Jebel Hafeet

Last Thursday evening we headed down to Abu Dhabi for a weekend of relaxation and quality time. We stayed the first night at the Mercure hotel which is on top of a mountain called Jebel Hafeet (‘jebel’ means mountain in Arabic). It was approx 1.5 hours drive from Dubai and I have to say that I was really looking forward to getting out of Dubai for some R&R. By the time we got there it was dark, but the road up the side of the mountain was well lit with spotlights highlighting the cliffs, no pretence of energy conservation here, and there were many places to park and take in the views down to the plain below with the lights of Al Ain in the distance. Photos are here.

The Mercure hotel sits on a cliff top with stunning views out over the UAE and Oman. The hotel has a hanging garden type theme, the carpets in the hallways have a river stone pattern, the walls in the corridors have jungle carpet on them and the open areas of the corridors have hanging vines from floor to ceiling. The rooms are big and have a balcony but unfortunately the room we were given was right underneath the nightclub. Might as well have moved the bed onto the dance floor it was that loud. The Philipino band in the nightclub wasn’t bad though and they did a pretty good version of “I will survive” which earnt them a big cheer from the crowd who by 1 or 2 am seemed to be really getting into the swing of things! While this was going on above us, from the hotel's pool area came the warbling of a trio who were playing a full repertoire of torturous MOR favourites; lots of BeeGees ballads and heaven help me, “Feeeeeelings, nothing more than feeeeelings”. That’s the sort of music that drives sensitive souls to homicide.

We spent the next morning by the pool dozing to recover from our involuntary Night on Disco Island. Later we went up to the top of the mountain where there is a large car park and restaurant. Its very popular with local people who come up there as it’s a lot cooler than down on the plain. Near the top of the mountain is the huge palace belonging to Sheikh Kalifa the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The staff quarters alone are huge and then there’s a long driveway lined with arches which winds up to the main house. We then drove down the mountain taking in the superb views and went to the Intercontinental Hotel at Al-Ain for the night. We spent the evening at a bbq with friends who live in Al-Ain. They bemoaned the state of SA rugby, Colin bemoaned the state of Aus rugby and I was obnoxiously confident that the AB’s are going to win the World Cup! (They’d better or I can never show my face in Al-Ain again…….)

We spent the following morning reading and, after retrieving the Prado, the afternoon was spent by the pool at the Intercon. Lovely facilities, well equiped gym and a pool designed like a rock pool with a swim-up bar that serves very tasty Virgin Pinacoladas.

In the late afternoon we returned to Dubai, looked at an Audi RS6 for sale out at Al Aweer, drooled over the other outrageous cars on sale out there (photos are here) and then went to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Gold Class, a first for me, and it’s the only way to go…… The movie is enjoyable but probably about half an hour too long and there were some side stories that really didn’t add anything to the film itself but that’s an extra half hour in Gold Class so there’s nothing wrong with that. Great special effects and Keith Richards is perfect as Johnny Depp’s Dad.

Aerosmith play here on Thursday at the Exiles Rugby Club, should be good.