“Money is an arrow striking the target, and an intercessor you cannot refuse.”

- One Thousand and One Nights

They talk a lot about Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and most of this is the true truth. A country that has grown over 40 years, in which every citizen, by definition, is rich and probably happy.

So, we flew out of Milan on May 3rd at 22:10. And early in the morning the 4th was in the Arab dream. We were met by a car from the hotel St. Regis Abu Dhabi. Arriving at the hotel at about 8 a.m., to our delight, the room was already ready, and we were able to rest. The children noted that we arrived at the prince’s palace, and Leonardo decided that he was the very prince. Apparently, for this reason, he rushed through the spacious sparkling halls with the speed of a sports car and all this time kept the whole staff in suspense.

Abu Dhabi was not chosen by chance by us, the trip was of a tourist nature only for me and the children, Dario had meetings scheduled almost every day, so we needed a hotel that would suit the family and be convenient for work.

They say that they go to Dubai for shopping and entertainment, Abu Dhabi the city is more calm, relaxed: people come here for measured rest. I don’t know what other guests are looking for here, but from the forty-seventh floor of our room, the busy road, the hot misty haze and the lights of skyscrapers least of all reminded me of relaxation.

I remember that on the first evening, putting the children to bed, I buried my forehead in the glass and, watching the rhythm of the city and the lights, I was sad. Sometimes the superficial seems important, the fuss fills everything and more valuable things are forgotten.

Emirates seems to be an invented country from the future. The first days I was haunted by the thought that something should happen to this city, it was so "implausible". On the other hand, to build a luxury life in the desert, to build skyscrapers, green parks and lawns, huge avenues of palm trees on hot sand - such stabborness deserves respect.

My expectations regarding the pool and the beach did not materialize. I knew that the Persian Gulf is not the Mediterranean Sea, but a construction site that can be seen from every angle, and construction cranes are quite viable for me to associate with leisure. The eye wanted to see the horizon, space. The beach is good, the sand is light and pleasant, but if you dig deeper, and children like to dig, it will be gray, because the beach is loose, artificial. The water is very low, surrounded by buoys that do not allow you to go deeper than 160 cm.

The pool is also not deep, like all pools in the UAE - 122 cm, if I am not mistaken, but the children's areas are made conveniently and there is a pleasant bathtub with hydromassage. I expected that the territory will be larger, as in the photographs, that is, where to take a walk, in fact this is not so. To get to the beach, you need to go through a long, too air-conditioned corridor; It takes about 8 minutes to get to the beach from the hotel. Excellent changing rooms with everything we needed, it was convenient for the children and I to use them and return to the hotel in proper form.

There is a kids club at the hotel and on the beach. Animators - Russian girls and one Filipina. They all are wonderful.

The hotel staff is very polite, great for children. Toddlers were often treated to chocolate and always friendly.

We visited friends who live in Abu Dhabi. A wonderful apartment with a view of the city and islands, a wonderful shopping center on the ground floor (in the 40-degree heat you don’t always want to leave the house), three pools on one of the floors, there is also a wonderful playground, a small park and benches. Residents of the house can attend several sports clubs in the same building for free. With local friends, we went to the best beach in the city, where the second St. Regis Saadiyat Island. Yes, the open sea; for a moment it even seemed to me that the beach looked like Sardinia, but the moment was not very long - I noticed the cranes a little to the left immediately :)))

We do not have photos of the hotel itself. On the site it is shown from all sides and in reality everything is exactly as in the pictures. When we arrived at the hotel, one of the workers complimented Nicole, calling her a princess. He suggested that we arrange an excursion to the room that hosts the Arabian princes and princesses when they stay at St. Regis. Out of curiosity, we agreed.

The room was on the 48th floor, one floor higher than ours. And I noted that he is not very luxurious. No golden columns or platinum taps in the bathroom. Gold plating is present, but it is concise and appropriate. The room surprised with its size (more than 1,300 square meters), it can be called a "hotel in a hotel": it has its own beauty salon, cinema hall, kitchen, internal elevator, five, if I am not mistaken, bedrooms, several bathrooms, living rooms and offices . Even if Arab blood does not flow in your veins, you can easily relax in such apartments for only 15,000 euros per day.

Some moments in the hotel were perplexing. There were not very many, but the aftertaste remained. In the restaurant, where excellent breakfasts are served (I must say that the quality and variety of dishes in both restaurants is excellent; everyone will find something for breakfast and dinner), every morning we waited a long time for a children's chair. The wait could last 10-15 minutes, once they brought it to us after we had breakfast. This is very inconvenient, as is the long wait for hot drinks. Do you like to wait long for morning coffee?

The doors of the hotel are tight, heavy, and it seems strange to me that the staff did not notice me with the stroller and another child, and I had to push the door myself. These are trifles, but they remind of oneself.

Первым утром я собралась на пробежку, но бегать даже в 7 утра по городской набережной не очень приятно. Воздух тяжелый и поток машин очень плотный, хоть и дорожки проходят в парке рядом с набережной. Зато в спортзалах, которых у отеля два (один прямо на пляже, другой в здании отеля) заниматься очень удобно и утром там почти никого нет.  

The first morning I went for a run, but running even at 7 in the morning along the city promenade is not very pleasant. The air is heavy and the flow of cars is very dense, although paths pass in the park near the promenade. But in the gyms, which the hotel has two (one right on the beach, the other in the hotel building) is very convenient to do and in the morning there is almost nobody there.

Before leaving, the children discovered a room in which chocolates were hidden. They were very tasty - made from fine chocolate and cranberries. But at the most inopportune moment, a hotel worker entered the room. We had to urgently portray a photo shoot, the result of which can be seen above. Smile with a candy on the cheek a hundred times more pleasant. If you want to find sweets - they are directly opposite the corridor in the photo;)

I would also like to note the perfect purity and aesthetics in everything.

We rested, sunbathed, recharged. At home, I again looked at everything with new eyes, and I wanted to take far, far away everything that we do not use. The heart requires emirate purity and order.

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