Inside the Marriott Palm Jumeirah’s Palm Family Suite
Opened in Dec 2022 on Palm Jumeirah’s West Beach, Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah is one of Dubai’s newest family-friendly resorts, boasting 608 guest rooms, beach access, a kids club and plethora of excellent dining options.
If a chilled out family break with 180 degree ocean views and all day sunshine is what you’re looking for, the Marriott just might be for you. Our stay in a Palm Family Suite at the Marriott Palm Jumeirah provided a well-rounded experience for our family, with a location that is pretty convenient when it comes to the Palm, at the base of the trunk (if you plan to leave, that is!). We stayed in a Palm Family Suite – essentially a Palm Suite plus a connecting twin room, ideal if you have kids in tow.
The Suite.
Clocking in at a substantial 124sqm of living space, our suite felt very spacious (the king bedroom in particular) and was well equipped to comfortably house up to six guests, thanks to a king bedroom, a connecting room with twin beds, and a sofa bed in the living room. The layout was practical, affording both privacy and communal living space with plenty of bathrooms. The doors between the main suite and the connecting room were fitted out with thick padding on the inside of both doors, ensuring noise leak is kept to a minimum between rooms.
The suite’s design featured floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in natural light and affording us panoramic views of the sea from the balcony of the king bedroom. The king bedroom had storage space for days, with a walk in dressing room as well as another closet with suitcase sized storage space.
Our power needs were well taken care of, with one bedside having one USB, the other two USBs and a UK outlet, plus a further two USBs at the desk and an international outlet.
Bathroom amenities are of the refillable variety, by This Works, and most standard toiletries one would expect are provided in the toiletry cachet. Robes and slippers are provided, and like the towels, are general Marriott standard.
The bar and coffee area features a Lavazza pod machine, purchasable snacks and mini bar, glassware, bottle opener and ice bucket – happily, the mini fridge is not electronic, so items can be removed and you can use the fridge for your own personal use.
Being a newer resort and located on the Palm, the Marriott is less of a sprawling, garden style resort when compared to older properties (such as The Westin and Le Royal Meridien). It’s all about efficiency – step out of the building and you’re just metres away from the pool and beach. You won’t need to spend an eon traversing from one end of the resort to the other.
The Lounge.
Access to the M Club lounge, complimentary when booking a Palm Family Suite, was a convenient feature, and one of the best parts of our stay. In typical lounge fashion, a variety of complimentary dining options were offered throughout the day, including on-the-go snacks (fruit, chips, biscuits) and drinks (water, soft drinks, juice) – and surprisingly, the food was great quality! There’s a happy hour with free flow drinks 6-8pm, but the child-friendly section of the lounge at this time is restricted and fills up fast – so get there for 6pm if you want a seat.
Spa.
There’s a Saray Spa in house (we didn’t get to check it out due to some spa suites being under renovation) but a fellow lounge guests told us her massage was so good, she was going to rebook for another.
Beachfront + Pool.
We visited Bal Harbour, the beachfront club/area across the pathway that divides West Palm beachfront from the hotel, and attempted to order drinks from our sun lounger – but sadly after two attempts, no-one attended to take our order, so we moved on. Food is very limited in selection at this venue though, so we wouldn’t advise planning to spend a meal or too much time here. Water (even the in-house purified Be Water) was chargeable also, and no-one came to offer towels for our loungers. The beach experience overall was disappointing, with loungers also looking in need of repair.
There’s one main pool, with a small shaded pool that adjoins the kids club and playground for younger children. The pool was busy, with a central swim up pool bar, but it’s a little lacking in atmosphere, so if you’re serious pool people, some of the larger resorts with more pool options and space might suit you better. But then, we’re not lie-on-a-sun-lounger all day people, so perhaps the magic is just lost on us.
Dining.
Now for us, the stand out reason to stay at the Marriott Palm Jumeirah Dubai is…the food!!! This truly might be one of Dubai’s best dining properties, with so many excellent restaurants under one roof. The Marriott team really have done a great job here.
Smoki Moto is our favourite of the bunch – and in fact, one of our favourite restaurants in Dubai. It’s a Korean Steakhouse with in-table grills, serving up some of the most sensational steaks we’ve had in Dubai. Don’t miss the Korean Fried Chicken with Tteokbokki, the Japchae noodles and though it’s hard to go wrong with the steaks, our top picks are the Galbi and the Wagyu Tail.
Also on the dimly lit, Asian cuisine side of things, is OKKU, an old school Dubai favourite that returned after a few years hiatus, reincarnated at the Marriott. Fans of the previous location at The H Hotel will remember their famous jellyfish tanks – but at OKKU 2.0 they are of the CGI variety, as apparently, jellyfish each need individual passports and well, it’s quite the bother. This seems more jellyfish-friendly, anyway. The food is excellent – don’t miss the crispy rice with miso tomato.
Cucina is a great family friendly pick (a kids pack with colouring book and pencils was produced for our toddler) with hearty Italian fare at good prices. They’ve got wine on tap (super affordable!) and even a Gelateria. There’s an outdoor space also, Acquasale by Cucina, that focuses solely on pizza and spritzes, if you’re looking for a quick meal alfresco.
Senior Pico is another spot ideal for taking kiddos, it’s beachfront with plenty of space for them to run around in the sand. The colourful venue serves up an excellent margarita and we think, some of Dubai’s best Mexican food. We’d absolutely return.
Above Eleven is the spot to head to for a cocktail with a view (though if you want something more substantial, you’ll need to dine indoors). It’s Nikkei cuisine, and whilst the food was nice, we think the other venues outshine it slightly (though we’d go back just for the corn side dish).
Family Friendly.
This is a hotel that definitely has the younger traveller in mind. We’re told that kids receive a ‘M passport’ at check-in and there are even steps so kids can step up to the check-in desk, although we didn’t experience these when we checked in with our toddler. There’s a Kids Club with a games room, playground and daily activities, plus a shallow kids pool. The website mentions kids receive special ‘gifts, in-room amenities and much more’ specially aimed at children, again, we didn’t see any sign of this on our stay, but perhaps our two-year old was deemed too young for these.
The Verdict.
The biggest selling point of the Marriott Palm Jumeirah? It’s got to be the food. It’s rare to see a property excel in so many restaurants across so many cuisines, and even its lounge. If you want to stay in and dine to your hearts content, you’ll be very happy here – it’s truly a great culinary offering. The kids club is also a big plus for families, as is the spacious suite design. There are some great views on offer, and while the pool and beach might not be the best in category, they’ll do the job for those who want some serious suntanning time. The rooms are comfortable and well appointed, and still feel new and fresh, even if we found some of the decor choices…puzzling…at times (but perhaps that’s just us). We love that there’s a personal fridge, and the padded doors connecting the rooms were a thoughtful touch. Just promise us one thing – go hungry!
