The rise of Dubai is really something to behold. In the 1970s, the emirate was just sand and desert as far as the eye could see. Today, it’s a world-class destination for the rich, famous and would-be rich.
Despite the raging heat of the Dubai day, the beach club scene here is thriving (at least in part thanks to the outdoor air-conditioning that was invented here), and Azure Beach Dubai is rumoured to be one of the best beach clubs in the UAE.
So, our team were only too happy to get their review sheets, swimming costumes, and sunglasses and head to Azure Beach Dubai and this is what they learned there.
Introduction – Getting To Azure Beach Dubai
Azure Beach is in one of the most popular tourist areas of Dubai. Getting to Dubai is fairly easy from most major destinations in the world with direct flights from most of Europe, Asia, Australia and even some from the Americas.
And if you can’t get a direct flight, it should be fairly easy to find a connection to Dubai.
Once you’re in Dubai, the odds are pretty good that if you’re a tourist, you will be staying near the Jumeirah Beach Area, so it should be a short drive to the beach club.
Traffic in Dubai can be pretty brutal, though, so make sure to leave early if your booking is around the rush hour times.
Then, there’s no worry about parking at Azure Beach Dubai, as with everything in the Emirate, there’s onsite valet parking.
Where Is Azure Beach Dubai? Rixos Premium Dubai – Jumeirah Beach Residence – Dubai – United Arab Emirates
Online: Azure Beach
Opening Hours: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily, though hours may be subject to change during Ramadan or on public holidays
What’s Available At Azure Beach Dubai?
Azure Beach Club has several pool areas, comfortable seating that you can enjoy for a minimum spend agreement, live resident DJs and entertainment, as well as restaurant and bar facilities.
On Sundays, there is also a brunch offering. Dubai brunches are legendary for their value for money in a place where everything, particularly alcohol, is often very expensive indeed.
Our Detailed Review Of Azure Beach Dubai
We utilise a consistent method to evaluate every beach club, ensuring fair treatment for owners, management, and staff, and presenting reviews in a standardised format that facilitates easy venue comparisons.
The evaluation process is outlined as follows:
- A team is designated to assess the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the option to visit independently and on varying days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, rating the club from 1 (least commendable) to 5 (most commendable) in specified categories, while also documenting their experiences.
- After all team members have submitted their scorecards, they gather to discuss their observations and determine final scores for each category.
- A designated team member then drafts the review, incorporating the team’s discussions and final scores, before it is shared on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
We had high hopes when we saw the book your experience button for a real booking engine, but we should have known that wasn’t going to be the case. Without a doubt, the most neglected part of the beach club experience worldwide is booking.
Azure does have a booking engine, which is marginally better than most. But it’s not very good. Firstly, you are required to decide roughly where you want to sit before you can enter the booking process.
This is silly, as it prevents you from changing your mind later and just adjusting the option accordingly.
Then, you are required to fill in a lengthy form that neglects to explain the fees for the day, etc. On the bright side, for you, it doesn’t require you to pay a deposit.
But on the downside, for you, that means Azure Beach Club has no incentive at all to hold your reservation beyond the allotted time. So, make sure to turn up on time.
This is a chain of beach clubs; they really need to sort out this booking system and build something fit for purpose.
Ambience and Atmosphere
If there was ever a beach club where you could smell money in the air, it’s Azure Beach Dubai. This isn’t the indulgent excess of the celebrity class.
This is where the ordinary millionaires and their families go on holiday, passing through the world almost unnoticed and spending a small fortune on a daybed and some food and drinks for the day.
And it’s nice. Who doesn’t want to feel a bit special on their holiday? Azure Beach Dubai makes you feel like you’ve made it, and that’s something that everyone wants to feel at least once in their life.
However, there’s no doubt that you can also feel how exclusionary this life is, too, and that’s where our final point in this category goes to the people who will never be able to afford to go inside.
Location And Accessibility
Dubai is one of the most accessible places on Earth. The airport here is a major transit hub between the major continents, and it’s also a very desirable place to live and work.
The Emirate has a long tradition of allowing its visitors a lot of leeway to just enjoy themselves despite the strict Islamic culture around them.
