Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort in Fujairah

I used to listen to a radio station every morning as I drive to the office. This used to help me beat the traffic that I had to brave every single day of my extra challenging life.

The main issue is that I live in Deira, and I work in one of the companies based inside the Jebel Ali Free Zone. For those who do not stay or have not stayed in the UAE, Deira is actually more than 40 km from the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The trip shouldn't be much, if you consider that all you have to do is pass by the freeway which basically has six lanes, the entire trip, theoretically, should only take about 45 minutes. The problem is Dubai traffic, which could turn a smooth 45 minute trip into a 2-hour nightmare especially in the evenings when traffic is at its worst.

Every morning I would listen to the radio and it would always has an ad about the Le Meridien Al Aqah beach resort in Fujairah. I am very well aware that summer is fast approaching and if I wanted to take my family for a weekend getaway, I'd better move fast. I seriously am not reconsidering taking them there on the middle of the summer where sunbathing could literally mean a slow roast under the sun with close if not more than 50 degree celsius temperature. So one morning, I simply woke up and told Mark that I am booking us there for a weekend. It was, I think, one of the good things that I have done for the kids.

The place was situated between the UAE's famous Hajar mountains and the Indian Ocean. The front door of our room was facing the mountain while terrace was fronting the beach and the pool, which happened to be one of the longest free-shaped pool in the whole of UAE. The facilities were amazing, really, although service was relatively poor. It took us close to 1 hour before we were able to find a towel near the pool area. Although the staff was blaming it to the electricity breakdown caused by the Fujairah Municipality, I still can't justify it. Under normal UAE Procedure, Municipalities announce a possible power interruption at least a week before it will be done, to give the establishments ample time to prepare. In the case of hotel, preparation should involve total aspects of its operation including preparations of all towels, linens and etc. to ensure guests are able to access them if necessary. The staff were all friendly and accommodating, although the food in our chosen restaurant fell way below our standards. There are, however, about 6 more restaurants which we haven't tried, so I really cannot comment on those. We've only tried baywatch, but I do intend to try other restaurants when we return to visit.

If there was anything that had impressed me in the whole place, aside from the pool and the astounding view, it was the Penguin club. Penguin club is the children's club designed to cater to the younger guests. They've got their own playground, both indoor and outdoor and a shaded, shallow padding pool for the kids. The staff were amazing. They were indeed giving particular attention to each and every children, how they manage to stay calm and resilient amongst around 10 toddlers and several other older kids is way beyond my comprehension. I commend these people.

All in all, it was a pleasant experience. Will we do it again? Definitely. Angela wants us to come back as soon as we can. It was a weekend getaway we really enjoyed, no traffic, no noisy vehicle, no rush, no worries about parking, just simple, relaxing weekend amidst nature's best views and creations and manmade ideas for fun and recreation. I clearly believe that all of us has to do it once in a while. To get away from the demands of daily cosmopolitan living and just get away from it all, escape for a couple of days and experience how it is to relax away from pressures, deadlines and reports. In the same way, kids can enjoy and allow themselves to be kids. The smile on Angela and Carmela's faces afterwards were more than enough affirmation to tell me that they did have fun, and that was enough.