Anantara Desert Islands Resort & Spa

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jan 2026

Natalia

We experienced the island out of season — no crowds or any people basically, perfect seashore and beach, great safari experience

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jan 2026

Zohreh

Spotless
Beautiful location

6/10

Pleasant

03 Jan 2026

Abdulla

Boat Transfer:
The transfer was (mis)organized via a crowded shared public water taxi rather than the exclusive, resort-standard hovercraft previously offered. This detracted from the premium holiday experience we were expecting and paying for.
Room Cleanliness:
While the rooms appear to have been renovated, they were not properly cleaned. Upon entering the room, we noticed hair on the shower fixtures and other signs of inadequate housekeeping. This is unacceptable for a luxury resort.
New Year’s Gala Dinner:
Despite booking the Gala, we were initially told no tables were available and suggested our party split up. While the staff eventually rectified this after an uncomfortable wait, it highlighted significant lapses in event planning. (Note: The food, entertainment, and family atmosphere were, however, fine).
Breakfast Service:
While the variety was sufficient, service was consistently poor on both mornings. We experienced 15-minute wait times for coffee and arrived at tables lacking napkins, cutlery, and basic condiments. The staff appeared ill-prepared and lacked the necessary communication skills for a high-end establishment.

Wildlife Safari:
The safari guide was professional and knowledgeable, offering insightful commentary on the island's wildlife and historical sites. However, the overall experience could be enhanced to better justify the cost. We also noted disruptions from larger groups associated with cruise ship visits, which impacted the serenity.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

24 Dec 2025

Alexandru Laurentiu

Great hotel with very good amenities.
As a Titanium level on Minor Hotels we were upgraded twice and we received our new rooms pretty fast.
Breakfast was delicious with plenty of options to choose from. Very good and comfortable beds with 2 different pillows as a standard. Room was clean and very spacious, balcony the same. They have various activities to choose from and we booked the Safari. It was amazing.
A lot of species of animals are roaming freely in the area and you can take tones of pictures.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Feb 2025

Penelope

A wildlife gem in the UAE

From arrival at the jetty terminal where Emmanuel took me through the ropes, to Ethan, Ramesh and Michelle at reception, my Sir Bani Yas Island stay was fabulous. The accommodation was spacious, comfy and welcoming. The food in all areas plentiful and fresh. The tours were well organised..but i was organised and booked ahead. The spa and water sports were fantastic

Self

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2023

Kinan

Wonderful island and hotel

Fantastic experience overall. The kids enjoyed the activities, swimming pool and the mini kids club 😀

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

09 Oct 2023

Matthew

Long drive but well worth the visit, we really enjoyed the tour of the game park by car and by foot, and the spa was excellent.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2023

abudaqqa

Amazing staff, service and experience

10/10

Exceptional

25 Apr 2023

Aimen

The Safari was really fun and the rooms were extremely clean and spacious.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 May 2021

Wanjoo

Amenable staff, clean and spacious room condition, and nice swimming pool for kids.
Worthy of staying with kids.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jun 2019

Verified traveler

The property made you feel like you were anywhere except the desert. The staff was the most courteous and professional group of employees that I have experienced in my vast amount of travel. Thank you for the BEST staycation ever!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Oct 2018

Verified traveler

Excellent Hotel

Fantastic stay. Highly recommend the Arabian buffet on the beach and an early morning safari.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Oct 2018

Christine

We had a wonderful 2 day break at this hotel. The staff were very attentive and friendly and nothing was too much trouble for them. There were plenty of sun beds on the beach or around the pool with a nice restaurant to have lunch snacks and drinks. We also went on the safari experience which was very interesting and had a very informative guide driving the open Land Rover also a real highlight to see the Giraffe and Cheetah roaming free.

8/10

Excellent

24 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

It was a good experience and and and and and and and and

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2017

jim

Outstanding service, very well organized

A great experience....lots to see and do
Wonderful

6/10

Pleasant

02 Apr 2017

Benia2011

Beautiful setting ok hotel

The island and wildlife are beautiful, beaches are peaceful and quiet and the most clear blue water. Pool area is great. Hotel is a bit dated for 5 star but rooms are clean, have fabulous views. The a/c in the room was very loud, at her than that no complaints. Breakfast is ok, not great.

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jan 2017

Suranjan

Wonderful Stay

Great place and recommend mostly for relaxation.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Dec 2016

ASIM

very clean and very convenient

Amazing !

