Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai
A flawless beachside resort in the heart of Dubai.
95/100 | APPROVED
See my detailed evaluation here. Learn more about my methodology.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Pool area at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai.
Oh Dubai. Truly one of the most amazing cities on the planet. I have never been more spoiled for choice while choosing hotels. There are literally dozens of hotels I would like to stay at, and on this weeklong trip we stayed at no less than 4. While the hotels I visited on this trip would be top notch in pretty much any other city in the world, the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai is on a different level. Since the beginning of this trip, I hyped up this property to my dad. “We’re saving the best for last,” was what I said. As we neared our stay, I regretted hyping up the property so much. What if it wouldn’t live to my exorbitant expectations? After all, the prior 3 properties we stayed at were world class properties on their own. Well, spoiler alert, this hotel is probably the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at in my life.
Unfortunately, Dubai and the Middle East in general are countries that are very strict with privacy. They are particularly sensitive about cameras in public areas. I definitely tried my best to respect this rule, so I don’t really have many pictures of the public areas of the hotel.
Arrival
We took an Uber Black (why are these so cheap in Dubai?) from the Address Downtown for the 10 minute drive to the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai. As we pulled up to the entrance of the hotel, several smartly dressed doormen approached the vehicle to welcome us to the hotel. I vividly remember being impressed because there were at least 10 people involved in the welcome process. While two people helped open the doors of the car, two helped with the bags, and another set of two doormen opened the door to the hotel. A few meters from the entrance was a lady with an iPad in her hands. She knew who I was without even asking for my name and welcomed us (by name) to the hotel. She walked me over to the Front Desk, and asked my dad if he wanted to sit down in the lounge while he waited for me to finish the check-in process.
While I was checking in, I saw out of the corner of my eye my dad being offered iced tea. She approached me and gave me a glass as well. What a fabulous first impression! I had mentioned prior to arrival that I was here to celebrate my dad’s retirement and both the lady and the gentleman helping me with check-in went to my dad and congratulated him on his retirement. After some small talk, the person helping me with check-in asked if it was alright if he took us to our room. While on the way, he took the opportunity to explain some of the hotel basics- pointing out The Bay (breakfast and lunch), the pool area, the spa, etc. Fantastic. In the room, he also took the opportunity to show us some special functions of the room. He also mentioned any requests could either be made known via telephone, approaching the front desk, or by messaging the hotel via WhatsApp (something I definitely used and appreciate). This is similar to how the Four Seasons operates with its mobile app and something that is so incredibly convenient. I hope all hotels eventually adopt this idea.
As previously mentioned, I don’t have any pictures of the arrival process. I did, however, take pictures of the room right when we got there.
Deluxe Sea View Room
It’s hard to tell via pictures or video, but this room was on a different level from the other rooms we’d been in earlier. Not only were the colors & overall design beautiful, but I was particularly impressed with the quality of the furnishings. Everything felt so solid, clean, and high quality! I must’ve been overwhelmed because I did not take many pictures of the room (or as much as I intended, at least). I did record many videos throughout the stay that I’ll include at the end. This should give you a better idea of the hotel room.
After pulling myself together, I realized I was hungry. It was way past lunch time, so my dad and I headed down to The Bay, the more casual poolside restaurant to have lunch. The Bay is also where breakfast is served.
We both had the Wagyu Burger. It was perfectly cooked as I had requested (med-rare). And man, the setting… it was quite perfect.
For the rest of the day, besides taking a little walk around the property, we relaxed in the room. I took a little nap, and soon enough it was time for dinner. We went off-property twice at the nearby La Mer outdoor shopping mall (the heat is a little more tolerable at night). When we came back to the hotel, the turndown rituals had been completed without us noticing. Mind you, we had dinner very late this first night (9pm) so I’d been expecting someone to knock while we were still in the room. After 6, 7, and 8pm passed I’d naively assumed they forgot to perform turndown for us. Obviously, this wasn’t the case. On the contrary, the housekeeping team at the MO Dubai never knocked on our door while were in the room once. This is because the hotel somehow knew when we were in the room and when we weren’t. This ensures you aren’t disturbed while in the room. This is a quality that the absolute best properties in the world share.
