Offering everything from adventurous hiking weekends to glamping trips and ultra-glamorous beach breaks, the UAE provides every different type of vacation you can imagine, all just a couple of hours from your front door.
The country is equally great for family staycations with little ones. However, you need to choose your venue carefully. Because while awe-inspiring infinity pools and fine dining restaurants may appeal to most, they are not exactly practical for younger guests.
The ultimate family-friendly destination
Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai is the complete opposite to these very elegant, yet very un-child suitable hotels. Here, parents don’t need to feel embarrassed if their kids are being loud or unruly, or worry that the menus won’t have enough options for little diners.
The entire resort is purpose-built with kids in mind: right down to the candy-themed children’s spa, and the special kids’ buffets offered at every meal.
The facilities are out of this world, spanning an entire water park that could give even Yas Waterworld a run for its money. Including countless waterslides, cliff jumping points, water play areas, obstacle courses, climbing ropes, a lazy river and much more, it made me wish that I was eight years old again.
So, as a childless 30-something, I had my doubts about whether it was the right staycation spot for me. I’m obviously not the hotel’s core target audience, and I was a little apprehensive about how much I would enjoy it.
However, I need not have worried. Much like the UAE as a whole, I discovered that Centura Mirage caters to all kinds of guests. It can be whatever you want it to be, whether that’s an action-packed holiday with kids, or a sedate beach break spent reading, snoozing and sunbathing.
A hotel with many sides
Set apart from the rest of the city on Dubai Islands, the sprawling resort feels like a world of its own. Only opened two years ago, everything is modern and new.
If you want some peace and quiet, the private beach is plenty big enough to escape the sounds of the play pools.
As we sipped our drinks and soaked up the sun, it didn’t feel any less relaxing than visiting the beach of a more adults-focused hotel. Set alongside clear still waters that are ideal for swimming, and offering a beach bar within close proximity, we had everything we wanted.
As a Thai hospitality brand, I wasn’t surprised to find that the Centara staff embodied the same warm and friendly demeanor of its home nation. While some hotels can fall short in terms of service, every team member was a joy to deal with.
The spa was predictably brilliant, too. Our couples’ Thai massage left us feeling more supple and less stressed than we had done in months.
A place where you can never be bored, the activity list was more extensive than any I’d seen at a UAE hotel. Home to its own diving centre, it provides diving experiences for all levels (including kids’ trial dives and advanced, three-day open water courses), fishing trips, cruises, e-foil and parasailing, and jet skis, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and more equipment for rent.
Seeing as we were visiting on an all-inclusive package, we were exceptionally thankful for its huge, well-equipped gym. Sporty types can also join in with aqua fit classes and various sports tournaments.
Diverse and picturesque dining
We loved exploring the multiple different dining outlets. While I didn’t notice a huge amount of vegan dishes, it was possible to keep things relatively healthy with all the many different salads, grilled meats and seafood options featured in every buffet.
Offering cuisines from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Argentina and beyond, there’s plenty to satisfy those of all tastes. We particularly loved eating outside at poolside restaurant Sands, and catching the sunset from the beach bar patio. Adorned with plush sofas, the setting was just as spectacular as any offered at Saadiyat Island’s ultra-upmarket and luxurious hotels.
If you don’t have a car or you’re looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, you can get almost all the way to the door of Centura Mirage by public transport. We took the bus from Abu Dhabi to Al Ghubaiba bus station, and from there it was just a 15-minute taxi. You can also get the metro to the Gold Souk and take a ten-minute taxi there.
Perfect for kids, but offering plenty for couples too
Despite being the holiday destination that every kid dreams of, Centara Mirage is just as successful as a therapeutic beach break for couples, friends and everyone in between. Whatever you want from a staycation, you’ll find it here.
Rates start from Dh761 per night with breakfast. For more information call +971 4 522 9999 or email [email protected].
• This hotel stay was provided for the purposes of a review. We try a lot of things here at Livehealthy, but we only publish Livehealthy approved reviews for those that are truly worth it.
