Anantara Sir Bani Yas Island Al Sahel Villa Resort — Hotel in Sir Bani Yas

I would rate 0 because of how many times we encountered pourest service ever, but 1 star goes to all the people who helped us overcome what others messed up, and 1 star goes to cutest wildlife there.

So BEWARE of the BOAT TRANSFER. O the website it’s advertised as 15-20 min, it’s actually 35, on a old boat with no air-con (only in one place sorry, blowing your head out coz it tries to cool the intire thing), smelly, noisy, uncomfortable as you would never imagine. It’s no Maldives for sure. So make sure you are mentally prepared that it’s just a transfer you have to forget. Second, we booked over booking. Com but the hotel never reached out although we mentioned travelling with a child for a special occasion. And they have this transfer only 4 times a day so they HAVE to contact guests to ask for convenient time for travel. Which they DID NOT. So we called them, booked earlier then wanted to so my child had to mess up all his schedule. It’s a 3,5 hours car ride. What hotel told us that WE CANT BE LATE otherwise we will only leave at 6. And this is a god forbidden port with nothing but construction site around it. So you don’t want to miss your boat. So after 5 times we were told that we can’t be late we rescheduled the whole day, came 2:45 to wait 40minutes for the boat that was late. Then another 15 minutes to wait for sweaty smelly people with no hotel uniforms to load 100 bags of 60+ people. (Which they could be done first, then board everyone, give everyone water, turn on nice music and in this way you would feel much more “resorty” even on the old slow boat). Then you would hope this awful service would be over but no, awfulest most incompetent ever manager Lidya or similar name told sorry but we can’t do anything. Sorry we didn’t getting in touch, sorry we did not book you on a convenient time, sorry your boat was late for the time you arranged yourself, sorry it’s 35 not 15 min ride, but we can’t do anything. And we are proud of our service. We would leave at this point if we were without our 2yo son. But then they made it even better. They put us in a TWIN VILLA, which no one asked for. Supposedly one person slept on one bed , another on another and my child on the floor.

How thoughtful!

After another hour of “nothing we can do” they finally realised they are a 5 star resort and 2 very helpful and sympathetic managers arranged a king bed for us with a small bed for my son.

Great dinner at Savanna restaurant and couple of walks around the deer and gazelle made our stay what it supposed to be.

But next day when we came to Safari tour, again on time, the lady at reception told us to wait to be picked up which our driver forgot to do so when we came to the car there were only 2 seats left instead of three at the very back and when we told him we can’t sit 1,5 hours like that with not enough space THE RUDEST AWFULEST guy decided to yell at me for BEING LATE which we of course were not. Slammed the doors with his yelling in Arabic wife in front of my child, made him cry coz we are not used for that kind of Behaivour and of course we did not go on our safari tour we booked.

So the say is not(unfortunately) over yet. The cutest little wildlife are poor things because people can’t enjoy the experience being locked up on an island with the WORST EVER service.

And I am sorry for very sweet managers who honestly try to do the best out of the worst. Wish they come to the mainland and find a job in a great property where their input is not spoiled by incompetence of the managers...

I rarely write reviews, but the experience was so bad for the price paid.

Pros - nice location, safari, peaceful. Ethan and the rest of the team at the hotel are trying their best, but are fighting against the overall organization of the place. Cameron was excellent as a safari guide, extremely knowledgeable and friendly.

Cons:

Boat check in - we were called the night previously and told the boat is leaving at 1.45pm sharp. So we arrived early. We were loaded onto the boat at 1.40pm. Unfortunately, we had to wait for some inconsiderate guests, and were sitting on the boat still at 2.20pm. No water and no A/C, with two kids under the age of two. For some reason the other boat left on time.

Hotel check in - once we arrived we were loaded onto a bus despite some being given a jeep. On check in, it was a free for all, no priority was given for a pregnant lady and her family, or our family with small children. Others simply piled forward to the one desk doing check ins. Surely it would be simple to arrange - as you know who’s coming off the boat?

Safari - it was excellent with Cameron, but again we were told there was some A/C closed jeeps, we didn’t have one, this would be easy to arrange ahead of time given the age of the children and the heat.

Spa and jeep transfer - I had booked a spa for my wife and was told the transfer would be at 1200. Again my wife was still waiting at 1230 in the hotel lobby, again waiting for some other inconsiderate guests.

Return to the dock - we had messaged ahead of time and were told our car would be ready by the valet team. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and the staff there were in disarray. I asked several times if they knew where my car was, was no response, so I walked around the car park to try and find my car which was at the other side of the jetty. The keys were inside.

For the price paid, it is no more than a 3 star hotel. And unfortunately, they seem unable to cater for even pregnant women or small children, responding only to those who shout loudest or force their way to the front.

The hotel really needs a way to deal with inconsiderate guests, people can’t wait 30 minutes just because the others can’t be bothered to wake up or be on time. There should be a cut off for transfers or activities. You should simply be told to get the next one if you are too late.

As I said some of the staff are excellent, Ethan, Tushal, Cameron. But it seems there is either total disorganization at the top, or they are short staffed, I don’t know. But I would not recommend it as a...

This is Afra ALsahil villa 50 ..HEY guys ;) Missed me yet ?

This is my Review on one of a kind trip that for sure I will call my second Home ,, little that I knew that I have a place here waiting for me to discover and fall in love with it in just two days …

————— A super hero——————

To the hero Mr.Himanshu Joshi , I hope you receive this as Well as all the Team behind Sir Bani yas island Thank you for creating the right circumstances and resolving all issues with 1 phone call not once But twice . You sir protected the world that day :)

————— Road Trip —————

Arriving to the port before the departure to the island Was an amazing road trip , I would like to thank the team in the port who are looking after us in all ways possible (coffee/water/resting/assistance with kids ,,etc )

.. i never knew how beautiful is my country going to Al Dana port . This was my 1st time seeing it t ..

Arriving to the island it was such a delightful smooth trip , Welcoming us on the other part is the Great team of Anantara from handling our luggage , driving us to the Hotel , and welcoming our family into the. Villa

——————- Sir Bani Yas ——————

What a beautiful piece of art !Here in my home town !!! A hidden Gem that is not discover by the locals yet hopefully they will soon enough !!

It’s a dream that was designed by the late ruler His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan , every inch in this island was planted by him with his vision that every generation coming later on can enjoy the beauty of Sir Bani Yas

You can read about the animal reservation on the website such a great Mind behind it .The wildlife sanctuary and what are they working on to keep the planet balanced is admirable ,Everything made me fall in love in this place even more .

—————— The safari ————————

We chose a Safari trip ,, it Was Amazing Genius tour guy Mr. Younes Thank you so much for the enjoyable Trip and the Amount of information you shared about Sir Banyi Yass island and All animal life/history it was a great time .

————— Many Many thanks —————

Al Sahel Reciption Team:- Ms Retno and the delightful College thank you for everything The Spa Team :- Ms Amirta , thank you for the best Massage I had that day The Safari Team :- Mr Younes ، thank you so much for the Ride and the information you shared ! Amazing we really enjoyed the trip The island Drivers :- Thank you for taking us around the island and asking us about our day I appreciate it The Room service/in-dining :- thank you for understanding our needs...