An idealistic city-cation at Centro Barsha

I might have made up the word city-cation by myself, but honestly I believe its a thing. And don’t we all feel the need to get away from home once in a while, sit back and relax amidst the comforts of a hotel room and come back all refreshed and ready for the week? I made that choice by booking a weekend stay at Centro Barsha.

Read on to find out what made my stay at Centro Barsha so relaxing.

The Rooms

To start off with, we were surprised to receive a free upgrade from a Queen Room to a Queen Suite. If you’re a frequent air traveller, or stay at hotels often, then you would know just how amazing it feels to be upgraded, whether it’s to a first class cabin or a bigger room. And so did we.

I love it when hotels treat you to such little things. It shows how much they care. And this upgrade made the very start of our stay so perfect!

It was great to know that instead of a single room, we would now be staying in a one bedroom + living space. The living area came with a small kitchenette – fully equipped with a microwave, kettle, coffee and tea making facilities and a lovely bowl of fresh fruits as a kind welcome gesture.

Both, the living area and bedroom features flat screen TVs – solving the never ending fight of movies vs sports! A compact walk-in wardrobe inside the bedroom was stocked with an extra pillow, ironing facilities, hairdryer and safe.

As guests of the hotel, we were also entitled to complimentary Wi-Fi in the room and around the hotel.

Take a look at the living area and kitchenette:

       

The Bedroom

If you are staying at a hotel for just one night, the bedroom is of prime importance. After all, we all love a relaxing sleep, don’t we? For me however, it’s not just the bed, but also the bathroom that matters. So while I missed having a bathtub where I could have soaked up with some grape, the comfortable bed and heavy black-out curtains filled in that gap by ensuring I get a deep sleep.

The curtains coupled with dim lit interiors worked such a magic, we honestly didn’t realize it was 9 am, and time for us to go for breakfast!

Centro Barsha is quite a business-ey hotel. Their affordable prices stem from the concept of self-service. So while you’re there, don’t expect a bell-boy to carry your luggage to your room, or a room service to cater to your midnight cravings while you lie in your pajamas.

But to be honest, these are things you can certainly do without, especially knowing that your room is well taken care of. We had our towels changed and bed made up on the same evening of our check-in. This is not usually the case in most hotels, unless you ask for it, so according to me, it was definitely a kind gesture on their part.

Take a look at the comfy bedroom:

Virtual Tour

Watch this video to take a virtual tour of the Queen Suite at Centro Barsha:

The Bathroom

Bathrooms, no matter how big or small, should be well kept and clean. That one thing is of prime importance to me. So as I earlier mentioned, our bathroom did not have a bath tub, which I was kind of looking forward to, because, well, that’s what I do on my stay-cations – sit back and relax.

Nonetheless, it’s compact size did not matter, because there was no compromise on cleanliness. The wash basin was complete with dental care, soaps and tissues, the shower area was neatly blocked with a glass door and came with body wash and shampoo tubes, the toilet came with sufficient paper and a shattaf attachment, and the bathroom was well-stocked with 7 towels of different sizes.

Take a look at some pictures:

Friday Brunch & Saturday breakfast at C.Taste

We don’t say no to brunch. That’s just not right. So when we found out that C.Taste restaurant at Centro Barsha offers an unbelievably low priced Friday brunch, we dived straight into it.

Priced at AED 85 and AED 175, the brunch offers an extensive selection of continental favorites, including a never-ending salad line-up, fresh pizza and live grills station, delectable cheese and bread variety, and of course a myriad of desserts to satisfy those sweet cravings.

We were more than delighted to find out that their in-house lounge C.Mondo prides itself on extra-long happy hours – from 12 noon to 11 pm, with a well balanced list of selected bevs priced at only AED 26. Wow! Isn’t it?

Breakfast goals!

How I wish I could wake up to this every single day of my life.
Planning a staycay in the city? Head off to Centro Barsha and wake up to this goodness at their in-house restaurant c.taste.

Click here for more pictures and a detailed post on C.Taste’s brunch & breakfast.

My Take on Centro Barsha

Every time I go for a staycation, I just can’t believe how comfortably satisfying it can get, such that it makes me want to stay there forever.

Every now and then we all need a little break from our daily rigmarole, and this city-cation is just right for that. It’s affordable, comfortable, and absolutely loveable. Moreover their brunch, breakfast and happy hours are quite unbeatable. Enough of those ‘ables’!

Give them a try and you won’t regret it one bit. Tell me what’s your idea of a perfect city-cation in the comments below👇🏻

Ambience: 10 / 10
This is all thanks to those black-out curtains. Gave me the perfect sleep.

Cleanliness: 9 / 10
I particularly loved the fact that they changed the towels twice on the same day.

Bathroom: 7 / 10
Get me a bath tub, and I will be overly pleased. I guess it’s okay for standard room to pass on the tub, but suite guests could probably be treated to one.

Restaurant options: 7 / 10
The breakfast and brunch at c.taste were more than perfect. Plus the happy hours at c.mondo are just great – making it an ideal place for business drinks as well as weekend evenings. Although they don’t have room service, they do have a 24×7 c.deli that serves a good selection of sandwiches, snacks and drinks. We gave them a try around midnight, and it was quite good.

Amenities: 8 / 10
Coffee and tea – check. Microwave – check. Bathroom essentials – check. Everything we wanted was in place.

Hotel facilities: 6 / 10
I did pass by the pool and gym, but couldn’t really take pictures since it was always occupied. The pool seems to be quite a favorite among guests, plus it’s open for long hours from early morning until late evening, but I’m not really sure if they have a pool bar or allow drinks there. The gym is well-equipped and quite good for business guests.

Overall: 8 / 10

Website: https://www.rotana.com/centrohotels/unitedarabemirates/dubai/centrobarsha
Contact: 800 7744 (UAE)
Location: Road 329, Al Barsha 1