Korean Barbecue near Ibis Styles with MK- as recommended by the FOH (That's Front of House Shawn!) Manager at Ibis Styles.
I always worry about the quality of the F & B Operation in a hotel when the hotel Management recommend that I eat out! But he was spot on. The Korean meal was great and cheap and the hotel food and service was appalling. On a positive the rooms at the IBIS Styles were amazing. Another night MK and I ate at Nayaab Handi, a short walk from the hotel and one of the best Pakistani restaurants in Dubai Here we ate from the buffet which included curry, a BBQ on the table and a huge Naan bread.
Nayaab Handi. the best Pakistani restaurant in Dubai
Lest you think I only ate all New year we also went on a variety of trips. One day I spent buying clothes at Brands 4 Less when Jeboy took too long to do my laundry and I ran out of clothes again! On New Year's day I met with Joshua and we had a great morning at Green Planet before having lunch in the rain.
It is the third time I have been here- I took Erickson in 2018, Jeboy in 2019 and Joshua on the first day of 2022. He loved interreacting with the snakes, bats and Scorpions ! I played with the rabbits, and talked to the birds. We had our photographs taken and I got the Pinoys from My Snapps.com to put his picture in the frame I bought him from Brands 4 Less in Al Barsha. They then put the photo I had printed from our Phillipino meal in Al Barsha in another frame.
We had an amazing lunch in the rain and then started to walk back to Ibis Styles as there were no taxis or buses ( always the same on the rare occasions it rains in the Middle East).
I love the way you can get amongst the animals and birds at Green Planet, and for a small fee you can interact with different animals- today was the one above who you could feed after the keep explained about their habitat.
You can see more of Green Planet by watching Joshua's Vlog here:
Before I end this blog I must pay tribute to whoever designed the IBIS styles bedrooms. They are ultra modern with huge floor to ceiling windows, a massive bed, and the bathroom was bigger than the IBIS bedroom at Al Barsha! As usual the room cleaners ( from Nepal) were exhausted by the time they got to my room at 5 pm! On the second day they did not reach my room before I had a nap to prepare for New Year Eve !
One of the places I wrote this blog sat by the huge windows in the ultra modern chair
There was an in room safe ( not screwed to the floor in the bottom of the wardrobe as in some hotels) and a fridge . Sadly there was inadequate lighting over the desk to work and the TV ( which I never turned on ) took up half the width of the desk and the tea and coffee and kettle took the other half!
On the first morning I had a great breakfast and was well looked after. The next day they only had paper cups and the coffee machine overfilled them burning my hand, spilling coffee on the floor and making it very hard to drink. On New Year's day I was told at 7.15 am that Breakfast " wasn't ready" and "I should sit and wait for 10 minutes". Being diabetic and having not eaten for 12 hours that was not possible so I grabbed two hard boiled eggs and two hash browns and left without paying!
The IBIS Styles restaurant - run by IBIS
There was an awful buffet for lunch so I went to the Indian restaurant ( privately operated ) on the second day and ordered in advance. The service was great and the food very tasty ( mango chicken tikka, Beetroot Raita and steamed rice with Kulfi to follow) . When I returned the next day I ordered, then was asked to order again when I sat down, The AC was blowing a gale, they were testing the music system for New Year Eve and the food took 30 mins to arrive from when I first placed the order. I asked for Lemon Mint and got lime and soda, which tasted like mouth wash. I had just started to eat the starter ( Garlic prawns as they did not have the squid for the Frito misto) when they served the chicken and mashed potato and left it on the table to get cold. When I paid the Manager came to ask how was the meal and quickly regretted doing so. After three bad experiences I decided to give up on IBIS Styles F & B offerings and eat out!
The one good meal I had in the Indian Restaurant run by an outside company
I walked all the way from the hotel to Satwa one day to meet MK and we then walked to the beach at La Mer where we had chestnuts and a cold drink then we walked back to Nayaab Handi for dinner. The hotel had a pool (I ran out of time to use it!) and a spa where I had a great massage. I was going to have a second massage on New Years eve which I booked with Ricky for 5 pm and when I turned up the place was closed. As I suggested at IBIS Al Barsha they need a sheet for guests with the restaurant and Spa opening times.
Overall I had an enjoyable stay at IBIS Styles, and having enjoyed the extra space . I am looking forward to moving back to Al Barsha and the new Accor Adagio apartments on 2 January for the remaining 44 nights (at the special rate of 48bd a night). Yes, you read that right, twice as big as IBIS Styles and nearly half the price!
Until then my thanks to Monsieur Sophie and to all the staff at the IBIS Styles for looking after me so well. My apologies for not being your Mystery guest! ( see the vlog for the Mystery guest story by clicking the link below:)
This is the British Kabayan signing out from Dubai and wishing you all the best for 2022
Ingat Palagi
Kita Kits- yes THIS is the year I move to PALAWAN
and of course
Manigong Bagong Taon ( Happy New Year)
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Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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