Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi

The rooms — all with balconies — start at 30 sqm with city or sea views, rising through the Spacious rooms (40 sqm) to the family room with a sofa bed (55 sqm, up to 3). The suites: City View (55 sqm), Sea View (66 sqm) and the big Family Suite — 225 sqm with two bedrooms for up to 4. Connecting rooms are available on request, and Club Rotana floors come with a dedicated lounge.

Food is a core strength: Finz for seafood (Michelin-selected, set over the water), the Rodeo Grill steakhouse, Benihana with live teppanyaki, the Indian Indigo, the Italian Prego's, the Polynesian Trader Vic's, the German Brauhaus and more — down to the Bay View pool bar. Half-board, full-board and all-inclusive plans are offered.

For children: the Bradee club, a kids' pool and an indoor Game Zone with arcade games and PlayStation. For parents: Zen the Spa, the Bodylines gym, and tennis, squash and padel courts. Check-in is at 14:00 — earlier than usual — and check-out at 12:00.

The main drawback is also the point: this is an urban resort — the beach is relatively intimate rather than a giant Saadiyat strip, and the surroundings are a veteran city district, not holiday islands. For Abu Dhabi itself with a real beach at hand, this is probably the city's most proven hotel.