An airside transit hotel has just opened at Abu Dhabi International Airport (now known as Zayed International Airport).
In this post:
Abu Dhabi Airport’s airside transit hotel
In late 2023, we saw the opening of the new Terminal A at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The terminal is gorgeous, and marks an exciting new chapter for the airport, and by connection, for Etihad Airways. The terminal has lots of great features, including a beautiful Etihad First Lounge, Etihad Business Lounge, and Pearl Lounge (accessible with Priority Pass).
As I noted when I visited the airport, one thing missing was an airside transit hotel. Fortunately that has finally changed. We’re now seeing the opening of AUHotel, which is the airport’s airside transit hotel. Hah, that’s a fun name when you read it, though I’m curious how it’s pronounced — is it a-u-hotel, or…?
Oddly the hotel doesn’t yet have a website, but it’s bookable via many online travel agencies.
The property has 138 rooms spread across three floors, and entry level rooms are 15 square meters (~161 square feet). The hotel pricing is fair, and seems to start at around $150 per night (you pay for the convenience of being in the terminal). I imagine that soon it will be possible to book shorter time blocks online, and hopefully those are less expensive.
There’s a great convenience to airside transit hotels, but…
When it comes to airport hotels, I generally have strong preferences:
- There’s a huge advantage to staying in an airside transit hotel, so you don’t have to worry about clearing customs and immigration, and can head straight to your gate
- For hotels not inside the transit area of an airport, I greatly prefer airport hotels that are directly connected to an airport (or that you can easily walk to), rather than ones that require shuttles, which are often unreliable
The beauty of many transit hotels is that you can book them in fairly short increments, as a few hours in a bed can work wonders between long flights.
All that being said, in Abu Dhabi I wouldn’t necessarily value this quite as much as at other airports:
- Immigration is always super quick in Abu Dhabi when entering and departing the country, given that a vast majority of passengers are connecting
- Abu Dhabi is a good value hotel market, and you can find all kinds of luxury properties at a reasonable cost, and if you’re booking a one night stay, you can get incredible value through programs like Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts or Virtuoso
- There are also many hotels that aren’t far from the airport, like on Yas Island
- Abu Dhabi can be a fun city for a quick stopover as well, as there are lots of easy things to see, whether it’s the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque or the Louvre Abu Dhabi
Bottom line
Abu Dhabi Airport’s airside transit hotel, AUHotel, has finally opened. This is a valuable new option for transit passengers with long layovers. It also makes Abu Dhabi Airport’s new terminal quite well rounded in terms of facilities.
Anyone plan on staying at AUHotel?
Agree The Etihad First Class Lounge is wildly deficient in not having slumber rooms. I've used them for many top line carriers - for long haul ones they are STANDARD.
Very handy for linen tablecloth dining but that does not help us for our overnight stays! So booked this last night. As of June these clowns STILL do not have their own website!
Etihad charged us in paid Biz Class SYD-AUH-LHR $US160 a...
Agree The Etihad First Class Lounge is wildly deficient in not having slumber rooms. I've used them for many top line carriers - for long haul ones they are STANDARD.
Very handy for linen tablecloth dining but that does not help us for our overnight stays! So booked this last night. As of June these clowns STILL do not have their own website!
Etihad charged us in paid Biz Class SYD-AUH-LHR $US160 a couple, to use the internet on all fights. Asked 2 different pursers if this was a workaround - they have in galley 200MB FREE USE cards for pax but refused to give us any! Using some of my cost at 40,000 feet to write this.
Just booked QATAR for our next trip - I hate being nickel and dimed when I spend 5 figures on pointy end tickets. SQ I prefer, but their cost was way up there.
My review – AUHOTEL Abu Dhabi
The BONES are OK - needs some BOG BASIC tweaks if Management ever reads reviews. Which I really doubt.
Almost new, and being airside, no security check issues going out and back in etc. Quite well signposted internally in Terminal, and in Zone E ... escalators upstairs to it - next to Pearl Business Lounge, who I assume own it.
WAY more expensive than nearby airport hotels, but we could not be bothered with security and taxis etc.
They have a check in desk downstairs before you go up escalators.
We were tired, so the hassle of 5 mins waiting for them to photocopy passports and boarding passes was not appreciated. I see no reason why a boarding pass is not totally sufficient. They have my credit card in case I trash room etc - no need for my passport.
