Staycation at the Luxury 5-star, Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island

We are slaves of the clock and keep running every day 24/7 on our busy schedules maintaining a lifestyle. This needs to be broken down at times, our body needs rest, relax and entertainment for our physical and mental growth and overall, peace. Last weekend, we chose to explore the Saadiyat Island which we have driven past hundreds of times while traveling to Abu Dhabi. We stayed the luxurious Rixos Premium beach resort, luxury defined with top-class services. Rixos Saadiyat Island boasts 378 luxurious rooms or villas, overlooking the turquoise ocean, onsite spa, fitness center, pristine private beach, water park or wave pool.

Staying in an all-inclusive hotel is a plus when you are on vacation, no worries about food or drinks or even kids. Everything was taken care of by Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island’s fantastic team. Our little one hardly stayed with us, only for the meals. He was having a fabulous time at the kids’ club, they should be adding some activities for teens also like at Rixos Bab Al Bahr, Ras Al Khaimah where both the kids were totally engaged and made many friends. Our teenager spent his time swimming and in the gym this time, it was fun. They had so much to eat and drink around. My little one has already nominated Rixos Saadiyat as the best hotel in all the hotels we have stayed till now. He wants to go back again, ? He kept talking about it until bedtime after we came back.

We interacted with Pradeep Bijalwan, someone from my hometown who is managing the entire Front Office department at Rixos, the receptionist Crystal explained hotel facilities very well. Then we were escorted to our rooms.

Rooms: – We had a connecting room with Deluxe King and a Twin room with 2 twin beds and 1 king bed. The ocean-themed family rooms have been designed with mirrors and modern equipment. The room had air conditioning, soundproofing, sofa, study table, coffee machine and minibar and since it’s all-inclusive, everything in the fridge was free to use. The bathroom had a sound system which can be connected to the TV, so you can shower with music. A stylish bathtub enhances the beauty of the room. Every room comes with free wi-fi,

• Safe
• Iron
• Walk-in closet
• Sofa
• Wardrobe or closet
• Socket near the bed
• Bathrobes

F&B:- The charm of staying in an all-inclusive resort is F&B, you can eat whenever you want and whatever you want, in the lobby, near the Kids’ club, on the poolside or any of their restaurants, depending on how much your system allows you to eat, ? The food and drinks are all included in the package including alcohol. The food was premium quality, they offer lavish breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet and to our surprise, there was a midnight buffet which is open from 12am-2am.

At Rixos Saadiyat the “All-inclusive” concept includes all meals, snacks, and drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) throughout the day which can be consumed in 7 restaurants and 4 bars. This includes the specialty restaurants, L’Olivo (Italian), Orient (Turkish) and Mermaid (Seafood), Aja (Asian).

We met very friendly Joan at the restaurant, she was kind to help us seated in the desired place. There is an option of indoor and outdoor seating.

Beach and Pool: – It’s not possible to feel like water babies when you are in a resort-like that, we had our time in the pool and enough at the beach as well. There is a pool bar where you can order whatever drinks you like (covered under package). The fun part was to see the servers skating around the area on rollerblades.

Beach had a library filled with interesting books, for those who go there to just laze around and enjoy their time reading. This is in my bucket list in a few years when the little one grows a bit older. Beach volleyball, water sports, soccer is available if you are interested to play. We did enjoy playing some volleyball the next morning.

Kids’ Club, Waterpark and Waves Pool: – Apart from the main pool, they also have a waterpark with slides and showers for kids and a huge wave pool, this was totally a hit. No huge crowds like water parks, just chill with a few families and enjoy the activities.

We would rate the Kids’ club attendants the best team amongst all as a family coz they kept our little one so happy and engaged. He was so thrilled, the kids’ club plan activities for the entire day from 9am-11pm. They organize various indoor and outdoor fun activities; we were able to experience some of them and our munchkin was there longer. They made a very cute handprint which we carried home as a keepsake, the guy at the club insisted that we should stay for that.

Fitness club and Spa: – There is a full-fledged fitness club equipped with all the machinery and equipment, there is also another fitness area around the pool for fitness enthusiasts.

Anjana Spa is a cozy residence spa that offers massages and treatments on bookings. There is an adult-only pool and jacuzzi inside and male and female steam and sauna rooms.

Sunset and Sunrise: – I have started chasing sunsets and sunrises for the past few years, I made sure to be at the beach for my appointment with nature and witnessed another magnificent creation of Mother Nature. Even though I slept after midnight, I reprogrammed my brain to wake me up for sunrise and I was up just a few minutes before sunrise. I had checked with Crystal at the reception if we could see sunset or sunrise from the resort and she mentioned both. I made sure to check the time of sunrise the next day in advance.

I was the first one, along with the Rixos staff to be at the beach, waiting for the glorious sun to rise. This time in the process, I learned something which I would love to share.

“Sunsets are for everyone, anyone can watch a sunset, but the sunrise is only for the go-getters”, as they are the ones who sacrifice their sleep.

One has to make efforts to rise early and to make an effort to witness the sunrise. You would have seen thousands visiting sunsets but only a few watching sunrises, that’s the difference. Maybe that’s why people respect the sunrise more than the sunset.

The public areas are picturesque, the interiors and exteriors of the hotel are very enchanting and welcoming. The color theme matches the colors of the ocean and the setting is all top class. The lobby itself is quite captivating. We sat for the night show for kids and outdoor entertainment after kids went to bed. The moon looked delightful through the trees. For me, it was a connection to nature while experiencing the luxuries with the family. We would definitely go back again. Thank you Rixos for having us, we made tons of memories.

The video review of Rixos Saadiyat Island is now on Youtube, you can watch it here and if you liked the video, pls don’t forget to like and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG0Tk1g19-Q

Published by Vandana Bhatt

I am a recruitment consultant, market researcher and marketer by profession. A passionate blogger and content creator. Technology is proving to be my interest and strength. I believe in active learning and reinvesting my time to educate myself. With my 11 years of experience in hospitality recruitment, I have helped and guided several Top Executives and professionals to obtain their dream jobs. I continue to be a part of the largest growing hospitality industry. I am an ardent traveler and photography lover!! Writing has been a part of my life since my early ages, it is a tool to express myself. I dream to be a motivational speaker or a coach in upcoming years. I share my life experiences, travel, restaurant / hotel reviews, life, kids, festivals and much more through this platform. You can find me on Social Media:

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