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Very nice and excellent property, Staff is amazing

Must visit place. Very good and environmentally friendly location

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jan 2016

Melvin

Top-notch service!

This was our second visit, and everything is just as good as we had remembered it. The best part about this resort is the service. In our opinion, it rates among the best we have ever seen anywhere in the world in terms of service.

Family

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2016

Alwin

Relaxing Weekend Getaway

Service was Impeccable
Thank you for arranging our room for our Wedding Anniversary.
Special thanks to Mr Herman for all his help and wonderful recommendations at the hotel

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Nov 2015

Verified traveler

Excellent Get Away Trip

one of the best hotels to visit for short stay to break from the cities and head to enjoy wildlife in the Island and also enjoy archaeological sites and enjoy other activities plus the sea in complete self surrounding theme

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2015

Lyn

A mini break

Just awesome! The wildlife safari,the tour guide Laura and surrounding scenery made for a spectacular day in a short break. Outstanding restaurants at two different properties.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 May 2015

Verified traveler

Great luxury with a poor beach

The hotel and staff are absolutely wonderful here and so attentive to our every need. However, I think it is important for guests to know that the beach view is not pristine. There are huge sandbags that stretch along the shore a few meters out into the water that are not attractive at all. If you want to mostly stay beside the beautiful pool it works well. But if you are looking for a picturesque beach scene, you won't find it here.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Dec 2014

Arjun & Nisha

Paradise

A blog by my Wife
To Sir Bani Yas Island. A Heaven away from Home

Just felt like another regular day before we started our trip from Dubai investment park towards desert islands. The only condition i kept with my better half was that we will be away from calls and social media to make this anniversary better and more communicative towards each other than with our mobiles. At that time i did not know that what i am about to experience would be something i will remember all my life and will be till date one of the best surprises my hubby arranged for me for our 5th anniversary.

We started our journey at 2 am on 26th morning.. By we i mean my hubby, mom our 3 month old son and myself... I guess the crankiest of the lot was me as i am not an early morning bird. After 4.5 hours of travel which included my extreme hunger crankiness, babies hungry cries, hubby's impatience to reach the jetty and my moms constant question 'are we there yet?' we finally arrived at the jetty area. At 7 our jetty started and there began one of the most beautiful journeys for me where even my extreme sea sickness did not seem to affect me. Of course when the boat stopped i was glad i dint mess up the water!!!We were welcomed by a staff and then escorted to our mini bus.. From there our 20 minute ride started to the hotel.
Sir Bani Yas is a natural island located 170 km away from Abu Dhabi. With the circumference being around 18km, this is the largest natural island in the United Arab Emirates. By now

8/10

Excellent

26 Dec 2014

Verified traveler

New experience in the middle of the desert wild li

Perfect destination for whom like exploring the desert life, very friendly staff. Still I believe that the hotel need to think of more activities for children and evening entertainment.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Dec 2014

Wael

Enjoyable and interesting trip

Staff were very friendly, helpful and service is really amazing. The only downside is that the food and activities are very expensive and there is limited number of restaurants available and sometimes only one option available aw we had to eat in the same restaurant twice. Breakfast was very yummy and excellent but Lebanese restaurant was below average and pretty expensive.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Sep 2014

Fuzz

Excellent Hotel on Desert Island

My husband and l went for a relaxing break and it was everything we expected!
Beautiful location. Excellent services including Speedboat transfer to the island. Definitely recommend it.

10/10

Exceptional

02 Sep 2014

kevin

Family Break.

Extremely relaxing environment with the added advantage of adventure experiences for those who want more activity.
Great choice of food an beverage from in room to various restaurant facilities.

We had a 1 year old with and she really enjoyed the wildlife safari as did all the adults..

10/10

Exceptional

27 May 2014

Witold

A great long-weekend family escape.

Wonderful, motivated staff. Uncrowded, relaxed atmosphere. Will definitely return!

