Review: Ajman Saray, an SPG Luxury Collection Resort in the UAE

Update, October 2026: Ajman Saray today

• The resort is still open as Ajman Saray, a Luxury Collection Resort. Starwood is now Marriott Bonvoy, so the SPG Platinum benefits I mention below are Marriott Bonvoy Platinum benefits today, and award prices change with the dates rather than following a fixed category.
• It’s on Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, according to Amex’s listing, so Platinum cardholders can get breakfast, an upgrade when available and the property credit that way instead.
• The free Etihad chauffeur that drove us from Abu Dhabi is gone. Etihad ended chauffeur service for all award tickets on April 1, 2018. Plan on a taxi or ride-share, and fly into Dubai if you can, since it’s much closer to Ajman.
• We went in the summer heat. The beach is far more pleasant in the cooler winter months.

As I mentioned in the introduction to this trip report, this trip was taken with a few friends including fellow blogger Jamison of Points Summary. We spent the first night at the Ajman Saray hotel in Ajman, UAE. This hotel is relatively new and in an interesting location, and since it was the first night and not everyone had arrived we booked just one room under Jamison’s name.

Our Etihad Chauffeur drove us over from the Abu Dhabi airport to the hotel, and the drive was over an hour (but thankfully free!). It would most definitely have been a shorter ride from the Dubai airport. As we drove up we could easily see the area was full of other resort hotels, which makes sense given the location right on the water. All the hotels seemed fairly large at over 10 stories each and all had their own private beaches.

The hotel entrance was nice but not overly fancy, and there were several areas to sit. Just to the right of the entryway was a room with desks where guests are actually checked-in.

We were each given a welcome drink and a cold towel to help freshen up. I thought this was a nice touch and definitely helped separate it from most other hotels. The room was booked under Jamison’s name, and when Jamison asked if a suite was available we were told that we’ve already been upgraded to a suite. Awesome! We were then walked to the elevator and all the way to our room.

Suite at Ajman Saray

First impressions of the room were essentially “wow.” The table in the living room had a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, and a hand-written note addressed to Jamison. The chandelier above the table was intricate and looked great as well. Just to the left of the entry was a half bath/powder room.

You can tell from the pictures that the room is very spacious, and everything looked brand new. The drapes are in front of a sliding door that leads to a balcony, which you’ll see a bit later. The master bedroom was also impressive.

I’ll stop here to draw your attention to the little picture frame on the bench at the bottom of the above image. You’ll never guess what it is…

It was a picture frame with Jamison’s Twitter image and stats, along with a hand-written welcome note. This has got to be the most unique gift I’ve ever seen a hotel provide a guest! I checked with Jamison and confirmed that he never contacted the hotel or tweeted them, or even the general SPG account, about this stay. It seems they tracked him down all on their own!

The master bedroom also had a TV and a small couch in the corner. In the image above you can see the door to the master bathroom on the left side. The master bathroom was quite impressive.

The bathroom was huge and had a large soaking tub in the middle. There were two separate sinks, and one of them had a TV inside of it. That’s a bit of a novelty but cool nonetheless. The bath amenities were awesome as well – there were 100ml bottles of Molton Brown shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion. Molton Brown bath products are very high-end and pricey, so to have huge bottles of them was great.

There were two separate closets that had all the goodies you’d expect including an iron and ironing board, safe, slippers, laundry bags, bath robes, hair dryer, and an extra pillow.

The shower was absolutely massive and had the same Molton Brown bottles that were on the bathtub.

On the other side was the toilet with a separate bidet that’s prevalent in the Middle East.

I mentioned a balcony earlier, and there’s actually a sliding door in the bedroom as well that leads to the same balcony, which is large enough to span both rooms. There was furniture since the room looks out to the water.

We arrived at night so the view wasn’t too impressive, but it was much better when I got up in the morning and could see all the water and swimming pools below.

A full breakfast buffet is included for SPG Platinum members, and the restaurant downstairs is great. It had a few hot items, fruits, yogurt, egg station, tons of pastries, juices, and more.

Breakfast at Ajman Saray

The breakfast was great, and believe me when I say to load up on the fruits. Don’t forget you’re in the middle of a desert, so getting fresh fruits is not easy in this location! I also made sure to eat an obscene amount of hummus throughout this trip.

The restaurant is on the bottom floor with doors out to the swimming pools and the private beach, which is private because it’s physically separated from the neighboring hotels by huge mounds of rocks. The outdoor area was very nice, but it was far too warm outside (try 115 degrees F) for me to make use of the facilities.

Swimming Pools and Beach at Ajman Saray

Going to the UAE during the Summer months is tough because of the heat, but the pool and water seem like great places to relax.

Venturing outside the hotel, however, would be a bit of a mistake. Jamison and I each went for a walk (separately) outside the hotel and found a whole lot of nothing going on in this city. There’s mosque that’s nice for pictures and a museum that was closed when I walked by, but this is not the place to be for shopping or restaurants. Walking out here in that blistering heat, with nothing interesting to see, was quite a mistake.

But if you come here to use the hotel as it was designed, meaning as a resort, then you will likely be satisfied. The hotel is designed and decorated beatifully and the elite recognition was excellent as we not only were pre-upgraded to a great suite, but Jamison also received a special, customized gift with a hand-written note. The welcome drink and towel was also a nice touch, plus the wine (which neither Jamison or I drank by the way) and cheese/crackers were also a great touch.

I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at this hotel again if I were in Ajman, but I don’t think I’d make a point of it if I my main stop was Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

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