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Hotel City Hotel Hotel 4 star
Easyexperts
Al Muntaser Street Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates -
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Amy Adejokun Section editor

The City Hotel is a non-descript tower that stands just across the main shopping centre in Ras al Khaimah city centre. Not quite where one would expect to spend the holidays, as the name hints, the hotel is more of a stopover city hotel rather than a luxury affair with all the mod-cons. Despite its more than dubious décor, the staff is so friendly and helpful that it's hard not to come out smiling.

The City Hotel is best for a one-night stopover if on a tight budget.

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    Location

    City Hotel is located right in the Ras al Khaimah city centre on a strip of shops and across the road from the main shopping centre, the Manar Mall, which has a Carrefour supermarket. If you ask for a room at the back of the hotel and high up, you'll have a view of the Hajar Mountains (as well as abandoned garages). The hotel is 10 minutes' drive from Ras al Khaimah Airport and about an hour's drive from Dubai Airport.

    Accommodation 5.70 /10

    There are 88 rooms in total spread over eight floors. The rooms are extremely basic, the furniture is totally garish and outdated and the rooms need a good clean. They all have twin beds or twin beds pushed together to form a double bed. All rooms have a balcony, a flat-screen television and a safe. Some have a mini-bar, although you might need to ask at reception for it to be filled. All rooms have a telephone, although ours didn't work. The rooms to the back of the hotel have views of the Hajar Mountains. The road running in front of the building and the car garages at the back mean that it can be fairly noisy at night even with the windows closed. There is complimentary water upon arrival. All rooms are air-conditioned. The bathrooms only have showers (as opposed to bath tubs) and a handful of toiletries so if you like being pampered, bring your own.

    Overview 5.70 /10

    A building of 10 floors, the City Hotel is the only tower in the area so it is easy to spot it. It also means that there are half-decent views of the surrounding area (which isn't the most charming we've seen). On the ground floor is the reception with a small lobby café. Wi-Fi access works well in this area and is free. Higher up the building is a spa (which was closed when we visited) and on the top-most floor is the restaurant with panoramic views and a small bar across the hall.

    The hotel also has a shuttle service that runs guests between the hotel 'beach club', which honestly is one of the most sinister places we have ever seen. The vast empty dining hall was bare of any décor, the terrace and pool area needed a good clean, as did the beach. The food menu was dubious with few items on it - we had the frozen pizza and faoul Madas (and were alright afterwards). The good thing is though, that we soon discovered the Hilton Resort is just next door and has a lovely beach and a few bars along the beach as well as a few restaurants, which are open to non guests.

    Food and drink 5.70 /10

    Snacks and drinks are served in the lobby café throughout the day into the early evening. Otherwise a small pub opens on the top floor, which is just across the hall from the restaurant, which has an à la carte menu for dinner and a buffet in the mornings; and the breakfast doesn't reflect the surroundings; varied and with food that isn't of the best quality but at least that is cooked onsite, the breakfast buffest wasn't too bad. The restaurant has panoramic views of the area.

    Beach 3.70 /10

    The beach is accessible via a decrepit van that is hardly ever on time, but the ride's free. The beach at the hotel's beach club is littered with what looks like medical waste, but just next door is the Hilton Resort, where the beach is a lot nicer.

    To know

    The hotel isn't on the beach, but it does have a rather sinister looking beach club, with a beach littered with what looks like industrial and medical waste. A beat-up van takes you to the 'beach club', but the Hilton Resort is just next door, meaning you can get a free ride to a better beach.

    Equipment

    • Shuttle bus
    • Car park
    • Restaurant
    • Internet access
    • Air conditioning
    • Spa

      massage, spa

    • Meeting room

    advantage

    • Cheap rates.
    • Lovely staff.
    • Views of the Hajar Mountains (from the rooms at the back of the tower and restaurant).

    disadvantages

    • Very grim décor.
    • Needs a thorough clean.
    • Needs a new beach club!

    Traveller Reviews

    • Overall Score nc/10
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