Abu Dhabi - October Half Term Sunshine

On 28th October, my family and I took the overnight Etihad flight from Manchester to Abu Dhabi, for a week of half term sunshine.

After taking a private transfer from the airport we arrived at our hotel for the week at the 5* Ritz Carlton Grand Canal Abu Dhabi.

The Ritz Carlton is a fabulous resort hotel, with many room category options including one and two-bedroom villas, with and without private pools and the option of a club lounge upgrade at an additional cost.

The last time I had been to Abu Dhabi was May 2013 for my Gold Conference and I had previously visited the Ritz Carlton during our Gala Dinner.

As a family we chose to go to Abu Dhabi for the October half term week for some sunshine ahead of the long dark winter nights and we were not disappointed.

The weather was fabulous every day with the temperature around 30-32 degrees Celsius every day.

We spent restful days by the pool and our 6 and 10-year-old daughters were able to enjoy the pools, plus the kids splash area and the Ritz Carlton kids club too.

We booked to stay on B&B basis, the Ritz Carlton has various restaurants and is also right next door to the “Venetian Village” which houses several different restaurants, so we were able to eat out at different places each night.

It is quite pricey to eat out in Abu Dhabi and for drinks, so if I was returning I would definitely consider booking on half board basis, particularly as the Ritz Carlton are hoping to imminently launch a restaurant “dine around” option.

There was also a paid for water taxi from the Venetian village across the water to the Traders, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr and Shangri-La hotels as well as the souk area located between the latter two hotels too.

During our stay at the Ritz Carlton we took the courtesy bus that the hotel provided to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque at sunset. The architecture and ambience of this amazing place of worship means that it’s well worth a visit, particularly at sunset and we took some amazing photos too.

For anyone wanting to venture out and about in Abu Dhabi, there is Yas Waterworld, the Yas Marina Race circuit, Ferrari World theme park, the option to do a city tour or a desert safari trip or shopping at the Marina Mall, Yas Mall or Galleria. Why not visit the Observation Deck 300 at the Jumeriah Etihad Towers for amazing views of Abu Dhabi or a trip to the Emirates Palace hotel, Abu Dhabi’s equivalent of the Burg Al Arab hotel in Dubai?

My top tip is to download the Entertainer App on your phone and pay a fee to join the Entertainer Abu Dhabi. We did this for around $60 = £45 and this opened up an abundance of discounts at restaurants with 2 for 1 meals and the same for the them and water parks, so the cost of the Entertainer membership was made back on our first meal out.

I would definitely return to Abu Dhabi for guaranteed winter sunshine again and stay at the Ritz Carlton.