Review: Ajman Saray, an SPG Luxury Collection Resort in the UAE

As I mentioned in the introduction to this trip report, this trip was taken with a few friends including fellow blogger Jamison of Points Summary. We spent the first night at the Ajman Saray hotel in Ajman, UAE. This hotel is relatively new and in an interesting location, and since it was the first night and not everyone had arrived we booked just one room under Jamison’s name.

Trip Report Index:

  1. Trip Report: UAE in the Summer
  2. Review: Star Alliance First Class Lounge LAX
  3. Etihad First Class Review LAX-AUH (Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi)
  4. Review: Ajman Saray, A Luxury Collection Resort
  5. Review: Le Meridien Fairway Dubai
  6. Review: Sheraton Deira
  7. Review: Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi
  8. Review: Hilton Al Ain
  9. Review: Crown Plaza Sohar
  10. Review: Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
  11. Emirates First Class Lounge DXB Review
  12. Qantas First Class Review DXB-LHR
  13. Review: British Airways Concorde Room (First Class Lounge) LHR
  14. British Airways 747-400 First Class Review LHR-DFW

Our Etihad Chauffeur drove us over from the Abu Dhabi airport to the hotel, and the drive was over an hour (but thankfully free!). It would most definitely have been a shorter ride from the Dubai airport. As we drove up we could easily see the area was full of other resort hotels, which makes sense given the location right on the water. All the hotels seemed fairly large at over 10 stories each and all had their own private beaches.

Ajman Saray Review
Entry to the hotel.
Ajman Saray Review
Entry decor
Ajman Saray Review
Sitting area near lobby.

The hotel entrance was nice but not overly fancy, and there were several areas to sit. Just to the right of the entryway was a room with desks where guests are actually checked-in.

Ajman Saray Review
Check-in desks.
Ajman Saray Review
Welcome drink.
Ajman Saray Review
Cold towel.

We were each given a welcome drink and a cold towel to help freshen up. I thought this was a nice touch and definitely helped separate it from most other hotels. The room was booked under Jamison’s name, and when Jamison asked if a suite was available we were told that we’ve already been upgraded to a suite. Awesome! We were then walked to the elevator and all the way to our room.

Suite at Ajman Saray

Ajman Saray Review
Entrance to our room.
Ajman Saray Review
Table with goodies.
Ajman Saray Review
Goodies on the table.
Ajman Saray Review
Chandelier

First impressions of the room were essentially “wow.” The table in the living room had a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and a hand-written note addressed to Jamison. The chandelier above the table was intricate and looked great as well. Just to the left of the entry was a half bath/powder room.

Ajman Saray Review
Half bathroom.
Ajman Saray Review
Water and coffee/tea.
Ajman Saray Review
Living room sofa.
Ajman Saray Review
TV and entry to master bedroom.
Ajman Saray Review
Desk and mirror.

You can tell from the pictures that the room is very spacious, and everything looked brand new. The drapes are in front of a sliding door that leads to a balcony, which you’ll see a bit later. The master bedroom was also impressive.

Ajman Saray Review
Master bedroom.

I’ll stop here to draw your attention to the little picture frame on the bench at the bottom of the above image. You’ll never guess what it is…

Ajman Saray Review
Custom picture and frame.

It was a picture frame with Jamison’s Twitter image and stats, along with a hand-written welcome note. This has got to be the most unique gift I’ve ever seen a hotel provide a guest! I checked with Jamison and confirmed that he never contacted the hotel or tweeted them, or even the general SPG account, about this stay. It seems they tracked him down all on their own!

Ajman Saray Review
Master TV and living room.

The master bedroom also had a TV and a small couch in the corner. In the image above you can see the door to the master bathroom on the left side. The master bathroom was quite impressive.

Ajman Saray Review
Master bathroom.
Ajman Saray Review
Bathtub amenities.
Ajman Saray Review
Mirror with a TV in it.
Ajman Saray Review
Sink amenities.

The bathroom was huge and had a large soaking tub in the middle. There were two separate sinks, and one of them had a TV inside of it. That’s a bit of a novelty but cool nonetheless. The bath amenities were awesome as well – there were 100ml bottles of Molton Brown shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion. Molton Brown bath products are very high-end and pricey, so to have huge bottles of them was great.

Ajman Saray Review
Closet and safe.
Ajman Saray Review
Closet with goodies.

