Six Hundred and Seventy Seven Keys: Bab Al Qasr on the West Corniche
Six hundred and seventy seven. That is the combined count of guest rooms and residences at Bab Al Qasr, 412 of the first and 265 of the second, stacked across thirty six floors on the West Corniche. It is the largest room count on this stretch of coast by a clear margin: the Grand Hyatt next door holds 428 and the Conrad along the road holds 377.
Scale of that kind sets the character of a hotel before anything else does. Bab Al Qasr does not attempt to disguise it, and the building is the better for the honesty.
The gate, and what is behind it
The name means gate of the palace and the architecture takes the instruction literally. An arched entrance of intricate patterning opens onto a lobby with a grand staircase and a chandelier that would not be out of place in a state building.
This is Emirati hospitality performed at full volume, and it should be judged on those terms rather than against a minimalist standard it never sought. On its own terms it is done extremely well.
The position helps considerably. Emirates Palace is a five minute walk, Etihad Towers four, and Qasr Al Watan a short drive. For a visitor whose days will centre on the capital’s landmarks, few addresses are more convenient, and this one comes with private sand.
## Rooms, suites and residences
Categories run from superior and deluxe through premier to the suites, with city, landmark and sea views available across most of them. Interiors are richly finished, contemporary in shape but Arabian in feeling with a Moroccan accent, and heavy on fabric and gilt detailing. That will divide opinion, and it is entirely deliberate.
The sea facing categories are the ones to book. The panoramic windows carry the Gulf and the length of the Corniche, and the seating areas are generous enough to be used rather than merely occupied.
The 265 residences are serviced apartments with kitchens, which changes what the property can do. A family staying three weeks, or a delegation staying a month, is handled here in a way most five star towers in the capital cannot manage.
The residences are finished in a calmer register than the hotel rooms, contemporary and earth toned, which is the correct decision for a space somebody will live in rather than sleep in for two nights. The Grand Hyatt next door offers sixty apartments of the same broad type. Bab Al Qasr offers 265, which is a different order of provision and the clearest signal of what the building was designed to absorb.
Six kitchens and a Ramadan tent
Artisan Kitchen runs the international buffet across breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the breakfast in particular draws consistent praise. Rosemary Restaurant works a Mediterranean menu built for sharing. Fresh Basil Pitch Black Dining occupies the second floor as the property’s tasting experience. Rosé Lounge Bar handles cuvée and live entertainment.
Down at water level, Loop Bar is the pool bar looking out towards the islands and Loop Beach Restaurant is the alfresco table on the shoreline itself.
The Ramadan tent has become an event in the capital’s calendar in its own right, and the hotel takes the season seriously rather than treating it as a promotion. For a visitor in the emirate during the month, it is one of the better places in Abu Dhabi to see what Ramadan actually looks like.
> The Ramadan programme here is the clearest expression of what this hotel is for, and it is worth timing a visit around.
Infinity pool, a hundred and forty metres of beach, Ayana
The infinity pool is heated and set so that the water reads as continuous with the Gulf beyond it, which is the best single piece of design on the property. A hot tub sits alongside.
The private beach runs to a hundred and forty metres of sand, with loungers, umbrellas and full service. Ayana Spa provides a Turkish steam bath, a Finnish sauna, massage and a beauty centre, and Ayana Fitness occupies the fifth floor with panoramic windows facing the Presidential Palace. The gym runs around the clock, which matters in a hotel that takes long haul arrivals at four in the morning.
Loop Bar sits at the pool with a view towards the islands, and Loop Beach Restaurant continues the same line down at sand level. Between them the pool deck and the beach each keep their own bar and kitchen, so a guest can spend a whole day at water level without returning to the lobby.
Weddings, conferences and families
Event and banquet facilities are extensive, and the hotel handles weddings and conferences at a scale few properties in the capital can match. The room count is what makes that possible: a wedding party of several hundred can be housed in the same building it is celebrating in.
Family and connecting rooms are widely available, and the apartments make a multi generational stay straightforward. Children have the pool and the beach, and the Corniche promenade is directly outside for the evening walk.
The position is what makes the whole arrangement work. Four minutes on foot to Etihad Towers and five to Emirates Palace means a family can base itself here, walk to the landmarks, eat at a neighbouring table when it wants to and return to its own beach afterwards, all without a car and without booking a taxi at either end of the day.
Planning a stay
Book a sea facing room, take the infinity pool at sunset when the water and the Gulf line up, and come during Ramadan if the calendar allows it. For a visitor who wants the West Corniche, the landmarks on foot and a private beach, this address answers the brief without palace rates.
Contact
HOTEL: Bab Al Qasr Hotel & Residences
ADDRESS: West Corniche Road, Al Bateen W32, Abu Dhabi
TELEPHONE: +971 2 205 3000
EMAIL: info@babalqasr.com
WEBSITE: https://www.babalqasr.com/
AREA: West Corniche