Family

8/10

Excellent

13 Apr 2014

Mark

Great family vacation

It is something of a trek to get to the resort (long drive followed by boat ride) but once there, we had a lovely and relaxing time. Plenty to do and see including exploring the beach area and going on the wild-life tours. It is not cheap but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would recommend for a short break if you are looking for someting a little different in the UAE.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jan 2014

Verified traveler

Lower quality Anantara resort

Having visited other Anantara resorts I was surprisingly disappointed with the standard and maintenance of the hotel and the facilities. Further the description of the villa with a swimming pool was rather misleading as in fact it was no more than a jacuzzi. The jacuzzi itself was poorly maintained with loose tiles and exposed electric cables. The breakfast buffet was acceptable, however we found the menu in general to be expensive, and the meals we had were at best average. The staff was friendly and helpful however this could not compensate for the low overall standard of this Anantara resort.

Family

8/10

Excellent

03 Dec 2013

Harsh

Relaxed place! Away from the bling.

It is a very calm & relaxed place unlike Dubai which has so much bling. Also the safari is a must. Price is on the higher side for what you get.

10/10

Exceptional

27 Oct 2013

M Lin

Excellent Service!

The quality of service has to be the best part of our stay in this resort. We have been members of the Shangri-La loyalty programme for some time, and stayed at quite a few Shangri-La properties, but the service staff at the Desert Islands resort make Shangri-La feel ordinary. Here, you really understand what it means when they say you are a \"valued guest\", and they all go out of their ways to make sure your stay is comfortable and enjoyable.

Partner

4/10

Poor

03 Oct 2013

Verified traveler

Disappointing. Not a 5 star experience

Unfortunately our stay in the hotel was not the 5 star experience we had paid for although I have to say that all the staff we met were unfailingly helpful and did their best to overcome our difficulties. It was doubly unfortunate that we stayed at this hotel after their sister hotel, the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, which did give us the 5 star experience.

We changed rooms twice because of issues with air conditioning. We also had issues with the showers and tv's not working correctly.

The beds and pillows were uncomfortable unlike the Qasr Al Sarab.

The main restaurant was closed for lunch and dinner but no reason was given.

The beach was not good and had very ugly protection bags in place.

On checkout we were charged the pre-authorisation from check-in as well as the cost of all our charges and are still waiting for this to be refunded.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

28 Sep 2013

Verified traveler

Hotel is beautiful

My experience was not as much as fun as i expected. I had 1 day stay and most of the activities close early especially water sports.They should extend d timing of the water sports. They should also include some activities along with hotel stay.

6/10

Pleasant

23 May 2013

Philipp

Something different

This is a 5 star resort on an island, expect a 2hours drive south of Abu Dhabi. Important: call them to know the schedule of the boat transfer. ...Strengths: good service, large rooms, nice garden, pool bar and the tapas restaurant by the beach has a great location and view, very well equipped gym, tennis and nice kids club (without supervision) ...Not so good: the beach right in front of the hotel can't be used due to fortifications against the waves, lack of sunshade at the kids pool, breakfast is limited in choice. To see the animals you will have to pay and overpriced drive for 225aed p.p.+tax - i would recommend there should be family discounts such as 2for1. Overall a good place for a quiet relaxation holiday.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2012

Pam

Enjoyable break

The set up whilst waiting for the water taxi to take you to the island, lets you know this is going to be a special place. Staff were friendly and helpful. The hotel is situated away from anything else on the island and makes you feel you are the only ones there. There are a number of activities you can pay to do and the wildlife ride in the morning is a must. Generally it was wonderful to use the different spaces of the hotel and be out of air conditioning. Many families were there at the time of our visit and it seems to cater well for children. A great experience and place to relax.

6/10

Pleasant

06 Nov 2012

Verified traveler

Too Far and too Expansive

it's all about the location of the island and the wild life safari!! Amazing, but you can do it simply by organizing your adventure through TDIC, the hotel is over rated and not what we expected from ANANTARA..Way too expansive for what they are offering

10/10

Exceptional

09 Sep 2012

Ahmed

Enjoyable Stay

Hotel was amazing with very cheerful & pleasent staff. Room was great as it was one of the largest rooms Ive ever sit in a five starts hotels. Food was delicious but expensive. Open zoo was a nice activity but the types of animals were not that much. I enjoyed archery it was great. Finally, I would recommend this hotel for all as it was really nice exposure to sit on an island where the hotel was the only thing there (reaching to the hotel you nearly use all kinds of transport, from your own car, taxi boat & bus).

