Tag: Vacation

Just as Heavenly as we Remembered

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Ah, the Maldives. Was it actually a dream? I swear we waited almost two years for this holiday and it went by in a flash! 

Ryan and I visited Ozen Life Maadhoo in December 2020 and it was our first time visiting the Maldives. That Christmas, my lovely Mum got drunk and said she would take us all there on holiday to celebrate my dads 60th birthday in 2022. Full of regret the next day, she told us it wasn’t happening. But once Dad spent a bit of time thinking it over, they decided that we should all go. So I reached out to Ozen and we booked three of their Wind, overwater, villas. 

Roll on March 2022 and our little Arlo was born. We decided it would be best to change our room to an Earth Villa with a pool, which was located on the beach front, as this would be a better option with Arlo.

Mum, Dad, Katie and her fiancé Tom flew over to Dubai and spent the night at ours, this allowed them to break the journey up from the UK. We then all flew over to the Maldives together from Dubai.

The flight is only 3.5 hours and we booked the 2.30am flight which got us to the Maldives at 7am. It was the first night flight we’ve done with Arlo but he was such a trooper and slept for the majority of the flight – which meant Ryan and I were able to get a few hours in as well. When landing in the Maldives you’re required to fill out an entry form, which we had completed in advance and were provided with QR codes. Unfortunately, not everybody had completed this so the queues at immigration were quite lengthy. It also took a bit of time to collect our cases but once we were through to the other side and greeted by the Ozen staff, that’s when we knew our holiday could really start. 

We were taken to the Ozen private lounge in the airport and provided with water, tea and coffee before we were escorted to the Ozen speedboat to take us to the island. The trip is 45minutes from Male. One huge benefit about the Indulgence Package with Ozen is that it also includes transfers to and from the hotel. If you opt for a hotel that requires you to take the seaplane, this can incur charges of up to $500 per person, each way.

Blowing of the Conch

Of all the things my sister was excited for when arriving at Ozen, it was the greeting of the staff as we disembarked from the speedboat. Just as described on their website, the staff were ready and waiting to blow the conch and play the drums whilst greeting us onto the island. 

We were taken to the lobby for a glass of champagne and were introduced to our butler, Blue. Blue provided us with our itinerary which covered everything from our restaurant bookings, excursions and spa treatments. Blue then take us each to our rooms so we can unpack and get settled in before meeting up at the pool bar.

Restaurants

Ozen has a great selection of restaurants and bar options on the island. From authentic Chinese cuisine at Peking; traditional Maldivian dining at their beachfront restaurant, Lonu; to the incredible underwater dining experience at M6M, it really caters to everyone.

Each morning we would meet up at The Palms, the buffet-style restaurant where breakfast was served and would enjoy our breakfast with a Mimosa, or two. The pool bar, Joie de Vivre also has a daily snack menu whereby you can order pizzas, sandwiches, spring rolls etc. (all of which is also included in the all inclusive package).

Excursions

When Blue provided us with our itinerary this included a selection of excursions which are complimentary as part of your stay. This included a snorkel trip (which I opted out of so I could stay with Arlo), but the rest of the family enjoyed this and even saw sharks on their trip!

One evening we had the sunset fishing trip. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I caught two fish! One was a grouper fish and the other was a red snapper. The Captain arranged for the snapper to be taken back to the hotel and we had this grilled for lunch the next day. It may be because I caught it myself, but I think it might have been the best fish I have ever eaten!

One of the other evening excursions available is the sunset cruise and we were lucky enough to see dolphins! It was so magical.

Ryan and I also decided to opt for one of the paid excursions and go swimming with sharks! The boat trip was approximately thirty minutes from Ozen to an area where nurse sharks gather. The experience was incredible, although I was quite nervous once I was actually in the water and they were nudging and bumping around us! It was definitely a bucket list moment.

We had the most incredible family holiday and created memories that will last a lifetime.

A Lovely Stay at the Zabeel Saray

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During our intense period of lockdown I felt as though I was constantly scrolling through booking.com and other hotel booking apps, sat inside our little one bed apartment just day dreaming. At that point in time, hotels weren’t able to open to the public as a result of COVID and there seemed to be a crash in rates. Being the bargain hunter that I am, I booked a one night stay at the Zabeel Saray for mid-July. The deal – AED600 including breakfast and taxes… I couldn’t believe it either!

Ryan told me not to book as we didn’t know what the situation would be with regards to the lockdown, I know he was just being his typical sensible self, but I thought if it’s booked on free cancellation we can just assess the situation closer to the time. So that’s exactly what I did!

As our staycay date approached, Dubai started to open up and the COVID rules relaxed. The Zabeel Saray is a hotel that I have wanted to stay at for such a long time now and it just so happened that we had cause for celebration on the weekend we stayed there as i had just finished my notice period at my previous job so it marked the start of a new chapter for me.

