Now some of you may have noticed my not so happy state on my recent trip to Dubai, with my subtle moaning and groaning for 24 hours, but the truth of the matter is – a bad or negative experience can ruin a holiday and so I wanted to explain my reasons briefly. My return trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi led me to be staying at some of the best hotels across the cities and some of the best restaurants, but one in particular got me more excited than the others – Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai. A hotel having only recently opened and costing millions of pounds.

A lovely hour and a half chauffeur drive later from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, we were greeted with huge smiles from concierge and I was immediately blown away by its utter beauty. Modern, sleek, carefully designed and visually stunning. The immediate vibe was great too and I felt like I’d just walked onto the set of a vintage Miami movie. I was very excited.

We arrived at just before 1pm, not expecting our room to be ready and neither was it so we popped for lunch at the hotels all-day dining restaurant BLVD ON ONE. Reception informed us the room may be ready before 3pm but no later and we really wanted to hit the pool. But it wasn’t ready by the stipulated 3pm or 3:30pm… the problems seemed to then continue to unravel beyond belief – leading to an experience I won’t fully repeat and that almost brought a tear to my eye and which continued until to 11:45pm.

All in all it took me far too long to argue me not having to fork out for my sadness incurred and I still managed to leave the hotel paying £200 for the privilege – but my arguing was going nowhere and so that small amount seemed nominal if it meant I could simply leave and enjoy the rest of my trip. What was most interesting was that this is the first time I have ever complained to management about a hotel stay – I think that says alot. If they dealt with my situation better I could have left feeling positive, but it wasn’t pro-active enough until the friendly chief concierge Daniel intervened, but by then it was too late.

But I’m back home and looking for something positive to have come out of Viceroy and so I’m sharing with you 40 gorgeous photos I took during my stay. While I may not have enjoyed my personal 24 hours here, I like to be honest and I certainly can’t lie about just how beautiful the place is. I only hope that in time this hotel becomes the world class hotel it has the potential to be.

What do you think of Viceroy Palm Jumeriah Dubai?