Built in 1978, the five-star Dubai Sheraton Creek Hotel & Towers on Dubai Creek is an icon. In fact, landing the same year in Dubai, it was one of the first buildings we really noticed coming from the airport. Unfortunately I hadn’t had the pleasure of staying in the hotel until now, though I’d visited the award-winning restaurants and attended several gatherings in its spacious ballrooms.
The 11-storey hotel, which has 268 rooms and suites, has been designed in the old style around a central atrium, which looks like an oasis with a waterfall from the central balcony on the upper floors. We were ushered into our sixth floor creek-view club room a few Fridays ago and the first thing we noticed was the view from the floor to ceiling windows. The afternoon view was of the creek’s small meander with a lone abra (water taxi) rushing down towards the older part of the city, the Bastakiya area on the left and the old souq selling its spicy and glittering treasures on the right, right up to the point where the creek meets the Arabian Sea. Beyond the Bastakiya, the beautiful Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa was framed against the setting sun. Later in the evening the lights from the same skyline gave an ethereal touch to the night view.
The refurbished guestrooms come with the signature Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, a 42 inch LCD television — which can be heard and watched from the bathroom through hidden speakers and a glassed in shower — apart from all the amenities that a five-star hotel provides, such as tea and coffee facilities, wifi, etc. The hotel also houses a health and fitness club, and even though there isn’t a full-fledged spa, you can get a great massage.
The highlight of our stay was, of course, dinner at the rebranded Ashiana restaurant. The award-winning restaurant has been on the UAE culinary circuit for a long, long time and being familiar with Michelin starred chef Vineet Bhatia’s style of fusion Indian cuisine I wanted to experience the changes he had brought to the restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised that the celebrity chef had retained the authentic Indian taste of the restaurant, only enhancing it with his creative genius. We just couldn’t let that delicious chicken biryani go to waste after devouring delicately spiced prawns and lamb kebabs, which the friendly staff was only too pleased to pack for us.
This summer (after Ramadan) Dubai Creek Sheraton Hotel & Towers is offering 30 per cent discount when booking for five nights or more stay, and 20 per cent for three nights stay. Families can get 50 per cent off children’s rooms, free kids’ meals for children under 12 years, an online Rio 2 game, and more. For more information call 04-2281111.
