The Park Hyatt Dubai felt like a special property a decade ago. Now it’s in desperate need of renovation. The staff is still very good. Breakfast is still very good, but so busy that service couldn’t keep up.

We arrived at the hotel around 2:30 p.m. and there were no guests in the lobby, only staff. I had booked standard award nights and confirmed a suite in advance on our four night stay. We were upgraded from a Park Suite to Park Terrace Suite, almost the same room that I had a decade earlier at the property.

At check-in it was explained to me, though, that our room was located at the far end of the property above the adult pool, Twiggys Beach Club managed by a third party, and that music plays throughout the day. We made it to our room, 2306, and though I could hear music at times, it was not loud, and wasn’t a disturbance.

On our second day we did hear quite a bit of construction noise inside the room above us. I called the desk and they actually paused work, asking us to let them know when we’d be out of our room so they could continue. This was around noon – not regular sleeping hours – and I thought that was fantastic accommodation.

The thing about the room though is that while the size was great, it felt really dated. Maybe that was the scuff marks and stains on the base boards.

Maybe it was the carpeting. A lot of it was the sheer lack of outlets. It’s amazing not to have at least one available next to each bedside at a luxury hotel in 2023.

Here’s the living room of our suite:

Here’s the bathroom. There’s really no privacy from the bedroom, and the glass into the toilet room is see-through which feels less than ideal.

And here’s the bedroom.

In the hallway between the bathroom and bedroom was a large closet:

Finally, this was the balcony:

When we arrived there was an amenity of baklava waiting for us on the desk in the living room.

The second day, fruit was delivered. That made it seem like they intended to offer an amenity each day of our stay? But there was nothing after that on days 3 or 4 (we checked out on day 5).

Beyond being well-worn, and lacking power outlets, the other major problem with our room was that it flooded during a major storm the likes of which you don’t usually see in Dubai. Here was the storm nearby at the airport:

Multiple Flights cancelled/delayed at Dubai intl. airport after heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Arab_Storms pic.twitter.com/BVvuZQ62Cp

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 18, 2023

The whole living room carpet got wet. Some water came in through the balcony doors, but mostly moisture started at the center of the room and spread out. I called down for assistance, and the most the hotel would do is send housekeeping to vacuum up the water. Parts of the room remained damp throughout our stay, which was really unacceptable, especially because it also started to have a musty smell which seemed also to trigger my allergies. I asked about moving us and was told it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t so bad that I checked out, though in retrospect I should have.

Breakfast at the property was a very nice spread, but also quite a zoo. It was packed whenever we were there, and wait staff were completely overwhelmed. Ordering off of the menu involved flagging someone down and hoping you’d see your order. The same for coffee, which seemed to take longer than entrees. They simply needed more staff in the breakfast restaurant. Food otherwise, and throughout the resort, was really quite good.

The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. They’re well-maintained. I had no complaint about the family pool (though not as nice as the adult pool) or the hotel’s own non-outsourced main pool.

The coffee and dessert shop is also excellent.

The property’s location is very much outside of town, which offers an understated respite from Dubai itself but it less convenient for many activities. I didn’t mind. Ubers are quick and convenient. Our daughter’s favorites were Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, Dubai Garden Glow Dinosaur Park, and OliOli (she wanted to go 3 times!).

When the hotel receives a renovation I’ll happily return. Here are some renderings of a possible room renovation from a couple of years ago. That renovation has not yet started. For now I’d say that a decade ago i remember liking the Park Hyatt Dubai more than Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, now it’s the reverse.