The only downside of Dubai is that the traffic can get a bit rough at times, but the vast majority of the beach clubs are bunched together in Jumeirah in order to be close to the main tourist hotels, which helps.
Overall, the location here is very nice, and you won’t have any problems parking at this beach club; valet service is standard throughout Dubai. It’s simply too hot to walk from a car park to the front door.
Aesthetic And Design
This is a very striking beach club, and while there are certainly some corporate touches to the place, overall, you’re going to find that your jaw hits the floor the first time that you walk through the door.
The swimming pools are very nicely put together to ensure that everyone is playing around a central feature for the day.
The only drawback at Azure Beach Dubai is that this place is huge. That’s great when it’s full and people are having fun, but when it’s not so full, it can feel quite empty even when in reality it’s still fairly busy.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
It’s Dubai, and in this town, all the staff are friendly and professional, exceptionally so. That’s because the wages here mean that they can draw from the best and brightest talent from around the world.
You know that the staff will ensure you have an amazing experience at Azure Beach Dubai, and they know the menu, the local area and Dubai well enough to answer any questions that you may have.
Going the extra mile is absolutely standard in places like this, and the staff are only too happy to demonstrate this when given an opportunity.
Service Speed and Efficiency
However, there’s no doubt that sometimes, the scale of this place seems to collude against the staff, and when things get busy inside Azure Beach Club, things slow down quite a bit.
On several visits, we felt that things flowed very well from order to table until the later part of the day, and then things didn’t.
It’s too hot in Dubai to sit around waiting for ages for a drink to turn up, and we found that kind of frustrating. It was clear that the staff were apologetic for the delays, but that’s not as good as getting it right.
Food Quality and Variety
The menu is a bit smaller than we’ve come to expect at beach clubs, especially one as large and imposing as Azure Beach.
Having said that, it does allow them to focus more on preparing each dish expertly, and the quality of the food was first-rate.
It is a bit expensive for what it is, but this is Dubai, and everything is a bit expensive for what it is. Overall, the menu here will keep a family happy for a day, and that’s the main thing.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
It’s the shortest drink list that we think we’ve ever seen at a big-name beach club, and it’s clear that there’s a certain, “this is Dubai, everyone drinks champagne” vibe to it.
Well, we do like champagne, but not at Dubai prices, and we felt that the drink list here was a bit limiting.
However, the cocktails are excellent, and they are beautifully presented; your Instagram feed will look great with a few snaps on it.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
You don’t visit places like Azure Beach Dubai to be surrounded by filth; in fact, we suspect they would be entirely empty if there was even a hint of poor hygiene in the beach club.
Fortunately, there isn’t. Given the scale of this operation, it’s very impressive how clean they keep things, and the pools all have lovely, clear water, and the changing rooms, furniture, toilets, etc. are all sparkling too.
We really appreciate the attention to detail in this area; it makes the price tag a little easier to bear.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
There’s a certain corporate feel to the seating, but that’s not all in a bad way. While it does give it a very “out of a beach club catalogue” feel, there’s no doubt that it’s high quality.
We found the daybeds here among the most comfortable that we’ve tried in Dubai, and while the minimum spend is quite high, we don’t think that most people will struggle to spend that much when they spend a day at this beach club, either.
You’re not going to need or want to change seats in this place, and that’s super important given just how hot it gets in Dubai.
Music and Entertainment
The resident DJs really weren’t anything to write home about, though we did feel that it was a marginal improvement over piped music throughout the venue.
The entertainment was a little thinner on the ground than we’d have liked, though, when you compare it to somewhere like FINNS Beach Club in Bali, it was alright, rather than spectacular.
However, we feel that Azure Beach Club should be commended for at least trying to break the standard mould of beach club sounds in Dubai.
Seasonality
This is Dubai, and it’s hot and sunny all year long. The emirate considers itself lucky to get 2 or 3 rainfalls a year, and it’s very rare for rain to last more than a couple of hours.
So, you can be assured that you’re almost guaranteed to get good weather on the day that you visit Azure Beach Club.
Just be warned, the heat in Dubai is like nothing most people have ever experienced. You should ensure you have sunscreen, that you spend most of your time under shade and that you pay close attention to your hydration.
