Review: Shangri-La Abu Dhabi

Battura and Sambar are Indian breakfast dishes!

Never stayed at a Shangri-La and maybe it was just the lighting of the room in the pics that you took of the room but it looks a little underwhelming considering I've always thought of a Shangri-La as a ultra high end hotel chain. Granted, I always thought a Shangri-La is usually priced in the $300 and above range but you were able to get this one for $175 a night so my perception may be totally off.

Ben, great review as usual.

However, you mentioned a lack of Indian food at the buffet. Not sure if you noticed but one of your breakfast photos has chana, batura and sambar in it, which are Indian breakfast items 🙂

That place is a must for me. I stay at the Traders, which is on the same resort and has excellent value for money, especially since you can go to the main Shangri-La for dinner -the dinner buffet is lavish, I paid 250 AED flat and I probably ate 500 AED worth of caviar, and the vietnamese restaurant is also gorgeous-. While there are better hotels in Abu Dhabi, this place is a very relaxed area and unlike other places it doesn't feel like an island, you have a big area at your disposal and are not limited to one hotel property.

Yeah, as mentioned above, you took pictures of Indian food.

Ben, I was travelling while you were in Abu Dhabi and missed the actual updates and I am sorry. We visited again in April and I found a place you'd love - a private island off Saadiyat (15 mins boat ride) and you can visit just for the day (buy a day pass for $115 which is in fact a food & beverage credit). Very Maldivian and pretty interesting. Here's a suggestion to a future trip to Abu Dhabi https://mrsoaroundtheworld.com/luxury-travel/middle-east/a-beach-day-pass-trip-to-zaya-nurai-private-island-in-abu-dhabi/

I stayed at Shangri La on my first visit, and at St Regis Saadiyat on my second, which I much preferred. This time we had to switch to the St Regis City Centre as more friends decided to join us last minute and Saadiyat did not have rooms for everyone. Next time, definitely Saadiyat again! But with a day trip (or 2, as we did) to Zaya Nurai

The Fairmont, next door to the Shangri-La, is also a nice hotel ... but then there is no shortage of nice hotels in Abu Dhabi since most of them are not very old.

Not reviewing the AUH-CAI-AUH legs?

Anybody else notice the bro at check-in with the popped collar and pastel shorts?

We really need to work, as a country, on keeping our douchebags hidden rather than exporting them.

We stayed in that exact room just two levels above you. But those two levels really made a difference in the view. We were over the trees and the view during the day and night was amazing. I'd suggest people ask for a higher floor if they stay at the hotel.

I haven't stayed there - I was at the St. Regis downtown - but did you there for dinner. Lovely property with so/so service, as is frequently the case in the UAE. The food was well prepared, however.

The Premier Inn you mention is actually decent for what it is. Tarmac views, pretty quiet, and nice staff.

OMG - is that Chaz Bono on the elliptical?

I usually stay at the Aloft in AUH, which I like quite a bit. The service is somewhat better, although not spectacular. The breakfast buffet is not as big, but has plenty for all tastes. And it's more convenient to the city than the Shangri-La. The Mosque is an absolute must visit if you are in AUH and have the time.

I recently stayed at the Shangri-La in Dubai and I have to say I would make similar comments about that property as well. The hotel was also in need of a refresh, not offensively bad, but with so many nice, new hotels in the market, it really does not make sense to stay at a property that is showing its wear, unless they offer stellar service. Similarly check in and out seemed to take much longer than at other hotels. The only other Shangri-La I have stayed at was the one in Taipei - and that hotel was magnificent! I hope you earned SQ miles for your stay!

Thank you @Faraaz!
*"Battura and Sambar are Indian breakfast dishes!"*
(Maybe since they're South Indian he didn't know).

That's literally the first picture of food after the comment in the review.

I also thought, "Well you had freshly prepared Indian food at your disposal in the lounge at Dulles, but chose not to eat it...," but I figured that was too petty to mention.

Otherwise that's a beautiful hotel! What a great price even without the credits. But you're still out if pocket the whole $175+ even if you get a "credit and breakfast", while a quick check on the price at the link to the Premier Inn you supplied was only $42 including fees/taxes....plus the savings of a roundtrip taxi/Uber--and the extra time for relaxing or sleeping since you can literally walk there and back.

But I'm glad you sprung for the luxury. It gives me another choice of where to stay.

LOVED this review (as all of your reviews). This hotel is super lavish and i loved the design in the walls & overall atmosphere. Sad beach though. Great review!

I can't be the only person who clicked on the premier inn link and thought, that looks decent.

Ritz Carlton (seen across the inlet in one of your pics) is my first choice.
The finest Club Lounge in Abu Dhabi.

Nice review. BTW, you mention, "It was quite a walk to my room (#437)", but the hotel floor map picture a bit further down shows you were in room #347.

"I still didn’t even get close to spending that, and in a way I need to stop accounting for food & beverage credits for quick one night stays where eating unnecessarily really isn’t in my best interest. "

It's hard to not see a hotel credit as free money. I'm finally starting to look at what breakfast or dinner would cost and only valuing the credit at that amount. It's way too easy to say that a room is $175 but I have a $50 resort credit and $50 spa credit and late check out. Those amenities only have value if you are staying for a few days, and then the value gets diminished over the length of the stay. I'm sure the hotels are accounting for this "breakage" when they issue these rates.