A splendid Steigenberger stay!

I’m sure you have all heard the news by now – I’M ENGAGED!! (stay tuned for that blog post with all the details including the images of me hysterically crying!) First, let me take you back to the morning of the proposal where in a strange turn of events I believed I was going to surprise Eddy with a magical experience – little did I know what he had in store.

For weeks I had been planning a secret trip to The 5 Star Steigenberger Hotel Dubai in order to surprise Eddy for a long weekend staycation. I had noticed that he was increasingly stressed out and wasn’t sleeping very well (it all made sense why after the proposal) I wanted him to have a break, so he could forget about his worries and just relax. I knew he would have been even more stressed if I surprised him with an impromptu holiday somewhere so instead I decided that the best bet would be for a staycation right on our doorstep in the heart of Dubai.

The Steigenberger Hotel, located in a fantastic location in Business Bay with spectacular views of the Burj Khalifa, Downtown and the Dubai Canal was just perfect. It had everything we needed for a relaxed staycation – a multitude of onsite restaurants, pool, gym and spa. I knew that over the 3 day period we wouldn’t have to leave the hotel and that is exactly what Eddy and I needed.

The way I roped Eddy in on the ruse was pretty easy. I told him that I had booked brunch at one of the restaurants within the hotel – Brothaus. Now the hard part was trying to convince him why I needed to bring a suitcase along as well. I secretly packed all the things he would need below a mountain of my own clothes. I told him that I needed the suitcase as I would be changing outfits throughout the day for a photoshoot that I had later that evening with one of our friends who was a photographer. I even pretended that I had some of the photographers gear in the suitcase in case he asked me why it was so heavy.

When he saw the size of the suitcase I thought my crafty plan had fallen apart – he wasn’t buying it. Once I explained what I had inside and the fact that we would be able to keep it at concierge since the brunch was within a hotel he reluctantly agreed to cart it around the whole day in the heat of Dubai – this is why I love him!

So we hopped in a taxi where I proceeded to tell him what an amazing surprise I had instore for him, looking back now we laugh about this moment because he was thinking – if only you knew what I had planned.

We arrived at the beautiful Steigenberger and were immediately helped with our suitcase. Eddy refused the help and told the porter that we were actually not staying. I went straight to reception to ask if they could hold the bag while we went for brunch while Eddy sat with the suitcase. Little did he know I was actually checking in!! I was so pleased with myself that the plan had worked!

Once I received the key I broke the news to him “SURPRISE – we’re staying here!” that’s when I saw the realisation hit him and he understood why I had the suitcase. He later told me he thought I was crazy carrying that many outfits around for one day in Dubai but he knew better than to argue with me.

He finally allowed our suitcase to be taken and we hopped into the lift to find our room. As we were walking down the corridor we noticed a room that looked very different to all the rest – this room had magnificent double doors. To both of our surprise we looked down at our room key and back at the door – this was ours!! We couldn’t believe it and just stood there in shock for a while.

We entered the room and were told it was the Presidential Suite!!! Eddy and I are very used to staying in hotels and it takes a lot to impress us but this was just beyond incredible. We had no words while we walked around the 125 sqm suite. This was better than anything I could have ever planned or imagined for our staycation.

The Steigenberger’s flagship suite has beautiful floor to ceiling sweeping views of the Dubai Canal. It is quite magical to see sunrise and sunset from here. We didn’t even end up closing the curtains as why would you when you have a view as magical as this!

The room also boasts an enormous lush king size bed with complimentary pillow menu. You can choose from a whole range of different pillows including an orthopaedic, buckwheat, body, ultra soft microfibre, memory foam or medium firm polyester pillow.

The master marble bathroom has a walk-in rain shower and separate bath tub and toilet complete with in house Steigenberger branded amenities. There is also a visitor bathroom with walk-in robe/ make up facilities too for any guests that may drop by!

All my dreams came true once I saw the walk-in wardrobe connected to the bedroom. With more than enough space to display all my shoes, handbags, hats and clothes I can only wish that one day I have a room like this in my house! I also loved the addition of a beautiful mirrored jewellery box as well. I didn’t realise at the time of taking these pictures that I would be displaying a certain special ring with pride of place in there that very night!

