Our Stay at Al Seef Heritage Hotel – TIME TRAVEL TO OLD DUBAI [Hotel Review]

In this post, we are sharing our experience of staying in Al Seef Heritage Hotel which is located in Al Seef, Dubai.

We all know that Dubai is one of the most visited cities in the world. It is known for the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. Not to mention the largest water fountain shows, initially built outside the biggest Mall, the Dubai Mall.

This record has recently been knocked off the top spot by their very own Palm Jumeirah fountains found at The Pointe.

Prior to the development of skyscrapers and breaking world records. Dubai was a modest city, dependent on its fishing and pearl industry. Since then, Dubai has become a popular destination for tourists and expats.

This weekend we decided to explore Al Seef a different part of the city, one which allowed us to escape the hustle and bustle and immerse ourselves in a quieter, more authentic part of Dubai.

Our Stay at Al Seef Heritage Hotel

We organised an overnight stay at the Al Seef Heritage Hotel conveniently located along the famous Dubai Creek, which spreads across almost 14 kilometers.

It’s a perfect spot for evening strolls.

The reception of the hotel is nestled in the middle of the Al Seef area.

Early check-in was possible, and we were able to valet our car, and get out exploring, whilst our room was having a deep clean with the hotel’s incredible Covid-19 regulations.

We were in the King suite, which boasted a charming, comfortable, and clean room with adjoining walk in shower and bathroom.

Every detail in the room was a reminder of a time in history prior to the Dubai we have come to know and love.

Local Area to the Hotel

There are many cafes, markets stalls, gold souk in Deira and even the museum of illusions available to you on your doorstep.

The entire Al Seef setting is dainty with many insta-worthy photo opportunities – which as you can tell, we took full advantage of!

There’s a vast variety of restaurants further along the creek and we decided to take the hotels recommendation and head to dinner at Skafos – a floating Mediterranean restaurant that overlooks the Creek.

We reserved our table for a 5 pm seating; to capture the golden hour and grab some amazing shots of the beautiful views and settings.

The staff were so warm and welcoming – I highly recommend the vegan tomato moussaka if you’re interested in exploring a plant-based meal.

After our meal, we enjoyed a slow stroll from Skafos which is located at the highest end of the Al Seef stretch and made our way back to the Al Seef Heritage hotel room – this time the area was lit with ambient lighting, the markets were in full swing and there were more than a handful of people, compared to our afternoon rendezvous – it was lovely to see other couples and families enjoying the setting as much as we were.

Amazing Views of the Old Dubai

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The Next Day in Al Seef Heritage Hotel

Waking up in our room the following morning was welcomed by the beautiful call to prayer that you could hear faintly in the distance, by only being awake and birds singing.

We decided to use our early morning rise as an opportunity to capture the sunrise – which I think you will agree we committed to achieve some wonderful pictures.

Breakfast at Saba’a Restaurant

Breakfast was booked for 7am which was a spectacular experience at Saba’a – the waitress was sporting a traditional dress and the interior design, much like the rooms replicated that of old Dubai – it felt like we had travelled back in time for this weekend staycation.

The food was delicious, and I highly recommend ordering the French toast which looks enormous but there was nothing left on the plate once I had finished with it.

Starters included a sharing platter of dates, dried figs, salad, hummus, warm bread and olives. We both had coffee and I think the soya latte was the definition of perfection.

After breakfast at Saba’a, we headed down, by foot, to the Dubai Old Souq to catch an Abra ride (costs 2Dhs per person), this was something we wanted to experience for a long time and now was the perfect opportunity to tick this off our bucket list.

Abra Ride at Al Seef in Dubai

The Abra ride was really smooth and breezy, it was nice to see and experience a different part of Dubai.

The sun was already shining down on us and warming the city up as we travelled down to Al Sabkhastation, which only took 5-10minutes before our feet were back on land.

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We continued walking from Al Sabkha Abra station up towards Baniyas, as this was the Abra station we needed to get to, to catch another Abra that would cross the Dubai Creek back to Al Seef.

On our way to our next Abra destination, we passed the Rolex Twin Towers and the Dubai Creek police station where we were politely stopped and asked to have a picture with them.

This second Abra journey was even shorter than the first and it wasn’t long before we were back in Al Seef.

All the walking we did that morning from exploring the Aladdin-like architecture, to find our breakfast spot, walking from Abra station to the next. We decided to head to the Starbucks nestled in the middle of Al Seef for a little iced-Americano pick me up.

A Must Visit Starbucks Outlet in Al Seef, Dubai

Here we spent a little time reflecting on the photographs we took and started to write this very blog whilst enjoying the views of the Dubai Creek, amongst the Arabian vibes surrounding this particular Starbucks. It’s like no other Starbucks you have seen before!

You must have seen a lot of photos on the internet of this Starbucks branch but have you seen the inside views of the outlet? We have shot a video that will give you an idea of how the outlet looks from inside.

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A post shared by Places To Visit In Dubai (@placestovisitindubai) on Oct 18, 2020 at 8:15am PDT

Time to Leave the Hotel

It was time to check out of our beautiful King suite and so we decided to take full advantage of the rooftop pool facilities at Canopy by Hilton Al Seef, which is located a short 2-minute drive from the Al Seef Heritage Hotel by Hilton Honors.

Whilst the Al Seef Heritage Hotel does not have its own pool on-site, it encourages you go on and adventure around the entirely renovated Al Seef and be present in this old-meets-new vibe. 

Ratings on TripAdvisor

More than 300 people have reviewed the hotel and still they have managed to gather a rating of 4.5 which is remarkable.

Should You Stay at Al Seef Heritage Hotel or Not?

All of our friends and family in the UAE call us the hotel Gurus of Dubai and that due to staying in so many, since our arrival a few years back.

With this tag, we can be sure to both agree that the Al Seef Heritage Hotel, is up there as being one of the most beautiful hotels that we have stayed at. Every single aspect of the hotel is spot on and this should be on your ‘To Visit List’.

• Prices vary from 200 – 450 Dhs per night
• The hotel is 100% smoke-free

We will be heading back in the not so distant future!

If you have any questions in regards to the hotel or places to visit in Dubai do let us know in the comments section. I would be happy to answer you it.

Contact Information

Al Seef Heritage Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton Honors
Address: Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair 1 P.O. Box 35449, Dubai, UAE
Telephone Number: +971 4 707 7077

Website – https://www.hilton.com/en/curio/

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