# Abu Dhabi's Hottest Hotel: Qasr Al Sarab Versus the Desert

> The Qasr Al Sarab hotel in the UAE offers a luxurious escape on the edge of the world's largest sand desert. Discover what makes Abu Dhabi's hottest hotel so surprising.

- URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/hotel-qasr-al-sarab-v-oae-proponuie-rozkishnyi-vidpochynok-na-kraiu-naibilshoi-pishchanoi-pusteli-svitu/
- Language: en
- Published: 2024-05-17
- Categories: Leisure, Hotels, Tours, UAE, Animal Rides, Relaxation

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Inside its grounds, the Qasr Al Sarab hotel has everything you would expect from a top-tier resort in the UAE: lavish villas, private pools, world-class restaurants and a fully equipped spa.

Beyond its walls, it has one feature few others can boast: absolute, beautiful nothingness.

That's because Qasr sits on the edge of the world. Or, at the very least, on the edge of the Empty Quarter (Rub' al Khali in Arabic), the largest unbroken sand desert on the planet.

Walk past the hotel's royal pavilion and head south, and you'll find nothing but mile after mile of shifting dunes, all the way to a dusty highway and the fence marking the border with Saudi Arabia.

It's precisely this remoteness, and the stunning appeal of this sun-scorched desert, that make Qasr one of the best hotels in Abu Dhabi, an emirate that is hardly short on five-star contenders.

For the people who run this far-flung outpost of civilization, that creates a very particular set of challenges, chief among them keeping the place from being swallowed whole by the desert.

And doing so without harming the very environment that makes it so special.

## A Shimmering Illusion

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Qasr Al Sarab was originally conceived as a retreat from the bustle of the UAE's fast-growing cities, a place where guests could immerse themselves in a classic Arabian sandscape.

Work began in 2007, when a fortress-like structure rose at the edge of dunes painted in gorgeous shades of red and green by particles of iron and copper.

The finished complex, with 154 guest rooms and 52 villas spread across more than 19,000 acres, towers over the desert like a shimmering illusion. It's no surprise its name means "mirage."

Not that anyone, says Amer Braik, who oversees Qasr's environmental and cultural operations, has ever actually mistaken the resort for a mirage in the eight years since it opened.

Of course not. Aside from the odd Bedouin passing through, the only reason anyone comes all this way is to stay at the resort or to work there.

Unless guests have access to a helicopter (the UAE's president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has his own villa here, so it does happen), the journey is a tedious two-hour drive.

Which makes arriving over a lantern-lit bridge and through grand, tower-flanked gates feel all the more anticipated.

Within the resort complex, electric golf carts ferry luggage and guests to the sunset-facing rooms and villas that line seven kilometers of access roads.

Qasr's main hub resembles a desert palace, especially when lit up at night. When the midday sun beats down, there are shaded pathways, greenery and cooling channels of babbling water.

Its centerpiece is a cluster of pools ringed by palms, designed in the image of an oasis.

There are also several restaurants, including one styled as a Bedouin camp, where guests settle onto sofas beneath the stars while a traditional musician performs on a nearby dune.

It's all very relaxing. At least until you start thinking about the effort that goes into keeping the place from being consumed by the surrounding desert.

## A Sea of Sand

This sea of sand just beyond the pool is restless. North-south breezes constantly shift and reshape the landscape.

A few times a year, those breezes turn into full-blown sandstorms, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour that wrap the resort in thick clouds. That's when Qasr's location is at its most challenging.

The hotel was designed using wind-modeling techniques to minimize the impact of these harsh conditions, and it's well equipped for the cleanup.

"We have big bulldozers and machines working around the clock, moving sand and clearing certain areas," Braik says.

Heavy machinery, however, can't help with the more painstaking task of clearing sand not just from the main pool but from the more than 60 private pools attached to individual villas.

Then there are the manicured lawns and flower beds to clean up.

Even so, the place is spotless. Despite the punishing effects of the environment, it wears its eight years of operation well and is still regularly booked as a backdrop for glossy magazine shoots, not to mention weddings, honeymoons and other romantic getaways.

There are other challenges, though. For instance, where do you find the staff to run a hotel in the middle of nowhere?

"Recruiting staff can be a tough job," Braik says. To help, a separate village housing mostly foreign employees comes with recreational facilities. Day trips into the city are also arranged.

"Over the years, the hotel's name has become very appealing on the job market," he adds.

## An Eerie Mist

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The constant battle with the desert doesn't stop Qasr from working to protect it, which matters all the more in an area designated as a protected nature reserve.

Water is recycled or pumped in to avoid straining the precious local aquifers. The resort also runs a breeding program to return the Arabian oryx to its natural habitat.

Hotel guests are encouraged to engage with this beautiful environment through a range of activities, including camel rides, desert walks, sandboarding and falconry.

A fat-tire bike ride at dawn, when the sands are sometimes washed in an eerie mist, offers a thrilling chance to find yourself among the dunes and soak up the silence of the desert.

Noisier, but no less exhilarating, are the dune excursions in the hotel's big Toyota 4x4s, which wrap up with tea at the top of a dune as the sun sinks behind the dusty horizon.

The vehicles' tires are deliberately deflated from 30 to 14 pounds per square inch to grip the surface better on steep descents that often leave stomachs struggling to keep up.

The experienced drivers know how to keep their 4x4s from rolling over or getting bogged down in the sand. They stick to set routes to avoid disturbing the wildlife.

They also know when to stop to keep a queasy guest from ruining the upholstery.

"We can sense when someone is about to lose it," grins one of the drivers, Shalika. "We always manage to stop in time."

According to Braik, some guests still need reassurance about the desert beyond the hotel's walls.

"People ask me if it's dangerous to walk on the sand outside," he adds. "Guests are sometimes afraid of scorpions and snakes, but it's actually safe."

Still, it's wise not to wander too far without a guide.

Hotel staff recall getting a phone call from one group of guests who had to be picked up after setting off in the direction of Saudi Arabia and getting lost.

"They told us, 'We're next to a big sand dune.' Well, look around. Out here that could be just about anywhere."

Just beautiful nothingness.

From $381 per night

Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, 1 Qasr Al Sarab Road, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; +971 2 886 2088