Just a couple of hours drive from the towering, tangled metropolis of Abu Dhabi lies the stunning Liwa Desert. As we passed through a beautiful winding 12km road that lead up to the Qasr Al Sarab hotel, our attention was immediately arrested by the huge, wrinkled sand dunes that surrounded us.
This breathtaking resort is full of magical charm and wouldn’t look out of place in a classic movie, with its right-angled structure and fortress-like appearance. You’ll find it in the Liwa Desert (also known as the Empty Quarter) about two hours by road south from Abu Dhabi and strung across 2km of protected nature reserve. The property is part of the Anantara portfolio, which also includes the Desert Islands Resort & Spa on Sir Bani Yas Island and newly opened Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi city.
This resort is the stuff that true luxury is made of and is popular as a weekend getaway for people from Abu Dhabi and Dubai with parking for 15 helicopters on site and endless 4WD’s with tinted windows. There are all the facilities you’d expect of a beach resort, apart from the ocean of course, but you do get waves and waves of golden sand dunes that you simply can’t tear your eyes away from with their changing colours from deep pink to burnt orange.
The architecture of this resort is fascinating. The fact that it’s built on and into the sand dunes is remarkable. It opened in late 2009 and took about 5,000 workers three years to build. There are more than 2,500 antique artifacts spread through the hotel itself including fountains, rustic courtyards, latticed screens and decorative brass light-fittings. At night, large lanterns are lit beside the paths in neat rows and the 6ft tall ceramic pots strewn all over the hotel that give it an amazing, authentic old-school Arabia feel.
Dining experience
You’ll have no choice but to eat in the hotel while staying here because you are literally in the middle of the nowhere. Don’t fear though because you’ll be spoilt for choice with the food on offer. You can select from a huge breakfast buffet at the Al Waha all-day dining restaurant, where the talented chefs will whip you up a made-to-order omelette that you can wash down with a fresh pomegranate juice. Then for dinner you can sample the rosewater-scented desserts at the rooftop Suhail restaurant. The food is varied and of excellent quality and the restaurant just had a major refurbishment making it a real delight to dine there. The dips are particularly delicious, served with warm flatbread, or try the delicious lentil soup with lemon or herb-infused lamb kebabs.
There’s also a very good poolside diner, Ghadeer, which boasts ice cold mocktails and an enticing menu.
Accommodation
Qasr Al Sarab has various accommodation options, including luxury villas which have private plunge pools with cooled water.
The deluxe terrace or balcony rooms, with thatched roofs, Arabian finishings and different colour themes that echo the desert are just as good as those on the top level and offer elevated views of the dunes and the extraordinary sunrises. The bath tubs are big enough to swim in and the rooms are decked out with a coffee machine, high end bath products and luxury linens.
Leisure
The spa at Qasr Al Sarab is designed around central hammam healing baths, which have served as a place of time-honoured rituals for cleansing and revitalising both body and soul for centuries. The spa is tucked into tranquil courtyards with trickling fountains and aromatic hanging gardens. There are six treatment rooms in the amazing facility and they look out to the desert through large windows. You really won’t get this in any other place in the world. There are fresh flowers everywhere and chilled ginger tea with Liwa dates are offered upon arrival which is a lovely, friendly touch.
If you are truly in need of some serious pampering, then consider a Three-Day Anantara Recovery package which offers all manner of baths, scrubs and rubs spaced over leisurely intervals. Designed to bring balance to your life and boost physical, emotional and spiritual harmony, you’ll begin with an in-room milk bath of your choice to relax your body and refresh your skin. The second day features a floral foot bath ritual and your choice of a Thai herbal compress massage or a traditional Thai massage. On your final day, experience the rejuvenation of the Anantara signature facial treatment. You’ll never feel better and this is one of the best spa treatments we have experienced.
Activities
Qasr Al Sarab do two camel treks daily, one early in the morning and one at sunset. We tried the sunset trek and were picked up from the main entrance of the resort in a slick four-wheel-drive. Driving through the sunburnt dunes we approached four beautiful camels sitting in a line with their handler, Batchu. Our guide, Kareem, told us that the camels are very gentle and all we’d need to do is hold on really tight, especially when they are standing up or sitting down. As we approached our camel, all ready to hop up on her hump, we realised just how big they are.
Our caravan of camels were tied together by ropes, one behind the other with Batchu leading the first camel while the rest followed. After we’d started off, it became clear why these animals are also known as ‘ships of the desert’, because even though they were walking quite slowly the motion is both back and forward and side to side. Like being on a boat, it took a bit of getting used to but after about ten minutes it seemed completely normal.
We clambered to the top of the dune, which was no easy feat, and managed to destroy any credibility we may have had by falling flat on our face not once but three times before we reached the summit. At the top another guide was waiting for us with cold water and juices which we guzzled down to quench our raging thirst. We were also offered fruit skewers, croissants and turkey and salad rolls to sustain us for the trip back. This was certainly a well organised, luxury camel trek.
Kareem told us this would be a good opportunity to get some nice sunset pics so we got our camera out and snapped away. Tranquil and almost surreal, this was definitely the highlight of our trip.
Rooms start at Dhs1,600 per night, with a sunset camel ride from Dhs230 per adult and Dhs150 per child. Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, www.qasralsarab.anantara.com (02 886 2088).
