Hilton Garden Inn | Ras Al Khaimah

While I wouldn’t really like to advertise this fact, I do sometimes experience FOMO (fear of missing out). And in times where I know I am likely to feel the FOMO way in advance, I make sure I do something about it to tone down the burn. The Eid holidays after Ramadan this year were a week long (I am not really counting the unproductive Sunday at the start of the week). This meant everyone, and by everyone I mean every single soul I knew was either going to be out of UAE holidaying somewhere much cooler, or else soaking up the sun at one of the million resorts around the country. My smart planning ass started looking up for options a couple of months in advance and after a lot of search, elimination and reeling from the shock of exorbitant prices, I landed up on the Hilton website. Being a recently on-boarded member of the Hilton Honors loyalty program (after my short stint in Salalah), I was keen to find out if my loyalty can get me a good price for an Eid staycay. And it did!

Enter Hilton Garden Inn Ras Al Khaimah, that had a lovely under the Stay Longer Save BB package for just AED 977.95 per room for 3 nights. That, my friends is certainly a steal, especially given the peak time we were booking for.

Fast forward 2 months and we arrive at the Hilton Garden Inn Resort on a lovely June afternoon. I had got an email notification from Hilton asking me to check in on their app earlier, but I found only smoking rooms available when I looked it up. So while we were driving to the resort, I instantly called them up and asked them to make sure I had a non-smoking room reserved for myself. The lobby was understandably crowded, children running about, families waiting while one of them completes the check-in formalities, guests getting in and out of lifts towards the restaurant and pool, you get the picture.During our check-in, a little mix up at the counter was almost expected, but I insisted I get a non-smoking room since I had it confirmed over the telephone. Thankfully, within a few minutes it was available and ready for us to settle in.

Room

The room was quite expansive, consisting of a large double bed, a corner desk with a chair, an arm chair with a pouffe and side table, a 4 door wardrobe, TV, mini bar and tea-coffee facilities. Very easy for moving around, there was enough space for up to 3 adults to live comfortably. The window in the room gave us partial views of the corniche, tennis court and next door Naeem Mall. The bed was up to my standards and I believe I had a peaceful sleep on 2 out of 3 nights, the odd one being the one where I had a terrible sudden cramp in my stomach, due to an earlier injury. Even then, I managed to get a pretty good sleep. The desk was the best part of the room. Luckily I was carrying my laptop with me, so I got the chance to finish quite a bit of my pending blog work, while also browsing IKEA to buy my own desk and chair at home.

Bathroom

While the bathroom was super convenient, the one thing it missed was a bath tub. I am not a big fan of having tubs at home, but when it comes to hotels, I certainly fancy a soak or two. This being a 3 night stay, I would’ve certainly preferred some me time with a bubble bath and a glass of grape, but well, I had to settle for my tiny space in the pool. The bath was neatly arranged with a WC (and a shattaf!), a wash basin with an end to end counter and a standing shower area. I’d have liked it if the shower area had a door, since that would’ve restricted any water flowing towards the other half of the bath, but we managed.

Pool

Our first instinct after settling in was to check out the pool, but then we didn’t want to face the blazing sun while it was right over our heads so we decided to nap a bit. I usually don’t like napping in hotels, unless I am really tired, and this time around I wasn’t, so we ended up watching TV instead and before we knew it, it was time to check out the pool. The pool was crowded. And I mean it. Super crowded. It was as though the entire hotel was in that pool. We managed to spot a couple empty loungers and stacked up our towels there so we had some place to sit and sip our cocktails. Have I not told you how much I love sipping on cocktails by the pool! Since we were starving, and the complimentary peanuts wouldn’t suffice our hungry tummies, we also ordered a sandwich to go with the drinks. Between the drinks and the food, we found a little space in the pool to just let loose and feel the blues. One thing, and probably the only thing I love about summers, is that I can walk out of the pool without any shivering at all. And that feeling is priceless.

Restaurants

Hilton Garden Inn RAK has three places to dine and drink – all of which we tried during our stay. The breakfast, which was included in our package, was all their all day dining restaurant on the lobby level – Garden Grille. Very spacious, this restaurant was sufficient enough to cater to all the Eid rush. They had an extension within the restaurant which was opened up during peak breakfast times and set up with all the buffet stations to divide the crowds. On the same level, they had another resto-lounge called Garden Bar & Lounge. We enjoyed one of our evenings at this place sipping some great cocktails during their happy hour and dining on their bestselling pizza. The Pool Bar, located next to the pool on the lower level, was our regular for poolside drinks, sandwiches and quick bites. On the Thursday evening during our stay, the hotel was hosting a Pool Party + Summer BBQ where they kept the pool open until late and offered all-inclusive packages as well as amazing prices on drinks and finger food coupled with great music. We spent quite a while of our Thursday night at the Pool Bar for this. The hotel also has a small convenience shop near the lobby where you can pick a snack or a drink (licensed) or buy items like soap, dental kit, etc.

Nearby Attractions

While Ras Al Khaimah is known as a tourist attraction for its mighty Jabal Jais mountains, and has especially become a great choice for adventure seekers with the Toro Verde ziplining experience, we chose not to go toward the mountains since it was too hot, and instead just walked over to the Naeem Mall next door. Quite an expansive mall, this caters to shoppers and diners alike. With the best fashion brands in tow, a two storey supermarket, a petite food court and some great casual dining choices, we ended up going to this mall twice during our stay – once for a quick bite at the food court, and the second time for some shoe shopping and dinner at The Yellow Chili.

Apart from Naeem Mall, you can also visit the nearby Manar Mall, and if you are looking for more licensed options for food and drinks, you can walk over to the CityMax hotel located opposite to Hilton.

Hilton Garden Inn Ras Al Khaimah Overall Rating