Qasr Al Sarab Resort and Spa by Anantara

Lotta Rygaard Walsh

Ohhhh my Gosh!! It was soooo nice!! Staff was super friendly and helpful! The resort was unbelievable stunning!! We had a two bedrooms pool villa but in fairness; the pools of the resort were perfect!! We will always come back whenever we are in Dubai or Abu Dhabi! This and the Anantara Livingstone in Zambia is by far the most amazing places we’ve been to! A super BIG PLUS was the staff! Another SUPER BIG PLUS was the wonderful and luxurious breakfast!!!

Food And Sum

We stayed at Qasr for three nights, and honestly, it was one of the most magical experiences we’ve ever had. The backdrop of the sand dunes was absolutely stunning, sunrises and sunsets from the desert were nothing short of breathtaking. Given how remote the location is, we were so impressed with the food at the resort. From delicious breakfasts at Al Waha to the fine dining under the stars at Al Falaj, everything was full of flavour, and there were plenty of great vegetarian options too. Huge shoutout to our lovely waiter, Siddanth, who took amazing care of us during our alfresco dinner at Al Falaj. His service was top-notch. We also tried some of the complimentary activities offered by the resort and really enjoyed them. One of the highlights was the wellness ritual with Beatrice, which included breathwork, yoga, and a meditative sound bath. It was incredibly calming, and Beatrice had such a warm and welcoming energy. Another standout was the sunrise walk with Adam. Trekking up and down those sand dunes definitely got our hearts pumping, but it was so worth it for the views and the experience. Adam was a fantastic guide and made it really enjoyable. We also did the nighttime discovery walk and the sunset camel trek, both led by Shehzad, who was absolutely brilliant. He shared so much knowledge about desert wildlife, and his photography skills were seriously impressive (especially during the morning camel ride). Everything about the stay, from the location and decor to the facilities and the incredible hospitality, made it feel truly 5-star. We’re so grateful to all the staff who work so hard to keep the place looking beautiful and make guests feel so welcome. And one last thank-you to Omnath, our buggy driver, for helping with our luggage and getting us around the resort with a smile. We’d highly recommend Qasr for anyone looking for a truly unique, one-of-a-kind getaway.

limaspa linutzi

We had a great two night stay at the Anantara, but we also found some things that can be improved and which prevented us from giving a five star rating. Things we really liked - Amazing rooms - Stunning location in the desert - Fantastic breakfast - Wonderful Adults-only pool (except the loud music) - Great service and staff (exception see below) Things to be improved: - Customer service at reception: We had booked a Ramadan package which promised us a room upgrade if available. Although there were rooms available in the next higher category the reception did refuse to give us the upgrade on our first day. The offered us a late checkout which we didn’t need because we had to leave early on our last day. After talking to the duty manager the next morning they offered us the upgrade, but we didn’t want to bother to change rooms just for one night. We got a bottle of Prosecco as a compensation which we also told them we did not need. The whole situation did leave a bad impression to us and other hotels in this price categories do solve these issues much more customer oriented and elegant. - They are playing quite some loud music at the adults pool. Some of the music boxes are right next to the pool beds and it is simply too loud to stay at these beds. - The restaurant options in the evening are a bit limited and price for value was not given for us in the two restaurants we did visit. - While setting up the Iftar venue in the afternoon at Al Falaj restaurant the staff played very loud music on our first day. As we had our room nearby this was very disturbing while relaxing at the balcony on our first day. - Although the resort is in the desert, it does not feel like it is fully secluded as there are big electric power poles around the resort, a nearby street and a big villa close by. If you are looking for a true desert experience (no light pollution, no further signs of civilization, you might want to watch for other camps or locations). - Prices for activities are way too high Overall great experience though and we did not regret we did choose the Anantara!

Cat Wee

This is very luxurious stay for us and it didn’t disappoint. The desert views were breathtaking, and we were accompanied by the best guides on our camel rides (Sathish & Farhan) and the best photographer guide Hussain during our Sunrise Desert Walk - we had such great pictures from that walk and it formed a core memory for us. The food choices weren’t many and honestly quite expensive but no choice as we were captive audience. Staff were attentive except for during the check in & out timings when they seemed a little flustered and no responses when we wanted a buggy back to the room. Overall still a great place to stay, we had good memories from the activities.

BB

A fantastic resort in a magical place, totally worth the drive from Abu Dhabi. My wife convinced me to rent a car and drive to this resort 1 1/2 hours from Abu Dhabi and boy was I happy we did considering all the resistance I gave her. If you are driving to this resort on your own, careful of speed limits on the highway as they have active photo radar (I found out the hard way with 4 speeding tickets and I wasn’t over the limit by much). Once you arrive to the security gate, you are checked as a guest on the list and ushered onto the private road leading to the resort. The drive is peaceful, quiet, awe inspiring and long (roughly 10kms to the resort). Passing through 2 gates you come up to a moat style driveway and castle looking structure, welcomed by a number of attendees and valets. The front staff at check in were very welcoming and offered tea and fresh dates upon arrival. We rented a one bedroom villa and were taken by golf cart to our very private abode. The buildings are spread out over huge grounds and if mobility is a problem for you there are golf carts brought to you at any time to help you get around. The villa 12 was located up on a hilltop and had an expansive view of the western desert known as the Empty Quarter. I could not describe the view or tranquility in a short sentence so I posted pics of just the view. The tranquility you will have to find out for yourself. The villa is well appointed, roomy and quiet. Beds were very comfortable although a cot had to be brought in for our daughter. I think a pull out sofa would have be better suited for that area. Our villa came with a butler named Shubham who was very helpful and accommodating. He helped get us to a viewing area on a sand dune to watch and enjoy the sunset! Evening time we ate at Amanie, one of the 5 restaurants they have on property, although we really wanted to eat at Suhail, but it’s unfortunately closed on Wednesdays. The next day we had an experience booked, there are many to choose from and I highly recommend the one we did, early morning camel ride in the desert that starts about 5:45 a.m. Our family was shipped out by Toyota land cruisers to our destination, what a fun 10 minute ride through the desert to where camels were waiting for us. The whole experience lasts about 40 minutes to an hour and all the workers were very nice. You get to see the sunrise from the top of a very large sand dune, very much worth the cost! Dress accordingly as it can be chilly in the early morning and warms up quite quickly! We were back to the hotel by 8a.m. and able to enjoy a very bountiful breakfast. The breakfast area is very large and there are many choices to be had via buffet or ordered off the chef menu. Everything was delicious and the service, especially from Mary Love, exceptional. The view from the breakfast area patio was terrific! Overall our stay was exceptional and we would have liked to of stayed longer, but our travel days were limited and we can’t wait to visit again!