Falling Flat at V Hotel Dubai
Curio Collection hotels are Hilton’s answer to being a cool and quirky lifestyle brand and appeal to a hip and happening crowd looking for an upscale stay with the promise of remarkable experiences in notable destinations.
Jumping straight to the V Hotel Dubai formally known as the W Hotel in Habtoor City and despite the proclamations of a recent upgrade, the overall styling and finishing of the destination looks tired and crass.
Perhaps what was someone’s psychedelic dream of a sleek and edgy haunt has been misunderstood in its execution leaving a space that looks and feels immediately dated and skating on thin ice when it comes to being a compelling hotel destination.
From the overly dark corridors still showing the rather W-esque carpets and stark blue and red sparkling black marble floors that a more reminiscent of an 80’s bowling alley - the visual style misses the mark entirely. The vivid smell of popcorn while entering the lobby did nothing to dispel this notion either.
Enter the suite itself and you’re met with mirrored walls, hidden cabinets and angular perspex countertops which is clearly someone’s idea of being edgy and different a feeling that is exemplified by placing a hot tub in the center of the room with a cheap digital neon style wall print behind it. Cramped and cluttered, the overall style seems disjointed and completely lacking in execution.
Elsewhere, curvilinear molded wall trims with recessed lighting and an illuminated wash basin attempt to turn the wow factor up to 10 while upon the closer inspection the abundance of blemishes and poor workmanship along with scuffs and scrapes and scratches render the entire episode as a failure.
Take for instance the lighting controls where multiple lights around the room are set on one switch forcing an all or nothing lighting arrangement - hardly conducive to mood making and just plain clumsy. The showers and toilet are hidden behind blacked out mirrored glass, while the mini bar (if you could call it that) does has an espresso machine offering 3 capsules of non-descript coffee to be served in paper cups and oddly ceramic saucers. Perhaps this is another attempt a being quirky. Perhaps more to the point it’s just another example of Habtoor Hospitality not having much of an idea about how to do hospitality.
It’s obvious that this is hotel that is trying to appeal to the late night Laboutin crowd and to that end the available night spots within the destination almost certainly do that and no doubt many of these smokey and well warn rooms would have some saucy stories to tell. However in terms of the V hotel being a stylish and up class spot worthy of a five star rating, well just like the attempt to be hip and cool that’s clearly the figment of someone’s imagination.
While beauty is most certainly in the eye of the beholder, the bottom line in 2023 is that there are so many well thought out and superbly executed sleek and edgy hotel concepts that are actually appealing that the V at its current price point simply does not stack up to the top billing it gives itself. A W hotel this is not and it’s completely obvious that the rebranding to V was a vain attempt to minimize the change over costs from Marriott’s W flagging.
To be fair, the beds were quite comfortable yet the pillows were inexplicably small - as in kids sized and the AC controls a mystery to mankind. The blackout curtains while not automatically controlled were nice and did what they were supposed too. Other items such as the hairdryer refused to work, while the electrical cabinet doors wouldn’t shut. Small things I know, but taken together they just typified the lackluster feeling of the room experience.
With the night behind us we moved to level seven for the breakfast which for some reason was not included when paying by honors points and cash resulting in the need to pay extra. The staff graciously reduced the price from the headline rate of 200 dirhams per person by half which was a most welcome development as the breakfast offerings were nothing short of bland in bland surrounds that were more akin to a military mess hall than an upscale hospitality play. We’ve had better breakfasts at 200 dirham a night hotels than this.
Moving on to the service and it was cordial bordering on friendly which summed up things nicely.
All in all, the overall experience was exceedingly average and we were left with the impression that the V is a budget airport hotel masquerading as a five star destination.
The Bottom Line:
Clearly portraying yourself as a unique five star offering sets expectations high. And there in lies the rub. If this Curio Collection hotel really focused on delivering once in a lifetime experiences in hand picked locations then paying 1500 dirhams a night for a stay might just be alluring, however in its current guise the V hotel Dubai has an awful long way to go to deliver on that promise.