The Presidential Suite also has a separate living and dining space that are beautifully decorated. It has all the latest in in-room technology including a BOSE entertainment system and two 55-inch smart televisions – one in the living area and the other in the bedroom. The suite is also fitted with a Playstation 4 much to Eddy’s delight. He would happily sit and play Fortnite for the entire weekend if he could!

An Apple iMac and wireless printing facilities are available on a large working desk which actually came in very handy as Eddy and I needed to photocopy our passports and I also got a chance to work on my blog.

The surprises didn’t end there, we assumed that the last door in the room was just a storage area but it actually revealed a fully-equipped kitchenette and pantry with a complete mini bar stocked in the fridge. Can this room get any more fabulous?!

Not only was our room magnificent but we also had access to the recently opened Steigenberger Club Lounge located on the 19th floor of the hotel which offers all day refreshments. We visited daily for breakfast and tried something new from the Egg breakfast menu every time, each dish was delicious. My pick would have to be the shakshouka. They also offer afternoon tea and evening canapés and cocktails in a quiet and relaxed dining and lounge area. Club Lounge access is complimentary for guests staying in suites.

Every Friday the onsite restaurant Brothaus hosts an amazing brunch called Friday Social – where breakfast meets lunch. Eddy and I couldn’t miss out on that! Brothaus is actually a German bakery/bistro that has a lovely outdoor terrace where you can enjoy the brunch. Eddy and I decided we were going to have the Full Frankfurt which meant we had unlimited access to the Market Stall buffet and juice counter, we also got to choose 1 main course from the menu accompanied with a coffee or tea all for only 145 dirhams, bargain! There is also the option to add on an alcoholic drinks package for 100 dirhams.

The Summer Market Stall buffet was my favourite as it featured a range of different fresh foods including muesli, granola, fresh breads, pretzels, European cold cuts, cheese and even a raclette station! They also do the best schnitzel in town so if you’re craving some German food Brothaus is definitely the place to be.

To make our stay even sweeter I was presented with the most amazing welcome gift –  a bespoke cake! The 3D cake was the incredible creation of Cakes by Heidi talented cake stylist Nickola Dsouza who we had the pleasure of meeting. She revealed she modelled the cake from one of my Instagram posts and that it took days to put together! From German delicacies to bespoke cakes decorated with fondant, flowers or 3D designs this beautiful creation was almost too good to eat. Much to my delight Nickola got the cake just right, the inside was my favourite – chocolate mud!!

That night Eddy proposed and to say I didn’t see it coming was an understatement. I had absolutely no clue, I was completely fooled into thinking I was going to a photoshoot! More on that in my next post though.

As you can imagine I was over the moon when it happened and coming back to our beautiful suite at the Steigenberger really just made our day even better. We arrived to a beautifully turn-downed bed with a surprise little present to cheers to the perfect night!

Our couples spa day couldn’t have come at a better time. Eddy finally wasn’t stressed that I would somehow find out about the proposal or accidentally discover the ring. So we took the whole day to just relax and unwind at the Steigenberger Spa and enjoy our first day together being engaged!  Our mandatory dress code for the day was a cozy robe and slippers.

The Spa at the Steigenberger is a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of Downtown Dubai where they only use luxurious Babor and Thalgo products. For our couples treatment Eddy decided he would be having a 60 minute Barbor Mens Energising facial which soothes tightness, redness and razor burns. I opted for a 60 minute Nourishing Candle massage which was a fusion of Balinese and Aromatherapy massage techniques and included the use of a warm wax candle made of Argan Oil and Shea butter in order to leave skin fully nourished.

Arrive early so that you have the chance to enjoy all the facilities available at the spa including a fitness centre, squash court, outdoor lap-pool, outdoor Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and rain forest showers. I would definitely recommend putting aside a whole day to indulge in all the facilities especially the relaxation room where you can enjoy a soothing green tea – the perfect place to unwind after a treatment to ensure you leave revitalised!

The Steigenberger Hotel in Dubai ensures to turn a pleasant stay into a precious memory and will forever hold a very special place in our hearts for making our engagement that extra bit special.

The engagement reveal post is on the way – promise!

Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay
Steigenberger Dubai website
Instagram: @steigenbergerdubai
Email: business-bay.dubai@steigenberger.com
Phone: +971 4 369 0000