On top of the general tidying of the room, when I think of turndown service I think of slippers laid out on a mat by the bed, water bottles bedside, cables organized, bathrobes laid out, and maybe a chocolate or other treat laid on the bed. These were all done nightly for us, on top of this special gift from the Front Desk.
Yes, it’s not the most expensive wine. But hey, it’s the thought that counts right?
Breakfast at The Bay
Breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai was included as part of my Fine Hotels and Resorts booking. This was a truly extravagant way to start the day. On top of the a la carte menu above, there was an impressive buffet with an Asian section, Middle Eastern section, pastry section, and impressive juice bar. (On top of the traditional western options like bacon and scrambled eggs.)
I really wish I could’ve taken a video or pictures of the buffet, but unfortunately there were people roaming around and I did not want to break any laws by filming people I wasn’t supposed to. On the last day, I did manage to record a very rushed and terrible video of section of the buffet. I included this at the end of this review.
The dining experience really made me realize how old I’m getting. Five years ago, I’d be stuffing myself on a daily basis. At 21, I (sadly) only ordered one dish a day and for the most part did not touch the buffet other than some juices here and there. Pictured above are the two entrees I ordered- a French Toast that was deliciously creamy, and an Eggs Benedict which was great as well. Like everything else at the Mandarin Oriental, the breakfast was extremely high quality.
Because this was during COVID, like basically every other hotel we were not allowed to serve ourselves at the buffet sections. We had to point to things and a staff member would help us. I don’t like this concept personally, but guess you can’t help it!
Lunch at Tasca
It’s no secret that Dubai is an expensive city to visit. Meals at restaurants will run you at least $75 dollars per person for dinner and maybe $50 per person for lunch. Of course, just like any other city in the world you could definitely find meals for under that price. I can tell you that won’t be possible in high-end hotels, though. When we visited the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai’s Portugese restaurant, Tasca by Jose Alvarez, we were expecting to shell out around $100 for a nice quick lunch. Indeed, we did spent $100 (AED 175 per person), but instead of being a quick lunch we were offered a 3-course set menu by the server that seemed too great of a deal to pass up on.
I am a huge proponent of European food (Italy, I’m looking at you) being incredibly overrated. I really wasn’t expecting much from Portugese food but… this meal at Tasca was probably the best lunch I’ve ever had in my life. Looking at the Tasca website, I can’t find the set menu we had so I’m assuming it was a summertime special. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the dishes either… except one. The Piri-Piri Chicken, picture #5 above, is the single best chicken dish I’ve ever had. It was perfectly marinated, tender, juicy, and the two sauces that accompanied it were the perfect sidekicks. When I think about the food I ate over the course of 2021, I think about this dish first. Although all the other dishes we ate here were spectacular as well, the Piri-Piri Chicken… I’d fly to Dubai just to eat this again.
Needless to say, Tasca is one of my favorite restaurants in Dubai. Maybe even the world. Actually, yeah. Tasca is one of my favorite restaurants in the world.
Those were the only two meals, besides a quick room service dinner (maybe the only unremarkable thing we experienced this visit) we had in the hotel. So let’s move on…
Wellness Facilities
The Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai has a massive pool complex, a beautiful, private beach, a secret rooftop pool, and a world-class spa facility. It’s insane to think this is in the Middle East, where you normally picture deserts and searing hot weather (one of those is definitely true no matter where in the Middle East you are) contains such a stunning oasis.
Sadly, I didn’t get to use these facilities as much as I would have wanted. The weather in Dubai during our visit was extreme: by far the hottest I have ever experienced in my life. I am fairly tolerant to heat, but I couldn’t stand outside longer than a minute without beginning to sweat. I would have loved to jump in the pool or lounge by the beach, but frankly I was just enjoying the room too much. What isn’t pictured above, due to the aforementioned privacy laws in Dubai, is the private “beach club” the MO has right by the beach. You can expect attentive service, with shade, mobile A/C units, and fantastic cabanas/chairs to lounge in. We were here for barely 2 nights (as we departed early morning the third day). If I had just one more day here, I would’ve spent the entire day using these facilities.
