What to expect from all-inclusive dining at UAE resort hotels (quality issues to watch for)?

At breakfast, ask the waiter for poached eggs or eggs Benedict, avocado, and lightly salted red fish; these items are not advertised or proactively offered. Fish availability can vary from one day to the next, and sashimi may also be available on request.

On an all-inclusive plan, guests can ask a chef to prepare a custom lunch or dinner dish in advance, including for a group. One example was whole grilled ocean sea bass served with grilled vegetables, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes.

An extra daytime meal outside the main restaurant may be expensive and not filling: Zanzibar was reported to cost AED 100 per person while offering very little food.

A different guest reported plenty of food at another resort in the same discussion — varied meats (lamb, beef, poultry), several kinds of fish, and coffee from coffee machines with different options. Also noted a good beach with turtles nearby, though the hotel building casts shade over part of the bay.

When choosing a hotel, ask if oysters/seafood are included in the all-inclusive dinner without extra charge — at some resorts (e.g. Rixos Marina) guests had zero complaints about food, and kids' meals were prepared separately at no extra cost.

After a full-day excursion (returning around 11pm), many UAE hotels have no food available — kitchens and restaurants close by then, so bring snacks with you in advance.

At some hotels, red fish/salmon was completely absent from breakfast for 12 straight days, even though older photos showed eggs Benedict with salmon — now chefs only offer the ham version.

Breakfast fruit is often limited to watermelon and melon, with bananas, apples, oranges, pineapple or fruit salad appearing only occasionally — unlike other UAE hotels where the fruit selection is much wider.

Drinks at some hotels are heavily diluted: hibiscus tea (karkade) is nearly flavorless, cold coffee tastes like coffee-flavored water, and orange juice comes from a large 5-liter jug; soda (Pepsi, 7Up) is self-serve.

A surprising gap even for a 5-star property: no coffee or tea is served at dinner at all — worth confirming with the hotel before booking.

On the plus side, pastries and desserts tend to stand out — pecans and puddings/cupcakes get good reviews despite otherwise weak food quality (guests rated the food 3/5 and restaurant cleanliness 2/5).