Arabian luxury

Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa has a reputation for being one of the UAE's finest resorts. Claire Ferris-Lay passes her critical eye over the hotel to find out if its reputation is deserved.

Mention that you are going to stay at Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa and you can almost check off the signs of jealous rage as they appear. Eyes widen, cheeks turn a mottled red and lips purse. God help any husbands or boyfriends who are in the vicinity; following said signs of rage, other halves are usually forced to open their wallets, dig deep and promise, no really promise, that they will take their loved ones there soon.

This is pretty much the same reaction you'll get from anyone familiar with the Emirates Airline's desert resort. First opened ten years ago, Al Maha has garnered something of a reputation as one of the best hotels in the whole of the UAE.

Set in the middle of a 225 sq km conservation area, Al Maha's property represents five percent of Dubai's land area and is the largest piece of land ever to be dedicated to a single project in Dubai. Designed to resemble an upscale Bedouin camp, Al Maha is a far a cry from the likes of Emirates Palace and the Burj Al Arab; the only similarity being the hefty price tag.

So does Al Maha deserve its reputation? And is the AED5,000 ($1,360) per night charge worth it? CEO Middle East finds out.

We were supposed to be picked up in a swanky 4x4 on arrival at Al Maha, but typically we are late checking-in and the guides were all out on location so we had to make the journey to the main entrance - some ten minutes down the sandy track by ourselves - in my prized Mini Cooper.

It was at this point - when shouting at the driver as he tried his best to miss the potholes - that I had this awful feeling that everything would go wrong and I would be forced to write a bad review. But I needn't have worried. Just five minutes later we drove past our first Arabian Oryx, a beautiful, white deer-like creature, wondering along across the sand dunes into the sunset. It was the stuff of films. We jumped out of the car and feverishly took pictures, unsure whether we would be lucky enough to stumble across such a beautiful scene again.

It wasn't until we pulled up to the reception area and we were greeted by no less than fifteen Oryxs that we realised this type of scene is not uncommon at Al Maha.

We are met by our guest relations manager who explained that she would be looking after us during our stay. Our bags were whisked away and we were led into one of the small annexes just off the side of the main building where we are each handed a glass of freshly squeezed tropical juice. We are told that during our two-day stay we are entitled to two complimentary activities ranging from dune bashing to an early morning nature walk, archery and camel riding.

When we realise we are too late for the evening's camel ride into the desert and unable to decide between dune bashing and archery, our guest relations manager reassures us that she'll do her best to ensure we can do all three during our stay.

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