This review is a harder one to do, because this hotel actually has like three hotels within one compound. There is the Le Meridien , the Le Meridien Club, and the Le Royal Club, I stayed at the Le Royal Club. Although I made the reservation at the Le Meridien, for a standard room, I was upgraded to the Le Royal Club.
In this review I will touch upon aspects of the entire hotel, I will mainly speak about the Le Royal Club, as its s separate building within the compound and where I spent most of my time!
Overall I give this property a thumbs up, and especially the Le Royal Club service, but I will lay out a few caveats as well.
Booking
I , of course, booked this stay direct with SPG, either on my app or on SPG.com. The hotel itself was very reasonable, and I chose it both because I’ve been before, because of the price, and the fact that its next to airport and easy to get to after a long day of travel. Do not confuse this hotel as being an “airport” hotel because its next to the airport, its far from it! This hotel is a full resort, and you’d think you was in the middle of nowhere in a small village if you was taken in blindfolded (lets hope your not ).
I paid around $70 USD a night for a basic room, and for DUbai, and for the level or service, this was a great deal! I booked for 3 nights.
Pre-Arrival
One of the biggest complaints I have with this property, is the pre-arrival communication. Most higher end hotels will contact you ahead of time and make all arrangements, this one I had to send a PM on twitter to ask for a car from the airport, and their was a bit of confusion with this. Finally I received an email saying my “complimentary” luxury car transfer was confirmed to look for the sign after exiting immigration.
I just always like it, when the concierge sends an email, even generic to their platinum’s that are arriving within a day or two to see if they require anything.. this hotel sis not until I contacted them.
Arrival at The Airport
After arriving at the airport I found the lady holding the sign and was asked to wait for 5 minutes, the car was not there yet. I did , and finally another gentleman found me and asked “Le Meridien?” I said yes and he walked me and a group to a S Class Mercedes, where 4 of us and our luggage and driver piled in… not so much my idea of luxury, but I guess it beats a bus.
Arrival at Hotel
When arriving at the hotel we first dropped off 2 people at the main lobby, and then the car took the other 2 to the Le Royal Club.

The Le Royal Club is the newest addition to the complex, and its a separate 10 story building. The genius of this is its easier to manage who has access to “Club” amenities and who doesn’t, as everyone staying in that building has club access. Most other hotels give you access to the “club” and you may stay on a club floor, but the entire building was the Club.

The Le Royal Club is across from the older Le Meridien Club, which I am guessing is for people that pay to stay in club rooms that have no status with SPG.

The entrance is a small circular drive that makes it very exclusive for people staying there, as they don’t have to trapse through the rest of the hotel to get to the Club.
I was greeted warmly and checked in very quickly and the gentleman was very kind. I fell like another possible improvement would be to better explain the amenities and access for people staying there.
The first room I was given was on a low floor and had stained carpet and chairs. I went back down to front desk and inquired and was told there was nothing else that night. I said OK fine, but the guy knew how I felt by my reaction. About 10 minutes later the supervisor called me and asked if she could show me another room, I said yes and it was much better!
The Room
Like I mentioned before, the first room was not the best, although not horrible, it just really wasn’t checked well. The carpets are white and I am sure its hard to maintain, but non the less , maintained they should be. I took a few pictures of the stains, etc.


The second room they gave me was much “cleaner” and had a better view (although none of the rooms had a great view). The rooms are very modern and all based in white.

I don’t think they have any “suites” in the Le Royal Club, but I may be mistaken, I think the only Suites are in the main hotel.

The rooms look like they were originally very nice , but like I mentioned before, they seem a bit worn, and maybe the color choice was not the best as the white colors showed everything.

Each Floor had a separate “front” desk , but I never seen it attended, maybe only when a VIP was in house that adds an extra layer of security or exclusivity, although its not easy to get your your room the way it is as you must swipe your card at least 3 different places.
The Club Lounge
Even though this entire building was “The Club”, what I am referring to is where you gathered to eat and drink. Since the entire building was club level the club was in the lobby, not hidden away on some oscure level, as everyone in the building had access.

The Club was very beautiful and probably the best part of the hotel. The food was excellent, and the managers and chef were always VERY accommodating when it comes to my vegan diet.

The Club served food, three times a day, breakfast, Tea, and Happy Hour. Each sitting was a full meal. Like other Le Meridien’s with a lounge, it seems they don’t have one, or they have a GREAT one. This one was a great one, and competes with Le Meridien New Delhi as far as lounges go. I want to send a special shout out to the great “Jelli” in the Club, she was so VERY helpful and nice, THANK YOU!
Special Treat
The hotel was very excited to treat e for my Birthday. As many of you know this trip is part of my 40th birthday celebration, and they were eager to present me with a Vegan Birthday cake, which I was very pleased and thankful for!

The Grounds
The hotel (s) is / are HUGE! At least 5 pools, several gyms, restaurants, etc. Surrounding the hotel is whats called, appropriately, Le Meriden Village and it is like a small village.

Within the village there are several restaurants, bars, pub, pools, and more. At night it really comes to life, and to be honest one does not have to leave the hotel for anything, that’s how comprehensive the property is!

Food and Drink
Since I am a Vegan, my judgment on food may not be yours, as they usually had to create something for me, but overall the quality of the food was very fresh and good. The drinks during happy hour, I had Mojitos, were great!

I will add that in general they were VERY accommodating to me as a Vegan, and I also made friends with a British couple, and the gentleman was gluten intolerant, and they accommodated him as well!
Points
For this three night stay I earned a total of 2,338 SPG Starpoints. This includes my platinum gift, 1 night of “Make a Green Choice” and 250 a night for the current SPG Promotion. I should also get another 250 points for Mobile Check-In but I haven’t received any yet for other stays, we will see!
Wrap-Up
I love this property, and will more than likely return, but I hope in the meantime, they work on a few issues. The first issue is Pre-Arrival communications with Elite members and / or Le Royal Club Guests, to include an email asking if anything special is needed, if transportation is required, etc…. Sometimes even a generic email says a lot, this hotel failed on that instance.
The second thing I was hope is that the cleanliness of the rooms improves. With white interior it has to be hard, but non the less it still needs to be clean. I was told my room was inspected especially for me and my special occasion, my birthday, and as you can see it was stained to high heaven!
Other than that, Le Meridien DXB is a great place to layover, or stay for a week. Although its right next to the airport, you would NEVER KNOW IT! No matter which of the buildings or clubs you stay, I think you’ll enjoy it!
Thanks for reading, and PLEASE, TRAVEL MORE!