My mum and I share a love of travel and have been on some legendary trips together over the years. We've travelled the Golden Triangle in India, taken cooking classes in Bordeaux and jumped on and off river taxis in Venice, but perhaps our most exciting - and certainly most memorable - adventure was when I was invited to visit W Dubai - Mina Seyahi, a stunning, exclusive resort on the cusp of celebrating its first birthday in style.
So, bring on the partiers, the influencers, the glitterati, and my mother! Here's what happened when we stayed at the property in the world's most lavish playground for the rich and famous…
Arriving in the early hours of the morning, with the party wrapping up, it was evident that the hotel’s birthday blowout was not meant to be. We were dishevelled and feeling flat from our seven-hour flight, and my mum's enthusiasm for the shindig quickly dissipated when she saw our amazing hotel room, an incredibly stylish space with some personal touches, including an elaborate chocolate snake. It was also – more to the point – incredibly comfy. With sensational views and the sounds of the party from all the way downstairs fading out, we settled in ahead of our first day in the city.
About the W Dubai - Mina Seyahi
Some details about our new home away from home. The W Dubai - Mina Seyahi is an adults-only, super luxurious resort that boasts of having everything from a dazzling infinity pool, waterfront beaches, and an easy distance between its sister hotel The Westin Dubai, as well as a short walk to Dubai's Marina. It is also a mere 20-minute drive from the airport.
Day one - W’s beach, brunch and dinner
The hotel's main restaurant, Ginger Moon, had everything you could ever want for breakfast, from a gorgeous assortment of fresh fruit, chef stations and the friendly staff taking coffee and hot food orders. With a packed itinerary, we settled to enjoy the blazing sun on the beach for a couple of hours – marvelling at the extraordinary, never-ending sunshine of Dubai – as well as spotting skydivers leap out of planes over the marina. Unfortunately, we relaxed for a little too long before I realised that we were about to miss our bottomless brunch.
With ocean hair, no makeup and sundresses thrown on over swimwear, we hurried over to Mina's Kitchen for their famous Bubbalicious Brunch. It was, easily, one of the most spectacular brunches I've ever been to, with live four-string quartets playing hits a la Bridgerton, food stations with every type of cuisine imaginable, as well as a gin station, a children's entertainer, an oyster shucker and so much more.
On arrival, however, we learnt a lesson about Dubai the hard way: that every occasion is a reason to dress up. Sitting in the shining glass conservatory with a glass of champagne, I would have given a limb for lipstick when I realised how fabulously immaculately dressed our fellow diners were. My mum told me off for my embarrassment, 'No one except you cares! You should just own it, with confidence!’ (Later, I overheard her retelling the tale to a friend: 'Oh Debs, I was mortified.')
Stuffed to the brim with the brunch, we nonetheless enjoyed some nibbles and cocktails at one of the hotel’s restaurants, the Greek-themed Fish Beach Taverna. I would recommend the baby calamari and octopus, divine! The pink sunset by the ocean marked the perfect end to a beautiful day.
Day two - W’s infinity pool and a desert tour
After a gorgeous night’s stay at the W despite, according to my mum, not enough lighting in the moody, emerald green bathroom (which she only mentioned 9,482 times), we spent the morning lounging by the hotel’s infinity pool. With a fabulous view of the city, we were both in our element as mum settled into a heart-shaped inflatable and chilled around the pool and I settled into a Bellini at the bar.
It was then time to take on something very much out our both of our comfort zones by heading into the Dubai’s vast desert with Platinum Heritage Safari.
Travelling via a vintage Land Rover, we settled in to hear our tour guide’s wealth of knowledge on the history of the land, as well as the conservation efforts and details on the wildlife that manages to thrive in the sweltering hot, dry environment. My mum adores learning about local culture, the more information the better, and so a friendship between her and our 20-something tour guide was quickly born as she quizzed him on the desert. I think they might have even added one another on Facebook.
© SHUGA PHOTOGRAPHYWe then watched a falconry display and took it in turns to hold the bird (named Thor). The falconer introduced himself soon enough, and absolutely did not make a joke about how sunburned my mum was, and she absolutely did not make me swear not to include it in my review.
As the sun set in the desert, we headed to a plain where we had some amazing lamb cuisine, and took part in Henna hand art and a camel ride, that had us both howling with laughter as we were led around the area like toddlers on donkeys in Skegness. The brilliant tour guides got together to give a lesson in traditional performances, which had almost everyone up and banging a drum. And finally, sat beneath a star-lit sky very far from home, we had a lesson in astronomy, and how travellers would use it to direct them, and it felt very special indeed. Heritage safaris start from AED 695 per adult - book here.
Day three - Perfume making and speed boats
For day three, there was no time to lose after breakfast, where we headed to the Oh La Lab for a spot of perfume making. While I was initially a little grumpy to be sat inside mixing potions - a stark contrast to my mum who was very excited to make her signature scent - the experience ended up being one of my favourite things on the trip as we were guided into making our scent, which were then bottled up and given a label to take home with us.
Let me know if you would like a bottle of my very own 'Dubai Fresh', or you might want to go with my mother’s 'Eau de Heavy Weekend'. Our expert preferred mine after we made him choose. What can I say? We’re a competitive family! Sessions start from AED 400, book here.
Next up, we headed to the Marina for the HERO sunset boat tour. The 90-minute adventure saw Mum and I share a mini speed boat and bounce over the waters of the marina at full pelt against the backdrop of iconic landmarks (as Mum screamed in my ear for the whole thing before taking her turn as the driver and going so fast that I nearly fell off the back).
I’m not sure anyone but us realised that we were in full competition with the other members of our tour, and were soon flying ahead of all of them - marking a thrilling end to a crazy few days. Boat tours start from AED 695 per boat.
Arriving back at the hotel, W had planned something very special for us to mark the last night with a reservation at Attiko Dubai, their ultra-glam rooftop restaurant (and when we say rooftop, we mean a rooftop on the 31st floor. Since I don’t love heights, it definitely took some getting used to)! The Asian-fusion cuisine was absolutely incredible, and I would recommend the spicy tuna maki and Chilean sea bass.
To conclude, W Dubai - Mina Seyahi is the most spectacular place to stay and Dubai itself is a fantasitc place to visit - and I'd definitely recommend bringing your mum along for the ride.
To book W Dubai - Mina Seyahi, visit here.
HOW TO GET THERE
We flew with Emirates from London. £529 from Gatwick is the best lead in fare on Emirates, T&Cs apply.
