What’s the score?
Vibrant, busy and a traffic nightmare, the Tourist Club Area is probably best known for the Abu Dhabi Mall, but around this shrine to consumerism are high-rise communities, hotels, a marina and plenty of local colour (and smells!). There’s even a ‘secret mall’, although office opinion is divided as to how worth discovering it is. This is probably as diverse an area as the city has to offer. The roads may be ripped up and, thanks to impatient drivers, it is noisier than most, but rents are better than elsewhere on the main island and the array of restaurants that dot the streets and marina make it well worth a visit.
Tourist Club Marina
There is a certain kitsch cool to the marina. Whether it’s the Indian dancing bar, tennis court complete with battered old sofas, or the weird amusement arcade where outside light has yet to penetrate its graveyard of old pub slot machines, the marina has something of a louche appeal. Certainly, few nightspots come darker than Colosseum or its neighbouring ‘discotheque’ Blue Bay. However, some quality, cheap Chinese food can be found at Bam Bu, while a choice of decent African (New Soorya), Tex Mex (Alamo) and Indian (Casa Goa) restaurants dot the complex. The Beachcomber does a good pool party on a Friday, but for those eschewing the nightlife (it is a marina after all), there are more airy pursuits and Abu Dhabi Marina Charter (050 415 9894) offers tours of the islands and yacht trips.
Abu Dhabi Co-op Building
Essentially this is known for housing the Splash department store, which is divided across the bottom floor into casual clothing, clubber gear and homewares. Upstairs, the Babyshop has parents covered, while Brands For Less is a decent discount clothing and homeware store, although the selection is better for women than men (unless your size is XXXL).
Tasteful homeware store United Furnishings, sprawling gadgets shop Costless Info Tech and more women’s clothing and perfumes at Can Can and Mikyoji complete the set. Just be sure that when you enter you go in the right door (literally), or you have to enact an embarrassing about turn.
The lost mall
Some call it the Khalifa Complex, others just refer to it in hushed tones as the fabled mall ‘behind the Splash building’. The right-side entrance is next to the Handmade Carpet House and Antiques (opposite the marina), just one of many very similarly named Arabic bric-a-brac shops you’ll discover inside. The usual collection of gramophones, weird wooden statues, carpets, chests and belly dancer outfits abound, although next to this entrance, a small booth selling Japanese anime is worth checking out. Its narrow tiled corridors twist round and round and at the far end, and up some stairs, the hanging plants and reed walls of the Milano shisha café provide a lazy stop. Meanwhile, the second floor’s winding corridors pass endless cheap women’s clothing stores, leading to a pair of rather grim looking pool halls perhaps best left alone. Nevertheless it is an adventure.
Behind Al Diar Dana
To the left of the Al Diar Dana hotel, chocolate shop Paatchi and Arabic sweet specialists Café Baba will enrapture those with a sweet tooth. Behind this lies peculiar clothing store Jeans Fire, home to the newspaper-print dishadasha (has to be seen to be believed), while on the opposite side lies slick shisha café Zizinia, which is friendly enough, although non-Arab visitors are few and far between. Further up, look out for a Polaris showroom, where anyone with a thirst for speed will discover new quad bikes, dune buggies and victory motorcycles at suitably exorbitant prices. On the whole the area feels like a small community, with plenty of hairdressers, butchers and restaurants on offer, including a branch of cheap, tasty Egyptian chain Abu Shakra and the always likable India Palace in the same small cluster.
From 9th St to Al Falah
A flourishing boutique culture has sprung up alongside lower 9th Street. The most surprising is Exotica Emirates, next to the ADCB building; a landscapers and florists stocking a vast array of houseplants and ever-more extravagant vases. Next to this is the impressive Seaside Patisserie, where a waist-expanding array of delicious cream and chocolate cakes await. It is certainly one of the better in the city. Next to this lies Greenbirds, a snazzy fashion boutique stocking Valentino, Rocco Barrocca and Jiki, among others. Next door, decent Lebanese eatery Nar is a good bet for a cheap grill, but dive into the nest of buildings on the other side of this cluster (crossing the road) and you’ll find a multicultural array of international restaurants, from the Indonesian Bandung to the Egyptian Gad restaurant and Lebanese favourites Marroush and Lebanese Flower (next to the blood bank). Again, it has the feel of a proper neighbourhood – the smell too, as the scent of open skip perfumes the air. But this is an old part of the city and the buildings are suitably stained an aged yellow.
Health and fitness
Beach Rotana has plenty of watersports on offer from pedalos and banana boats to waterskiing, kneeboarding and wakeboarding (from Dhs55-60 for 10 mins). Windsurfing at Dhs60 for 60 minutes is perhaps the best deal, while body pump, abs and yoga classes keep limbs limber. Similarly the Zen spa and Le Méridien’s Eden Spa are good options, with a special teen treatment menu for kids aged 12-17 from Dhs150 available at Zen.
Beach wise, Le Méridien has a little ’un and, like all hotels, charges a fair whack to use it (Dhs120 per person); although not as much as the larger Beach Rotana, which costs Dhs150 during the week and Dhs210 at weekends. It makes you glad the corniche isn’t that far away. To keep fit, however, we suggest joining the Abu Dhabi Mall Walkers. Yes, we said we wouldn’t go to the mall, but this isn’t to shop. They walk daily from 7am-9am. It’s free, so all you need do to join is go to the customer service desk at 7am and get walking.
The nightlife
Love the nightlife? Got to boogie? Outside of the marina, you’re out of luck. Le Méridien, Beach Rotana and Al Diar Dana have plenty of bars, but few clubs. The better watering holes include the Rotana’s tasty German effort, Brauhaus (a good bet for a hearty teutonic repast), Polynesian cocktail experts Trader Vic’s and expat’s favourite The Captain’s Arms. Al Diar Dana’s The Trap is about as enticing as it sounds, while 49ers is perhaps the only ‘steakhouse and night club’ outside of Texas, but NRG at Le Méridien is a pretty good sports bar, even if you have to battle for space at the pool table. For a special dinner, the Beach Rotana has the majority of the picks with excellent seafood restaurant Finz, steakhouse Rodeo Grill, Indian restaurant Indigo and mama’s favourite Italian Prego’s all good choices, although none are exactly cheap. We reckon a trip to Le Méridien’s excellent Thai seafood spot Talay is probably as good as any, though.
Need to know…
Taxi: ‘Take me to the Abu Dhabi Mall,’ you declare loudly.
Daytrippers: For those not prepared to walk, just head for the Splash building or (groan) the Abu Dhabi Mall. Alternatively, drop by the marina for a truly unusual night out.
Living there: Parking is a huge problem, as is traffic, with the ripping up of Salaam Street wreaking havoc. Noise is also an issue, but you are in the heart of the city. The mall is the main plus, with a supermarket, cinema and plenty of consumer joys to be found. The hotels have beaches and fitness facilities, although the corniche and members-only fitness centre at The Club isn’t far away.
Can you afford this? Two-bed flats go for between Dhs150,000 and Dhs210,00, although Dubizzle has plenty of shared one-beds for Dhs4,000 a month. Tempted?
