Staying at the Emirates Palace and wake boarding!!

So I am going to spend this blog trying to catch everyone up on whats been going on in the past couple of days. On Tuesday night we made our way to Abu Dhabi with plans on doing our phone calls by the pool at the Emirates Palace where one of the other teams is doing a project and living at the hotel. While there they were able to barter with the hotel 50 nights to stay there for space in their program. So I thought that I would just take like an hour to get all my work done then I would enjoy the rest of the day at the hotel well an hour turned into like eight and so finally right before eight pm I was able to get everything done and make my way to the pool where the two girls had been hanging out at the pool waiting on us for hours. About five pm though I went down stair and checked into my suite that they had arranged for me to stay in that night.

It was defenetly not like any other hotel check in I have ever experienced. They ask me to sit down in this lobby area and they start coming up to me and pouring Arabic coffee (which is a lot like strong tea) and prune type things that they grow here in Abu Dhabi. Then they escort me to my suite it is huge and very plush. With a huge 61 inch plasma TV on the wall, then they sit me at my desk and finish the rest of the paper work/check in process at my desk there in the suite. Right after that the butler rings the door bell and comes in with fresh squeezed orange juice and tells me all about the different features of the suite and hotel. And gave me his business card telling me that I would have my suites personal butler 24hours a day.

After returning from the pool Dell and Aileen had just gotten done checking in and were in there suite with their butler getting the grand tour. In fact they had been given a dozen roses when they were checked in, I mean this hotel really doesn’t miss anything when it comes to service. When discussing what to do that night one of the girls that is on the team in Abu Dhabi and the host of the night tells us that they had bartered with another hotel called the Oryx and for a huge house account in return for ad space so she could use the money anyway she wanted. She said that she really hadn’t used much of the account besides for a few massages, and said that we could go eat at their restaurant if we wanted.

So we made our way to the hotel for dinner. The restaurant was on top of the hotel probably on like the 20^th floor or so and had city views and a view of the pool terrace that was also on the same top floor. We had called the other team that was there in Abu Dhabi to join us they also brought there new trainee that started about the same time I did. It was funny to think how different our training must be, but for the same company, and just less then an hour away from each other but totally different experiences. Dinner was excellent I got the mixed grill with different rack of lamb, tenderloin etc. We made our way to the hotel and had drinks in the room where the butler came in and served us, it had a completely stocked mini bar that was complimentary.

They had made the room down for the night and had put slipper next to the bed and rose petals everywhere, next to the bed on the bathroom floor etc. and Belgium chocolates in a little gift box with ribbons next to the bed. It’s all about the little things at the Emirates Palace. We got up early the next morning to get to enjoy all of the water sports that were there at the hotel. Such as the lazy river, the 2 water slides, the beach etc. The hotel itself is soo massive that whenever you want to go from one side to the other where the pools are they have golf carts to drive you. When you come out to the pool the pool butlers come out and fix your three towels on the chair for you and sporadically come over and serve you chilled towels, fresh fruit, water etc. We ended up working in the desks there in our rooms and asked for later check out they said the latest we could do is 6pm. As the hotel was only at like 30% occupancy it would be no problem we knew. While we were in the lobby that evening we saw that they were having the launch of all of the new porches and were throwing a party, we wished that we would have had our suits to attend the event. The butler came to the girl’s room about 7pm to see if and when we were checking out; I couldn’t believe that we had stayed in our rooms till 7pm I think that is the latest check out ever.

We ended up hanging out in the other team’s suite afterwards having wine and had the butler bring up on a silver platter a nice selection of cheeses, breads and crackers. The next day was not a luxurious though. We made our way back that night and I ended up working a 13 hour day the next day training and making phone calls and putting the finishing touches on my introduction.

Then yesterday was my first day to go to meetings, the first was with a yacht company selling yachts 100 plus feet. It was interesting because he said that the largest private yacht in the world belonged to his highness Sheikh Mohammed – big surprise. Then the next meeting I was able to do my first introduction, it went well obviously there are things that could have been changed but, nothing that can’t be fixed with practice.

Then about five we made our way to our friend’s boat they had already been out on it and picked us up there at the marina at the Le Meriden where I had spent the day at the beach not too long ago. We ended up wakeboarding right off the shores of the palm there in the ocean. See the “trunk” and “leaves” make a barrier from the waves from the ocean. But what you have to watch out for are the wakes of the massive yachts coming in and out of the harbor. It is crazy the amount of massive houses and apartment towers that are being built on the palm. I ended up wake boarding for the first time with the palm and the skyscraper skyline on the shores of Dubai in the background. It was actually really easy and I got up on my first try. Around sunset we opened some wine and enjoyed it with cheeses, gourmet bread, and berries that we had brought with us. It was a perfect ending to a boating adventure with the sunset, and the skyline beginning to light up as it got dark. Since Amy was in town from Abu Dhabi for the night staying with us we went back home and got ready to go out to watch the soccer game. We went back to the tent place in the hotel Australia was playing Croatia and with Dell being Australian you can imagine who we were routing for. Australia ended up scoring a goal at the very last second.

Today we are in the car making our way back to Abu Dhabi and the Emirates Palace. We saw some wild camels on the side of the highway out in middle of the desert in between the two cities. It was what you imagine the typical dessert to look like.