After two uneventful nights at Hilton Bahrain, I moved to the Westin hotel for a change and, Marriott’s great Q1 promotion of course. Out of all the hospitality groups Marriott does the best job – Ritz Carlton is one of, if not the best hotel of the country, and there are Le Meridien, Westin and Residence Inn too, which are good candidates for point redemptions.

Bahrain is a small city and it took me only 10 minutes to Uber to the Westin. The building’s architecture is very interesting: Westin, Le Meridien and the City Centre shopping mall are share the same complex.

You can navigate between the shopping mall and two hotels indoors very easily, and City Centre has quite a few fast food outlets if you don’t want to travel far. As you need to travel by car to virtually everywhere in Bahrain, the location doesn’t matter much.

Unlike the Hilton I didn’t receive a welcome email, but the check-in experience is nonetheless quite smooth. All hotel staff are very well trained, would stop what they are doing when they see a guest and greet.

My three-night stay is upgraded to a one-bedroom suite at the 8th floor and south facing. The living room is bright and cheerfully designed and it lights up my mood immediately:

Both suites have a very similar layout, but at Westin it is classier and more comfortable. In short it feels more like staying at hotel.

Welcome gift – baklavas:

The brick wall is cute and I like the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The bathroom is connected to both the bedroom and the living room, and it’s quite modern. The glass is switchable.

There is small walk-in wardrobe.

My suite overlooks the high road so there’s barely any view per se, and it goes a bit noisy at times. You might want to pick a north-facing room instead, although don’t have high hopes for the sea view, as you can see from the lounge pictures below.

Take the lift to floor 3 for the swimming pool, which is shared with Le Meridien.

Unfortunately Bahrain in February is way too cold to get into the water.

There is an indoor spa for sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.

Breakfast is served in restaurant Furn, which is located right beside the shopping mall.

The buffet is on a similar standard with what Hilton offers. I tried some fried rice but it’s not fully cooked!

The barista coffee is awesome though, which is not commonly seen at hotel breakfast.

The Westin has a reputable seafood restaurant but their price is really steep. I had a lunch at Furn instead.

Bahrain definitely isn’t cheap – my Spaghetti Bolognese costs £20. Both the spaghetti and local naan are very tasty though.

The Westin Club is located on the 10th floor and manned all day. It’s got a lot of natural light and has a nice layout.

The sea view on the other hand, isn’t very impressive.

Snacks and fruits are available throughout the day, but drinks are served by the waiters only. Happy Hour is 6pm – 8pm, and you expect hot food such as:

• Roast vegetables
• Fried noodles
• Fried fish
• Curry vegetables
• Curry chicken
• White rice

The food is not fancy, but sufficient for a light dinner.

In general I’m very happy about my stay, and it’s one level above the Hilton. Its neighbour, Le Meridien is usually a lot cheaper but shares the swimming pool and has their own club lounge, which is worth a shot too.

Disrupted by the layoff, my five-night beach holiday in Dubai turned into a short airport layover of two days. There are quite a few hotel options near the Dubai airport, such as the Holiday Inn Express, Aloft and Element. However I didn’t want to “downgrade” that much, so went for Le Meridien in the end.

The hotel is about three minutes’ drive from the airport, and you can actually walk if not carrying too many bags. Despite of its remoteness, the hotel is right next to a metro station so connection to downtown Dubai is easy.

Don’t confuse it with Le Meridien Fairway, which is further away from the airport and much smaller.

A Christmas tree is ready for the festive period.

Interestingly, Le Meridien is actually composed of two hotels, which is very unusual. The hotel has one building named the Royal Wing, which has its own reception, parking space, pools and club lounge, so it’s pretty much an independent hotel.

Marriott Platinum members receive an upgrade to the Royal Club Room by default.

You need to cross the main building to see the Royal Wing block.

Upon entering the building the first facility you see is the Royal Club, which is an exclusive club lounge. However, it is basically a lobby bar so feels quite different to an ordinary lounge you see elsewhere.

Royal Wing has a very different style of interior design compared to the main building. Darker colours are used everywhere to the Royal theme.

You can’t fault the service in Dubai. A porter came to pick up my luggage at the first sight and accompanied me all the way to my room. Moments after I’ve settled down, someone else brought me a huge fruit platter.

There is only one room type at the Royal Wing. The room to be honest, is a bit worn.

You can see the Aloft through the window.

The jet tub is a nice addition to the bathroom.

The best feature however, has to be the massage chair, which is total surprise. I couldn’t wait to try it out after my 10-hour flight, and it works pretty well, as the pressure is probably deeper than what some masseurs can do. If I remember correctly only Royal Club rooms have the massage chair.

The swimming pool is located on the fifth floor. It’s a small one, but being on the rooftop adds some bonus points. Someone told me you can actually see the New Year fireworks from here.

Royal Wing’s benefits are listed as follows:

Royal Wing offers complimentary one-way airport transfer if you book directly, but that doesn’t include complimentary upgrades. The charge is only 30 AED though so I opted in, and somehow they ended up not charging me.

Titanium members can choose restaurant breakfast as a welcome amenity, and I didn’t want to walk all the way so didn’t bother and decided to dine at the lounge instead.

The buffet is way below par, so go to the restaurant if breakfast is important to you.

Flyertalk’s reviews don’t speak highly of their afternoon tea so I didn’t check it out. I’m here for the happy hour though, and appetisers is limited one portion per person. You can drink as much as you want though (prices are just for reference in case you invite someone else).

If you don’t mind paying for your food, the hotel has 16 restaurants to choose from! I tried the Spanish restaurant which is quite decent and not overpriced.

As a Titanium member I get 15% discount on my bill. I don’t think it’s a regional dining benefit (like the one in Asia Pacific), so probably a nice gesture from the hotel itself.

Royal Wing guests are free to use any facility at the main building as well. There’s another lounge – Le Meridien Club Lounge, which is open to Club Room guests staying at the main building. As Elite members are usually upgraded to the Royal Wing, it tends to be quiet.

According to the staff, the catering here is identical to the Royal Wing. In fact it feels much more like a proper club lounge, and I’d rather sit here to enjoy the light if I want a change of scenery.

Besides having 16 restaurants, the hotel also has four swimming pools! You’ve already seem the Royal Club Pool, and there’s Le Meridien Club Pool which is exclusive to Club Room guests.

There are a few guest rooms with direct pool access, but privacy may not be that good.

Fitness Pool is ideal for some proper swimming training.

And finally there’s the Courtyard Pool, which is the most family and kids friendly and has a bar.

The hotel feels a bit old, and definitely not on the luxury level by Dubai’s standard. However I’ve fallen in love with the massage chair, and the restaurants and pools have impressed me. If you need to stay close to the airport, Le Meridien Dubai is not a bad choice at all.