rooms were not arranged as requested (not adjacent) and no upgrade was offered • Overall stay did not justify the high cost

Overall Rating: Unfortunately, I won’t be coming back due to this unpleasant experience. Some facilities were nice, but the poor service and mismanagement...