There were two separate closets that had all the goodies you’d expect including an iron and ironing board, safe, slippers, laundry bags, bath robes, hair dryer, and an extra pillow.

The shower was absolutely massive and had the same Molton Brown bottles that were on the bathtub.

Ajman Saray Review
Massive shower (it extends to the left).
Ajman Saray Review
I love these showers!
Ajman Saray Review
More Molton Brown.

On the other side was the toilet with a separate bidet that’s prevalent in the Middle East.

Ajman Saray Review
Toilet.

I mentioned a balcony earlier, and there’s actually a sliding door in the bedroom as well that leads to the same balcony, which is large enough to span both rooms. There was furniture since the room looks out to the water.

Ajman Saray Review
Balcony furniture in front of living room.
Ajman Saray Review
Furniture in front of bedroom.
Ajman Saray Review
View of the pool below.

We arrived at night so the view wasn’t too impressive, but it was much better when I got up in the morning and could see all the water and swimming pools below.

Ajman Saray Review
Daytime view from the balcony.

A full breakfast buffet is included for SPG Platinum members, and the restaurant downstairs is great. It had a few hot items, fruits, yogurt, egg station, tons of pastries, juices, and more.

Breakfast at Ajman Saray

Ajman Saray Review
Breakfast buffet.
Ajman Saray Review
Fruit and yogurt.
Ajman Saray Review
Made to order eggs.
Ajman Saray Review
Some hot dishes.
Ajman Saray Review
Nuts and toppings.
Ajman Saray Review
Pastries and breads.
Ajman Saray Review
More pastiries and breads.
Ajman Saray Review
Even more pastries and breads…
Ajman Saray Review
Juices.

The breakfast was great, and believe me when I say to load up on the fruits. Don’t forget you’re in the middle of a desert, so getting fresh fruits is not easy in this location! I also made sure to eat an obscene amount of hummus throughout this trip.

The restaurant is on the bottom floor with doors out to the swimming pools and the private beach, which is private because it’s physically separated from the neighboring hotels by huge mounds of rocks. The outdoor area was very nice, but it was far too warm outside (try 115 degrees F) for me to make use of the facilities.

Swimming Pools and Beach at Ajman Saray

Ajman Saray Review
Outdoor area – the shade is rare!
Ajman Saray Review
One of the swimming pools.
Ajman Saray Review
Another swimming pool.
Ajman Saray Review
Seating on the beach.
Ajman Saray Review
More seating looking out to the beach.
Ajman Saray Review
The private beach is separated by huge rocks.
Ajman Saray Review
The pool and the hotel. Our room is up there on the left!

Going to the UAE during the Summer months is tough because of the heat, but the pool and water seem like great places to relax.

Venturing outside the hotel, however, would be a bit of a mistake. Jamison and I each went for a walk (separately) outside the hotel and found a whole lot of nothing going on in this city. There’s mosque that’s nice for pictures and a museum that was closed when I walked by, but this is not the place to be for shopping or restaurants. Walking out here in that blistering heat, with nothing interesting to see, was quite a mistake.

But if you come here to use the hotel as it was designed, meaning as a resort, then you will likely be satisfied. The hotel is designed and decorated beatifully and the elite recognition was excellent as we not only were pre-upgraded to a great suite, but Jamison also received a special, customized gift with a hand-written note. The welcome drink and towel was also a nice touch, plus the wine (which neither Jamison or I drank by the way) and cheese/crackers were also a great touch.

I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at this hotel again if I were in Ajman, but I don’t think I’d make a point of it if I my main stop was Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

4 thoughts on “Review: Ajman Saray, an SPG Luxury Collection Resort in the UAE

  1. Contrary to what Travel Summary has said about venturing out of the hotel is a mistake was a ‘mistake’ for him and not me. There’s plenty of culture, hypermarkets, and shopping in Ajman. I went out for breakfast at a local’s only place and it was the most inexpensive meal I had in the UAE. Very kind people, but of course……. the blistering heat is what keeps people from going out. The ‘blistering’ heat didn’t phase me at all.

  2. What the heck Are those bidets for anyway…are they for men to pee in or for women to squat over to pee or both? They seem kinda redundant to me…give a urinal any day and I’m happy.

    1. The bidets are basically to clean yourself with water after you’re done on the toilet. Same idea as the ones you see in Asia (particularly Japan), except those are usually built in to the toilet seat. These ones require the extra effort to make the lateral move!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.