And so we gathered, a few colleagues and friends, their spouses and their children – to celebrate the end of the summer, the coming of Diwali, and just to get together and have a good time.
And we did.
The good part of such gatherings is that it isn’t the quantity of time spent with each other – rather, the quality of the interactions that come about. We actually had only two instances when nearly everyone was together – one at the fun and games in the evening and two – at the post-dinner chill out. A few talents that came to the fore – a couple of great songs, a lovely poem about a teacher and Saturdays, and a dance performance that was the highlight. And yes, there was a Rubik cube solving prodigy in the making who displayed his amazing knack of solving the cubes and some other shapes as well. A few games to wrap up a great session. Post dinner, we sat around, and well, just hung out. Or as Gen Z may say – Hung. Why waste three letters more?
The hotel was not that great though. The food, save the breakfast, was a disaster and the service left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, I don’t think we let this down our spirits (we downed other spirits instead) – we had a good time and were left wanting for more by the time we checked out of the establishment.
Lots of memories created, and treasured. Onto Diwali week next.
In the meantime, I leave you with my scathing review of the establishment, one that may point you in the right direction should you wish to spend your vacation at the Fairmont Beach Resort, Fujairah.
This was an annual day celebration, about 50 people. Checkins were late for a few, including me (I got the room at 3.30ish) and that the lunch was a disaster didn’t help (do read more in the food section below). The person at the reception was helpful but well, when you have a sleepy child and weary parents, doesn’t help listening to apologies on late checkins. The dinner was also not good, with the piece-de-resistance being the watery dhal makhani that was made by someone who may have tried to get the recipe from tik-tock via Google Translate. The bread was chewy and that was it for the indian fare. The drinks were normal, expected given the full-board. Went down to the Arena “Sports Bar” in which the only thing sporty was a lone dude shouting “yes” every time someone scored a goal in an inconsequential match – a full five minutes of attention before he too went away. Ordered Watermelon shisha – the guy came back in around 30 mins saying that they didn’t have it. Changed it to apple and it again took 30 mins to come. Did he by chance go to Dubai to get it? I have a strong suspicion.
The hotel has great views, especially of the rising sun that I gladly captured through my phone and enjoyed to the fullest.
The breakfast was better, save the rock idlis and some liquid masquerading as sambhar, unleashed on poor Russian guests who wouldn’t know much about this oriental rice cake and sauce. That it was blasphemy to the South Indian in me didn’t matter to many apparently.
The hotel has a good kiddie pool that was the saving grace to an otherwise average experience with bad food.
Of course, come 11.30 and the hotel staff went bonkers in trying to clear us out, never mind that I got checked in late. Anyways, extended the checkout by an hour, and set out to Dubai with a steely resolve to never visit this property once again. Wait…maybe if I needed a few lethal flying saucers that others call Idlis…or maybe not.
PS: the food
Their all-inclusive package covers the Canvas Restaurant, which doesn’t have great food, and has worse service. The breakfast was good, save the Idli which was as hard as rocks, and “sambhar” which was made by someone who doesn’t know anything about it. The lunch was sub-standard, with nothing of note, and bland food. The dinner had dhal makhani, which tasted like canvas, thus leading me to suspect that the restaurant was named after this concoction. The naan and other bread were chewy to a point of no redemption. Very bad food, not many options, and terrible service.
PPS: the rooms
The rooms were spacious and had a great view, but that was about it. The hotel has obviously seen better days, given that the faucets were not very functional and the water didn’t drain very well from the basins and the shower. The bathroom section did not lock. Although it intended to.