We have visited many hotels in Dubai for beach days, brunches etc. but, surprisingly, neither of us had previously visited the Zabeel Saray! As we pulled up to the hotel entrance it was just as grand as I had expected it to be. The hotel staff was exceptional and they have put many measures in place in relation to COVID. Our room was available upon arrival which was great – I love it when that happens!

We headed straight to our room to change and get down to the pool. Of course, in July the weather is very, very hot. So we really wanted to get a bed close to the pool so we could easily jump in and cool off, but the pool was absolutely packed with kids, eek! There were no beds available and just so, so many children! I guess this was the only downside to the hotel that, not having an adult only swimming pool! But we moved on down to the beach and with an umbrella and a slight breeze it was actually lovely.

For lunch we headed to the pool restaurant, Plaj, which had a Côte d’Azur feel to it, so I sipped my Aperol, closed my eyes and imagined that’s exactly where we were!

After a day in the sun we headed up to our room for a glass of bubbles on the balcony, and I treated myself to one of my favourite things to do in a hotel room and that was a nice, hot bubble bath!

For dinner, we decided on the hotels Indian restaurant, Amala, which has also been on my restaurant list for a while and it’s on the Entertianer which was a bonus! I really wanted to visit the Rib Room which is a steak restaurant located at the hotel but sadly, as a result of COVID, the restaurant hadn’t yet re-opened. Amala did not disappoint and we left suitably stuffed, there was no room for dessert but there was just about enough space for one more glass of bubbles on our balcony!

After an incredible night sleep, on the worlds fluffiest pillows, we were treated to a delightful breakfast. The breakfast is usually buffet, however, the hotel had adapted to allow you to order a “main course” from the breakfast menu followed by several trolleys of pastries, fruits, yoghurts, juices and coffee! Worn out from all of the breakfast, we pitched up on the beach again and had a little nap!

We loved our stay at the Zabeel Saray, the highlight was definitely the enormous bath in our room and the gorgeous view from our balcony.

Anantara the Palm – the perfect staycay

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We recently spent the weekend at the Anantara on the Palm for the perfect weekend of R&R. The 25th of May marked our four year Dubai-anniversary – four years of living in Dubai! We like to celebrate each year with a staycation and this year we decided on the Anantara.

We’ve visited the hotel previously for brunch but when we arrived and the hotel staff took our bags, I was so ready to make the most of the hotel experience. Anantara is a Thai hotel chain and we were greeted with the same Thai hospitality and warmth as you receive in Thailand. We arrived at 10am, even though check in wasn’t until 2, as we wanted to make the most of using the facilities so we headed straight down to the pool.

Surprisingly, the weather in Dubai right now is still perfect and we’re not melting away just yet! It was lovely just laying out, soaking up the sun and reading. Around midday we went for a little walk along the beach front and checked out the over-water villas before heading down to Revo Cafe for a bit of lunch. (I say “a bit” of lunch, I ordered the southern fried chicken sandwich and it was about 15 inches long!)

We were able to check into our room an hour early which was great because we had booked a Premier Lagoon Access Room which meant that we had a terrace with two sun loungers and direct access down into the lagoon pool from our room. It was such a welcome break from the craziness that is Dubai and due to the location of the hotel on the palm, we couldn’t see any of the high rise towers so we really did feel like we were on holiday for the weekend.

The Beach House

The hotel has a great selection of restaurants (all of which are on the Entertainer as well which is a bonus) we were torn between Mekong, the Thai restaurant; Bushmans which is an Australian BBQ and grill or the Beach House which serves Mediterranean cuisine.

We decided to dine at the Beach House for our evening dinner as we won’t have the luxury of dining outside for much longer in Dubai – summer is definitely approaching! The restaurant is set on the beach which has a lovely view of the Marina in the background.

We shared the Beach house Antipasti to start, I had the grilled tiger prawns and Ryan had the seafood pasta – his pasta included prawns, mussels, clams, red snapper, calamari and crab! All of the portion sizes were extremely generous so you should arrive hungry! Our waiter, Nicholas, was extremely friendly and informative of the menu and we never had to ask for anything.

The lagoon access room is open 24 hours so when we got back from dinner the plan was to go for a a night swim. By the time I had my bikini on, Ryan had already fallen asleep on the sun lounger on our terrace! So I went for a little swim in the lagoon which was lovely and then proceeded to fall asleep on the other sunbed. It was so peaceful.

Breakfast

I am such a fan of a breakfast buffet. Lady in the street but a freak at the buffet – that’s me all over 🤣 the selection at this breakfast buffet was great, it had so much choice! I just get too excited and pile so many things on my plate that it ends up a bit of a mess. But everything was super tasty and fuelled us for our next nap out on the terrace!

Our second day was spent between the terrace and the lagoon, we wanted to make the most of our room so requested a later check out. The highlight of the lagoon was the little bar boat that comes along serving up cocktails whilst you’re in the lagoon! I chose a Malibu Coconut, it was heavenly!

We left the palm feeling super relaxed and as though we had actually left Dubai – even though the drive home was only 18 minutes!