Первый раз в Эмиратах! First time in Emirates!

03-10.05. 2018
Hotel Marjan Island Resort & SPA 5 *, Ras Al Khaimah, EMIRATES - we decided to visit the UAE for the first time, we chose a hotel for a long time, but after reading the reviews, we settled on this one, taking 7 nights / 8 days. You can learn a lot about the country itself on the Internet. It is surprising that in such a short time of existence - they lined up like that. There are about 2 million indigenous people, no one is given citizenship, only work visas, a lot of foreigners: Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans. Yes, and there are enough of our former compatriots working in the Emirates. From St. Petersburg to Sharjah - fly 6 hours, time difference 1 hour, arrived at 0855 Moscow time or 0955 local time. Upon arrival, we pass through the departure zone, so that those who did not have time, have the opportunity to purchase the necessary goods already upon arrival. Contrary to popular belief about the Emirates, in Sharjah Airport Duty Free shops you can buy both alcohol and cigarettes. Customs cleared quickly.
The one who is photographed for the first time is stamped and then there is a meeting with the host, and already on the way back, you can go through an electronic customs officer - by attaching a passport and a ticket to the terminal, you don’t need to stamp for departure, i. e. they will soon get rid of the staff altogether. The road to the hotel takes 45-50 minutes only with the driver, since the bus goes directly to the hotel, there are no other transportations. Along the way, there are “idly staggering” camels, in front of which the cars slow down and let them pass. Check-in took place immediately, after filling out guest cards, and we were very pleased that, as a bonus, we were given a deluxe room, instead of an economy one, where there was a spacious living room, a separate bedroom, two bathrooms and a large balcony, two TVs with 7 Russian-language channels.

At the reception, you need to ask for an adapter for charging smartphones or tablets, and an ashtray, although all this is brought on demand. Upon check-in, they take a deposit of 500 dirhams and plus another 20 dirhams for each night of stay. It is better to change money at the airport upon arrival, although you can also change it at the hotel. On a deposit, you can take cocktails, ice cream, order additional dishes, take equipment on the beach or visit a spa salon. The room is simply huge, the remote controls of the air conditioning system both in the living room and in the bedroom are electronic, as is the electronic lock of the front door itself, everything works perfectly. Bathrobes and slippers - already in the room, snow-white linen, cleaning - every day and does not bother. They bring water, tea, coffee, sugar and milk powder, there is a mini bar, but it is paid.
The tour was bought according to the “Soft All Inclusive” system, which means that breakfasts, lunches and dinners are already included, + you can take drinks: water, juices, tea and coffee in any quantity, both in the restaurant and in the beach bar, except for cocktails and ice cream. Juices are very tasty, but only three types: apple, orange and pineapple, coffee and tea are also for every taste. If you take half board, then there is a chance to spend money on all of the above drinks, for example, a glass of juice or coffee costs an average of 5-6 dollars, if you multiply this by the number of drinks, people and days, then the amount will be rather big. The hotel is non-alcoholic, but those who brought alcohol with them can console themselves with strong drinks directly in their room, “idly wandering around” throughout the hotel is prohibited. The beach is 5 minutes on foot or 1 minute by electric car, whatever you like. The entrance is sandy, there are ebbs and flows, but this is not critical.
By the time of our stay, the hotel was completely full, so if you are not lazy, then immediately after breakfast you need to take places on the beach, otherwise you will have to sit on the cafe chairs. Towels are issued right on the beach, for those who are there and in the hotel on the 1st floor, for those who visit the spa and pool. The beach is divided into two zones, there are sun loungers under fungi, and there are under palm trees, the latter are most in demand. For an additional fee, you can take kayaks, a jet ski, a bicycle, ride a "banana", "sofa" or fly on water jets (FlyBoard). The sea is clean, you can walk along the beach along the spit and swim where you like. Many fish, stars, cuttlefish, some saw turtles and rays. In the morning, both vacationers and locals went to the pier to feed the fish, which, by the way, is their custom - complete relaxation!
On the penultimate day of our stay on the beach, there were oily spots, roofing felts from algae, roofing felts from fuel or oil, it was impossible to swim for 2-3 hours until it was blown away by the wind, but even here the administration was at its best, everyone was provided with a free excursion to Aqua park either from 1430 of the current day, or for the whole day of the next. The hotel staff strives to prevent any wishes of vacationers, everything is resolved promptly without unnecessary reminders. I would like to note the administrators Elvira and Evgenia - just great! In general, the hotel has a lot of Russian-speaking staff, so there are no problems with misunderstanding, even if they don’t speak Russian, they will be contacted by phone with the manager who speaks. The food is varied, but there is not the amount of dessert that is present in Turkey or Egypt, everything else is quite enough in excess. Internet works throughout the territory, but not fast enough.

Vacationers are 50% Kazakhs, 45% Russian speakers and the remaining 5% are English, Germans, Slovaks, Czechs. The territory is large and well-groomed, there are restaurants of Lebanese and Italian cuisines, but it was not possible to get there, everything is scheduled for 10 days in advance. There is no animation, in the evenings everything is calm and quiet, but everyone occupies himself the way he wants (tennis, bicycle, hookah, etc. ). Shop on site, only one grocery store. The shopping tour is organized by a free bus from the hotel, except Tuesday, or by taxi for 6-7 dollars, to the large shopping center Al Hamra Mall. The prices are high, we went once and then for the sake of interest, the travel time is 10 minutes. We didn’t visit the SPA salon, because there were unflattering reviews of vacationers who had already been there, and the prices are off scale. In general, the country itself is quite expensive, you can get on sales, but it makes no sense to waste time on vacation!
The temperature during the day reached 45 degrees, save the wind, humidity 25-30 percent - the climate is dry. We went to Dubai on an individual tour, after reading reviews about Timur (a native of Azerbaijan), who arrived in his car and showed the beauties of the Emirate of Dubai, including all the famous sights, such as the Venice Canal, Sail, Manhattan, " Big Ben, Burj Khalifa, singing fountains, a museum-shop selling carpets embroidered with gold threads and semi-precious stones, a large jewelry store. The cost of the trip is slightly higher than the guide, but it's worth it. The holiday season ends in the UAE in May and begins only in October, apparently the temperature is going through the roof and there is simply no point in going out at +50-55 degrees.
Impressions about the country are the most positive. If everything written here suits you - feel free to fly, you will not regret it!