Sun, Sea, Beer, Wine, More Wine.....
I should tell you a bit about the hotel and our experience so far. As I said in the previous blog post, we are staying at the Rixos Bab Al Bahr Hotel in Ras Al Khaimah. It's a five star all-inclusive resort so our plan is to relax and unwind for seven days.
There are 3 pools, one of which is an infinity pool and is adult-only, a reasonably large beach with around 100 loungers and a spa; relaxing seems like the only option here, as well as general over-indulging. As its December, you will notice the Christmas theme too...
A gingerbread house in reception - I can testify, its made of gingerbread!
After sleeping for a few hours on our day of arrival (Wednesday), we headed to the beach and promptly fell asleep in the sun. We managed a few beers before hunger struck us so we wandered to a fast-food style restaurant called Toast N' Burger. It was pretty good for a snack bar and definitely quelled the hunger pangs. We also decided to try out the aptly named Mojito Bar; we had one drink overlooking the beach and watching the sun set. The plan was to go to the buffet-style restaurant later that evening but only after another nap; I think we both needed an early night after working, taking an overnight flight then travelling up to the most northern Emirate. Before we collapsed, we "ate" the lovely surprise that was left by housekeeping....the wine will need to wait for another day though!
Fourteen hours later, we both surfaced with the realisation that we had missed breakfast. Not to worry, food appears to be served here 24 hours a day; there is a pool snack bar as well as Toast N' Burger, a buffet-style restaurant and five a la carte restaurants. All restaurants are included in the all-inclusive package but must be booked in advance; we decided to try the Asian Restaurant called Aja as our experience of the buffet the previous night was not particularly good. The reservation process was easy and we were given a receipt with all the details of our booking. It was now 11am so we headed straight for the beach and for a beer or two. Lunch was being served at the buffet restaurant but it was much better than the previous night, maybe it was sleep deprivation that clouded our judgement, but I was starving! We had way too much to eat, before lounging on the beach until the sun went down around 4.30pm; it gets dark really early here but we both had enough sun for the day. I also got a cuddle from a very large dog; the least said about that the better!
Our first a la carte experience was excellent; it was a four course meal if you wanted it. We decided to miss out the soup but we were offered another main course if we were still hungry; I can assure you I was not. The food was really tasty and they insisted on filling up my wine glass, almost after every sip. We both left feeling slight tipsy but decided we should try the 'Sea and See' bar for a nightcap or two. The bar overlooks the beach and the other part of Al Marjan island. We tipped our first waiter who looked after us for the next few hours; I don't think my glass was ever empty as well as the tortilla chips and a curried assortment of nuts, rice and vegetables. We also decided to try the piano bar, situated in the lobby. The pianist was Russian and given the majority of hotel guests are from there, you can imagine some of the music! There were still a few classics; Elton John seems to be a favourite.
It's a green tea creme brulee; although it looks horrible, it was amazing!
Piano Bar - After closing!
After the pianist closed out her set, we headed to the cigar room. Yes, it does have cigars available to buy, but it also has a bar, pool tables and live football! We ended up slightly merry (okay, very merry! We think we got to bed at 01:30am) but we had a very relaxing and enjoyable day. The next morning was a bit rough though...
There are 3 pools, one of which is an infinity pool and is adult-only, a reasonably large beach with around 100 loungers and a spa; relaxing seems like the only option here, as well as general over-indulging. As its December, you will notice the Christmas theme too...
After sleeping for a few hours on our day of arrival (Wednesday), we headed to the beach and promptly fell asleep in the sun. We managed a few beers before hunger struck us so we wandered to a fast-food style restaurant called Toast N' Burger. It was pretty good for a snack bar and definitely quelled the hunger pangs. We also decided to try out the aptly named Mojito Bar; we had one drink overlooking the beach and watching the sun set. The plan was to go to the buffet-style restaurant later that evening but only after another nap; I think we both needed an early night after working, taking an overnight flight then travelling up to the most northern Emirate. Before we collapsed, we "ate" the lovely surprise that was left by housekeeping....the wine will need to wait for another day though!
Fourteen hours later, we both surfaced with the realisation that we had missed breakfast. Not to worry, food appears to be served here 24 hours a day; there is a pool snack bar as well as Toast N' Burger, a buffet-style restaurant and five a la carte restaurants. All restaurants are included in the all-inclusive package but must be booked in advance; we decided to try the Asian Restaurant called Aja as our experience of the buffet the previous night was not particularly good. The reservation process was easy and we were given a receipt with all the details of our booking. It was now 11am so we headed straight for the beach and for a beer or two. Lunch was being served at the buffet restaurant but it was much better than the previous night, maybe it was sleep deprivation that clouded our judgement, but I was starving! We had way too much to eat, before lounging on the beach until the sun went down around 4.30pm; it gets dark really early here but we both had enough sun for the day. I also got a cuddle from a very large dog; the least said about that the better!
Our first a la carte experience was excellent; it was a four course meal if you wanted it. We decided to miss out the soup but we were offered another main course if we were still hungry; I can assure you I was not. The food was really tasty and they insisted on filling up my wine glass, almost after every sip. We both left feeling slight tipsy but decided we should try the 'Sea and See' bar for a nightcap or two. The bar overlooks the beach and the other part of Al Marjan island. We tipped our first waiter who looked after us for the next few hours; I don't think my glass was ever empty as well as the tortilla chips and a curried assortment of nuts, rice and vegetables. We also decided to try the piano bar, situated in the lobby. The pianist was Russian and given the majority of hotel guests are from there, you can imagine some of the music! There were still a few classics; Elton John seems to be a favourite.
After the pianist closed out her set, we headed to the cigar room. Yes, it does have cigars available to buy, but it also has a bar, pool tables and live football! We ended up slightly merry (okay, very merry! We think we got to bed at 01:30am) but we had a very relaxing and enjoyable day. The next morning was a bit rough though...
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