A road trip to the southernmost part of Abu Dhabi was our best bet for our summer getaway for 2012. We booked two rooms at Tilal Liwa Hotel for the weekend. Tilal Liwa Hotel is perched at the edge of the Rub Al Khali desert-the largest uninterrupted sand desert in the world and is home to the highest sand dune Tel Moreeb.
We started from Sharjah at 9 am Picked up our friends and headed for a quick breakfast before starting our journey. It was a three to three-and-a-half-hour drive to Liwa from Dubai. That's about 330-380 km so we stock up on water, and finger foods and filled our tank with gas full.
We reached the hotel by midday and it was scorching hot outside. Ferald chose to park the car himself instead of giving it to the valet. There was ample parking space just outside in front of the hotel but it was too hot to walk from the parking to the hotel even if it was just a few meters away. A covered walkway would be great.
Nonetheless, the doorman greeted us with a smile and assist us with our bags. They served us some refreshing mint lemonade as we check-in.
The very friendly Filipina staff allowed us to check in an hour early since one of the rooms we booked was ready. As she handed the keys to our room she said that they have upgraded our rooms with a balcony and courtyard views. I requested this while booking the room but was not given the confirmation and was told it is upon availability. Thank you Tilal Liwa :)
The rooms are spotlessly clean. There were complimentary tea and coffee. The shower is working well with the hot and cold settings. There are many TV channels including English channels and wifi is also available and it is free.:D
Dinner and breakfast were good. Dinner and breakfast were included in our room package but it doesn't include the barbecue. The smell of grilled meats and seafood on the terrace was irresistible so, in addition to the lavish spread already at Al Badiya restaurant, we shelled out an extra AED 175 or $ 20/per person for it.
The infinity pool was our favorite. Instead of overlooking the sea, it overlooks some great sand dunes. We enjoyed it most in the morning after we finished sand boarding since we really need to cool down. We could only manage sandboarding for 20 minutes before deciding to go back to the hotel. It was really fun but it was too hot to stay out. If it was in winter, we could have stayed longer and tried to find higher dunes to try.
There are other activities like camel farm tours, desert safari, quad biking, and table tennis. We could not go to the camel farm tour for lack of time so instead, the boys played table tennis while my friend chilled at the swimming pool.
Tilal Liwa is not in Liwa proper, Liwa and Madinat Zayed City are another 30 minutes drive from Tilal Liwa and the Tel Moreeb-the highest sand dune in the world is another hour's drive but it is really worth the visit.
Have you been to Tilal Liwa. Honestly, I want to go back.
We started from Sharjah at 9 am Picked up our friends and headed for a quick breakfast before starting our journey. It was a three to three-and-a-half-hour drive to Liwa from Dubai. That's about 330-380 km so we stock up on water, and finger foods and filled our tank with gas full.
We reached the hotel by midday and it was scorching hot outside. Ferald chose to park the car himself instead of giving it to the valet. There was ample parking space just outside in front of the hotel but it was too hot to walk from the parking to the hotel even if it was just a few meters away. A covered walkway would be great.
Nonetheless, the doorman greeted us with a smile and assist us with our bags. They served us some refreshing mint lemonade as we check-in.
The very friendly Filipina staff allowed us to check in an hour early since one of the rooms we booked was ready. As she handed the keys to our room she said that they have upgraded our rooms with a balcony and courtyard views. I requested this while booking the room but was not given the confirmation and was told it is upon availability. Thank you Tilal Liwa :)
The rooms are spotlessly clean. There were complimentary tea and coffee. The shower is working well with the hot and cold settings. There are many TV channels including English channels and wifi is also available and it is free.:D
Dinner and breakfast were good. Dinner and breakfast were included in our room package but it doesn't include the barbecue. The smell of grilled meats and seafood on the terrace was irresistible so, in addition to the lavish spread already at Al Badiya restaurant, we shelled out an extra AED 175 or $ 20/per person for it.
The infinity pool was our favorite. Instead of overlooking the sea, it overlooks some great sand dunes. We enjoyed it most in the morning after we finished sand boarding since we really need to cool down. We could only manage sandboarding for 20 minutes before deciding to go back to the hotel. It was really fun but it was too hot to stay out. If it was in winter, we could have stayed longer and tried to find higher dunes to try.
There are other activities like camel farm tours, desert safari, quad biking, and table tennis. We could not go to the camel farm tour for lack of time so instead, the boys played table tennis while my friend chilled at the swimming pool.
Tilal Liwa is not in Liwa proper, Liwa and Madinat Zayed City are another 30 minutes drive from Tilal Liwa and the Tel Moreeb-the highest sand dune in the world is another hour's drive but it is really worth the visit.
Have you been to Tilal Liwa. Honestly, I want to go back.
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glad you had great time!
ReplyDeletethe place looks wonderful; the food seems appetizingly good!
It seemed to be designed above the ground and its like an infinity pool but not the normal type it is looking not into the water but to the golden sands of the desert.
ReplyDeleteSaadiyat Island Abu Dhabi