8/10

Excellent

17 Jul 2012

Verified traveler

great for a relaxing weekend break

The whole experience was on the excellent from the ferry terminal to the resort and return. We were able to stay on in our room until 6pm and take the late ferry back which enabled us to make the most of our 1 night stay. The only downside was the food which was disspointing from a resort of this quality. Only one restaurant and the pool bar were open. The dinner and breakfast buffets was lukewarm and the breakfast buffet was cleared away on the dot of 10.30 - with diners rushing to finish their meal. The lunchtime poolbar menu was uninspiring and food quality and presentation very average.
Apart from this the hotel is wonderful and we had a very relaxing stay.

8/10

Excellent

13 Jun 2012

Akif SHaikh

Good outing than staying in town

Good experience overall however a bit expensive specially dinning.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

24 Jan 2012

Verified traveler

Not a hotel you want to depend on during crisis!

We stayed 2 nights at this hotel.
The checkin service was great. The room was lovely with a great view. However by mid afternoon we were rudely disturbed by guests who had moved next door. The hotel changed our room to another one without any view unfortunately. Since there was no other option we were Ok with that. The island is beautiful, however i would say the hotel is pretty average as there are more beautiful hotels in Dubai. I had expected it to be breath taking but it did not meet expectations. The SPA treatment we had was absolutely SUPERB. However the Spa didn’t have a relaxation room and after the treatment we felt rushed out to the reception which was not a good way to end.

The part that made the stay absolutely awful – the day we were checking out the weather was bad and the hotel couldn’t give us a time when the boat would depart. Finally we got a call in the afternoon and were asked to be ready at 330. The Bus left the hotel at 4 and we were at the port by 415. From 415 until 6PM – there was no news. All hotel guests were left stranded without any information. Not one hotel official was there to tell us what was going on. When we started calling the hotel all they said was you have checked out and you can come back and wait in the lobby!!! There is only ONE hotel on the island so you don’t have a choice. There were kids and infants with their parents and we weren’t even offered water!! So much for CLASS and 5 STAR service!! It was a bad end to the holiday. The weather is not the hotel’s fault but the way the managed the whole crises was upsetting and very very unprofessional. Not only that – after they knew there were 50 people stuck there they sent another bus load of people from the hotel without giving them any information either. When we finally got the boat there was nearly a stampede because everyone wanted to get on and there were only 50 seats avl. Hotel really managed this badly (understatement) WHAT WOULD THEY DO IN A REAL CRISIS wonder!!! Never going back there – much better service and hotels in Dubai.

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2012

Verified traveler

Enjoyable stay

A very enjoyable few days away with the family. We travelled by car from Dubai - a reasonably easy (but dull) 4 hour drive. Reception at the ferry jetty and departure lounge both good. Nature theme and trips very good, but the hotel could do more in terms of information about the animals, local ecology, breeding programmes etc to ensure a much more informative visit. Hotel generally very nice/comfortable.

Family

8/10

Excellent

26 Jun 2011

peter

desert hotel

it is for sure a place to go and learn about the wildlife of the UAE
the hotel is good, the rooms are great, the view also.
the food is average
it's an island, and they have been able to choose the only location where there is no beach!!! so if you go there for the beach, forget about it, it's only the pool.
how bizarre??? desert island and no beach!!???

10/10

Exceptional

18 Nov 2009

Faisal

Beatifull retreat and reserve, I highly recommend it>

It is worth the money I paid. Beatifull desert Island. Excellent resturant with international Cuisine

8/10

Excellent

25 Sep 2023

Juan

Un fin de semana maravilloso

El lugar es bonito pero el hotel debería reformarse un poco ya que algunas instalaciones se ven viejas.
El personal en especial Aida maravilloso.
El safari es fantástico así como el resto de actividades. Pero parte de las instalaciones como la ducha de la piscina que no funcionaba, luces del baño que no van, y algun que otro detalle deslucen un poco la experiencia.
El spa es muy bueno y el servicio tambien.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Mar 2021

Verified traveler

Equipe mal preparada / poucos carros

Recepção e lobby na travessa sem nenhuma estrutura de lanches ( somente refrigerante e agua) esperamos la 2 horas sem nada pra comer.

O hotel é lindo mas a limpeza deixou muito a desejar principalmente na area externa no restaurante do cafe da manhã.
Poucos funcionários .
A equipe do Lobby ( recepcionista)deixando muito a desejar, nao são cordiais / péssima experiência.

Poucos carros para locomover na ilha, sendo que tivemos que esperar muito pela locomoção .

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Must stay once in a life time !!!!

Best ever ..

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 May 2019

Verified traveler