These days ANY staffer selling all passport details to the dark web operatives etc is a ***REAL*** threat There is no valid reason to have copies of my photo, and date of birth, and place of birth etc, and all passport details - it is a short few hour stay hotel room for goodness sakes. I was at Sheraton London last night and they do not ask or need them.
Staffer finally brings us the form to sign. It says checkout was 0300am. Huh? We booked 12 hours, 2200 hours in, to check out 1000am. She giggles and says it really means 3pm. I say 'no that is written 1500 hours'. Then she finally ‘gets it’ and goes away. More delays. Then she says the other form was for another guest.
Staffer walks us up to room. Had booked a deluxe large bed room, and they gave us a room with extra small kids bed as an 'upgrade'.
Room bigger than expected - their own online pix undersells the size - pretty weird, and VERY dumb really! We almost did not book, as it looked really TINY on web, just a little ‘capsule’ with a bed and shower type deal like we had in Singapore Changi last month.
It looked like on webpage there was no writing desk in room, and we need to send emails etc. So almost booked a Hilton or Marriott nearby and cabbed it - their room rates were less.
So what we got was like a Holiday Inn type room in most cities. Fair size, small writing desk area, quite big TV, and decent shower and toilet area. Zero windows, but for an airport understandable. ZERO central room light - dumb. VERY dark in there with no windows.
Went to turn on TV. Impossible. Kept getting message 'connect your aerial'. We both spent 5 mins on this nuisance. Got nowhere. Picked up phone to ask reception .. . nothing doing - phone does not work - just a dial tone. ANNOYING. Fix it. NO PHONE WAKE UP CALL POSSIBLE!
Go to plug in computer on work desk. Just ONE power point under desk and lamp is plugged into that. STUPID in this day and age - we need to charge 2 phones and the computer, and another item in each room - all new builds have 3 or 4 power outlets these days.
Also the AC outlet was under desk at very top back corner and a metal bar was stupidly right in front of that. So needed to get on my back under the desk in darkness (I am 70, and this is not easy) to uplug the desk lamp (that I needed to see the computer screen!) and get my thick travel adaptor plugged in somehow. Near impossible. DUMBER THAN DIRT for a new build hotel.
A CHIMP designed this mess.
So my wife instead of getting some sleep angrily gets dressed again, and trudges down the escalator to the desk, to ask about TV and getting a double adaptor, so that desk light AND computer can work at same time. Not rocket science.
Some smiling young Indian houseboy arrives soon after, and gets the TV working. (After we turned it off, it did not work again!) He carries an standard single adaptor that we already had - he had no idea what a DOUBLE adapter was.
All in all, this silly nonsense chewed up an HOUR of the limited time we had in there, and raised our blood pressure.
This is a BRAND NEW BUILD.
Phones that work, TVs that work fast and simple, and a central light in a large windowless room, and at least 3 outlets on a work desk (PLUS a couple of USB outlets too) are all BOG BASIC essentials that someone totally overlooked.
They need to address these things fast.
In short - the bones are there - location is good, room is new - they need to update their own website with far better pix to get MORE bookings.
If this were any Hilton, under their 'Make It Right' promise, I'd get 20,000 HHonors points, but this place is in no chain - despite charging Hilton rates! If they have any PR sense they'd credit me $50 as a goodwill gesture, for helping them with identifying BOG BASICS that have totally overlooked, but not holding my breath on THAT!
We shall see.
The new Etihad first class lounge in AUH doesn't even have nap rooms, which is kind of crazy for an airline with so many connecting flights. Last month my wife and I ended up sleeping on chairs in the lounge there and it was pretty awful. This will provide a definite alternative.
Hooray. Wasn’t looking forward to spending a night on the couches in the Etihad Business lounge or the few hours you get in the Relaxation Rooms! Now I can plan on a proper night sleep and a shower without a wait
The AUH airport website is terrible and doesn’t even feature a terminal map. If it does it’s hidden and I checked now and no mention of the hotel.
Not just the website, the whole airport doesn't have a map.
I had a bit long layover so decided to check out the new terminal end to end, which is fun way to get some steps. Not a single terminal map in the whole terminal. Except maybe those fire escape plan signs.