Fantastic Break at Le Meridien Al Aqah in Fujairah

Had a great break with hubby and my boys at the beginning of the Easter break. Like most people who have their own businesses for me a holiday is a balance of time out and chilling by the pool but still keeping my hand in when I need to! Le Meridient Al Aqah Beach Resort delivered 100% Having been to Dubai several times but wanting the weather, we have in recent years started to work our way around the other Emirates. This year it was Fujairah. The hotel is in a stunning setting overlooking the Gulf of Oman with the backdrop of the Hajar Mountains. We booked a Royal Club room, which being on the 18th floor gave us amazing views over the resort and the coastline. I popped down to the Club Lounge each morning and each evening to make use of the wifi and check my emails. Apart from a bit of tweeting, reading and making notes I chilled by the pool with hubby watching my boys have fun. The mojitos were fantastic! Two things about this hotel stand out of for me. Firstly the staff. Not only is the service exemplary but the friendliness and willingness of every member of staff is outstanding. I was amazed at how long most of them had worked there. Attentive, happy and an eye for detail, as a team they stand out from anywhere else I have stayed. And I have been fortunate enough to stay in a good selection of quality resorts. Once I met Patrick Antaki, the hotel manager, I knew why. A warm and approachable person who obviously values his staff highly, and lets them know. Secondly the facilities. The pool is one of the largest in the UAE and includes a swim up bar, zero entry point (great for the kids). The team of life guards gave me confidence to give my children freedom and let myself relax. A great range of restaurants, my favourite being ‘Taste’ the Thai Restauant. Gonu by the beach also hit the spot! The best thing about the restaurants is the availability of a children’s menu throughout the resort. The standard child menu is the usual selection of predictable child meals but of extremely high quality. But it doesn’t end there… when we visit Saad the Indian restaurant my boys chose from a ‘child-friendly’ Indian menu, my eldest having his first curry. Same in the Thai Restaurant ‘Taste’ the boys had a selection of delicious but appropriate Asian food to choose from. It was fantastic to have such choices and flexibility for family dining. The hotel also offer a 50% price on adult meals for a child portion off the main adult menus. In terms of family eating Le Meridien Al Aqah really does mean the world’s your oyster. We will definitely be heading back there, along with the many other families who have been returning year upon year! Check it out: Le Meridien Al Aqah Resort, Fujairah, UAE Sherryx

Great holiday but additional skills required for full enjoyment!

Have just returned from a fantastic break in the sunny emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of glitzy Dubai....and cheaper too! I stayed at what is very much a family resort but manages to successfully combine all the facilities and entertainment for your little ones, whilst still catering for the adults in terms of good restaurants, a few child-free zones and of course the baby-sitting service. Althought I did refrain from using the service again after 'Florence' our sitter seemed to think it ok to allow the children 3 chunky kitkats each! A number of pools, bars and restaurants are spread throughout the hotel and villa complex amongst tropical gardens which means that no one area ever seems too busy despite it being Easter! The beautiful white sand beach is divided into a series of safe little
bays each with a lifeguard. So all in all everything to ensure the perfect family break.

Sitting by the pool, with a lime daiquiri, Ipod, a good book whilst sunning myself, I realised the one key ingredient you need to make the most of such a wonderful set up is a skill that only results from experiencing parenthood itself. It cannot be provided by even the best family hotel. It is the ability to ignore and extract the noise of exuberant children in the background!!!! When you have graduated to the higher echelons of this skill, you are able to remain aware of any cry made by one of your own flock whilst successfully ignorng the noise of all other children in the vicinity. Even plugged into your Ipod you need to apply this ability, albeit at a much lower level.....I found that even with Robbie Williams shouting out 'Let Me Entertain You' loudly in my ears that the shrill cry of one consistently whingeing little girl managed to penetrate my peace!

And let's be honest, there is always one or two repetitive tamtrum throwers around! Sadly this means that their voices do begin to register in your mind and it becomes more difficult to 'extract' them.....you just have to hope they have lots of days out and go home before you....worst case scenario is probably that they are sitting next to you on the plane!

P.s. I think that men are actually much better at the noise extraction skill, bearing in mind their genetic tendancy towards selective hearing!

The resort I went to is:
http://www.hilton.co.uk/rasalkhaimahresort?WT.srch=1