Stratos, and the Floors Below It: Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi
Downtown Abu Dhabi was the emirate’s business address long before Al Maryah was built out or Saadiyat had a museum on it, and Le Royal Meridien has held a position in the middle of it throughout. Sheikh Khalifa Street, twenty five floors, 278 rooms. The district around it has since been overtaken by newer neighbourhoods. The hotel has not.
The Méridien name reached the Gulf as a French hotel brand and now sits inside Marriott International’s portfolio, which is how the property came to carry Marriott’s elite recognition and its Le Royal Club Lounge. What the change of ownership did not alter is the hotel’s relationship with the city, and two rooms at opposite ends of the building explain that better than any brand history.
At the top is Stratos, a revolving lounge, bar and grill that turns slowly through a full circuit of the capital. At pavement level is PJ O’Reilly’s, an Irish pub among the longest running in the emirate. Abu Dhabi residents have been using both for years without ever necessarily booking a room upstairs.
The downtown position
Al Danah is the old commercial heart of the capital, and the hotel sits in the middle of it. The Corniche is eight minutes on foot, Abu Dhabi Mall around eighteen minutes walking or a few minutes by car, and Al Wahda Mall four minutes’ drive.
Zayed International Airport is 35.6 kilometres away and the run takes roughly twenty four minutes, which is quicker than the same journey from most of the island resorts. For a working visit with appointments scattered across the city, this remains a convenient base.
Self parking and valet parking are both complimentary and there is charging for electric vehicles. The hotel has held Green Key certification for seven consecutive years.
Rooms, and the Royal Club floors
Categories run from corner king rooms with city views through deluxe sea view rooms to suites, with Royal Club categories carrying lounge access.
Rooms are soundproofed and come with pillow menus, hypoallergenic bedding and mini fridges. The sea view rooms look out towards Lulu Island and the open Gulf, and they are the ones worth asking for by name. Sizes are modest measured against a resort and generous measured against downtown, which is the fair comparison here.
The Le Royal Club Lounge is open to guests in the club categories and to Marriott’s Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador Elite members, and it does the work that matters between meetings: breakfast, a quiet table, refreshments through the afternoon.
Seven venues, top to bottom
Stratos is the reason people who have never stayed here know the hotel. A revolving lounge, bar and grill at the top of the tower, built around steaks and cocktails and a view that completes itself while you eat, it has been an Abu Dhabi fixture for years.
Market Kitchen works a farm to table menu with local influences. Café Palmier covers international all day dining and the breakfast, which draws consistent praise. Latitude 24 runs as a coffeehouse moving into bar service later in the day, and Illusions is the nightclub. Amalfi Ristorante, the Italian room, is temporarily closed.
> Stratos and PJ O’Reilly’s inside one building, one at the top and one at the bottom, describe this hotel’s relationship with the city precisely. It has been part of Abu Dhabi’s social life for a long time.
Two pools, and a summer answer
The landscaped outdoor pool sits alongside a children’s pool, a poolside bar and a garden terrace. An indoor pool and a hot tub extend the offer through the hottest months, which is a real advantage in July and August when outdoor water in the capital stops being restful.
Rover Spa handles the treatment menu, and a hair salon operates alongside it. The fitness centre has been renovated and carries free weights and cardiovascular machines.
Meetings, and families
Ten meeting rooms, a conference centre and a business centre sit within the hotel, and the downtown position stays convenient for the government and commercial districts that surround it.
Children stay free, connecting rooms are available and the children’s pool is in place, which makes this a workable family choice for a city stay rather than a beach week. Pets are not accommodated.
For a company running a training programme or a small conference, the combination is efficient: ten rooms of varying size, a business centre for the overflow, 278 bedrooms above them and a coffeehouse in the lobby that keeps going after the sessions finish.
Reading it against the Corniche towers
Anyone choosing between the central island addresses is really choosing between two propositions. Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche offers 280 rooms across forty four floors at the eastern end of the promenade, a hammam, and 2,600 square metres of event space. Le Royal Meridien offers 278 rooms across twenty five floors deeper inside the old downtown, ten meeting rooms, an indoor pool for the summer, and two venues with three decades of local memory attached to them.
The Corniche Hotel sits in the same cluster on a smaller scale again, with individually decorated rooms and a swim up bar. Rates fall as you move inland from the water, and so does the ceremony.
Worth knowing
A central five star address for a working visit, with a social life the newer towers have not had time to build. Take a deluxe sea view room, use the indoor pool if you are here in August, and go up to Stratos for sunset whether or not you are staying.
Contact
HOTEL: Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi
ADDRESS: Sheikh Khalifa Street, Al Danah E9 01, Abu Dhabi
TELEPHONE: +971 2 674 2020
EMAIL: info.lrmad@lemeridien.com
WEBSITE: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/auhrm-le-royal-meridien-abu-dhabi/overview/