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai was fantastic. I had an hour-long Deep Tissue massage and it was so painful (in a great way). They encourage you to show up at least an hour before your massage to enjoy the spa facilities, including the most insane shower I’ve ever had in my life- the water comes from a 3x3 foot panel and nozzles on the side. It’s also RGB. On top of this, your standard hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, and heated lounging chairs were available for enjoyment.
You start the actual treatment experience by filling out a questionnaire questioning your preferences and concerns. Your masseuse will lead you from the waiting area into an elevator, up a floor, and into a nice treatment room where the rest of the experience is carried out. Everything is done to your preference here. After your treatment, you are escorted to another separate room (pictured above) where you can wake yourself up with the tea they give you.
The third picture in the slideshow is the Tasca Rooftop Pool, right outside the Tasca restaurant mentioned earlier in this review. To access it, you must pay a fee. It includes refreshments and “rotating amenities.” I couldn’t tell you what the fee, amenities, or refreshments were because when I visited I wasn’t charged anything and nothing was provided to me. It was probably the only real service issue I experienced the entire time here.
Sadly, it was time to leave. I had arranged the hotel car (Tesla Model X) to drive us to the Abu Dhabi airport. While checking out, I expressed how satisfied I was with my stay to the front desk. They were very happy to hear my feedback. While waiting in the lobby for the car to come up (we were early), the Front Office Manager Ali approached us and thanked us for staying with them. He offered his business card and asked me to contact him should we be returning. I assured him we’d be back soon.
Conclusion
The Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai is the first hotel on my website to be Glenn Tedja Approved. My vision is for this distinction to be applied to only a couple (at the most) hotels in each city, and a handful in each country. I want this category to include only the best of the best of the best. With the flawless hard product (rooms, public spaces, facilities, etc.), and impeccable service, I’d say it deserves this distinction.
I was scared I might be exaggerating the glory that is the MO Dubai leading up to the stay. My dad and I both agree I wasn’t. This is truly the best hotel we’ve ever stayed in.
As usual, I will include an assortment of pictures & videos from this stay below. It is quite unfortunate I wasn’t able to take pictures of the hotel’s public spaces because they were truly stunning.
Final Rating
Service: 28.5/30
Standards: 20/20
Arrival
✓ Greeted at entrance
✓ Doors opened
✓ Bags taken
✓ Refreshments offered
✓ Introduced to hotel facilities and room/suite
Intimacy
✓ After interaction with staff, do they remember your preferences?
✓ After interaction with staff, do they remember and address you by name?
Housekeeping
✓ Turndown service
✓ Aware of whether or not you’re in the room
✓ Concierge
Attitude: 8.5/10
Rooms: 24/25
Quality 5/5
Views 4/5
Cleanliness 5/5
Standards 10/10
✓ Entry room larger than 500 square feet
✓ Electronic controls for room functionality
✓ Separate bathtub
✓ Rainfall shower head
✓ Reputable brand of amenities
✓ Pillow menu
✓ Nespresso or equivalent coffee machine
✓ Balcony
✓ Welcome amenity
✓ Multiple welcome amenities
Facilities 18/20
Public space design
Lobby 4/5
Pool 5/5
Other Areas 4/5
Quality and Cleanliness 5/5
Food 14.5/15
Standards 5/5
✓ Multiple restaurants
✓ One prestigious chef owned restaurant
✓ Breakfast buffet
✓ a la carte option with breakfast
✓ Asian, Local, Juice, Pastry, and Western sections in buffet
Quality 9.5/10
Location 10/10
Standards for Urban Resorts 3/3
✓ Walking distance to a major mall (less than 10 minutes)
✓ Walking distance to at least 4 restaurants (less than 5 minutes)
✓ Beachfront
Safety 3/3
Walkability of surrounding area 4/4