Pricing and Value for Money
We don’t feel that Azure Beach Dubai is bad value for Dubai. In fact, we think it’s probably one of the better places in Dubai in terms of value for money.
However, this is the world’s best beach clubs’ site and when we consider what you spend in this beach club compared to what you might spend in Bali or Phuket?
Then, we have to acknowledge that this isn’t the best value for money. Of course, if you’re in Dubai, it’s a decent deal, but if you’re choosing your holiday based on spending time at beach clubs, we’d give Dubai a wide berth unless you have very deep pockets.
Beach Access and Quality
The beach here is sparkling clean, but it’s not a real beach; it’s reclaimed land with imported sand (the irony in a desert nation is not lost on anyone).
However, it’s lovely and soft beneath your feet, but don’t forget your flip-flops; the sand in the Dubai sun will burn your soles almost immediately.
Nobody swims in the sea here, though it doesn’t matter too much; the pools at Azure Beach Dubai are amazing.
Sustainability Practices
We are really impressed by the parent company’s commitment to sustainability. Unlike many of the world’s beach clubs, they are proud to report on their goals and progress towards them.
They have an on-site glass crusher to turn used glass into sand. They also make new glass products out of larger glass particles. They upcycle fruit waste and use it in beverage production.
They measure plastic container replacement by using multi-use aluminium containers, they’ve replaced plastic bottles with glass, they recycle cooking oil, plant trees and more.
There’s still some work to be done, but Azure Beach has done some impressive work here.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
You get a daybed (as long as you agree to a minimum spend) and a towel, but not much more. To be honest, we expect more from a beach club like this.
We don’t even mind paying a premium for a bit of extra luxury. Where’s the VIP perks list?
Safety and Security
It’s Dubai, safety and security are always paramount. Vehicles are inspected on entry, and bag searches are conducted as necessary.
There is always a security team on hand to deal with any issues arising from excessive alcohol consumption, too.
Event Hosting Capabilities
They have a first-rate events team capable of handling pretty much anything you can throw at them. This is Dubai, and it’s the MICE centre of the world.
You know that your events will be handled professionally here, though they will be expensive.
Consistency of Experience
These facilities are always very consistent, and our review team, the other customers and the online reviews all agree that you can rely on Azure Beach Dubai to deliver a very good experience every time that you visit.
However, there’s no real sign of the process of constant reinvention that would deliver top marks in this category. Resting on your laurels is fine when you’re this good, but you can always do better.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
These beach club has all the amenities you can reasonably expect to find, and if you need anything else, you’re not far from the rest of Dubai. It will be a short drive, rather than a short walk, though – the heat won’t allow for a walk.
Summary
Azure Beach Dubai is famous for being one of the best beach clubs in Dubai. It’s a highly polished and well-maintained operation that seems to take its reputation seriously.
The food and drinks are very good, though, as with almost everything in Dubai, they’re not cheap, and the fee for the daybeds is, at least, credited back as a minimum spend – something you can’t say about all beach clubs in Dubai, many of which charge you just to sit down.
The swimming pool area is absolutely stunning, and you’re going to really enjoy grabbing some snaps for your Instagram account here.
Overall, it’s not the best value for money (by a long stretch), but if you want a luxurious day out in the UAE, Azure Beach Dubai is a great place for it.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Azure Beach Dubai?
Yes, there’s so much pool space at Azure Beach Dubai that you can pretty much always get a decent swim in, even if the place gets particularly busy.
You could also go swimming in the ocean, as there is unrestricted access to the beach at this club; however, in practice, people don’t swim in the sea in Dubai due to the water quality and the risks associated with riptides, etc.
It’s best to stick to the pools, and at Azure Beach Dubai, there is no doubt that the pools are some of the most spectacular you’re likely to encounter in the Emirate.
What Is There To Do At Azure Beach Dubai?
Azure Beach offers comfortable seating areas, several pool areas, restaurant and bar facilities, resident DJs, and on-site entertainment that seeks to transform the beach club experience.
Is Azure Beach Dubai A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yes, the Azure Beach Club in Dubai allows children in the venue, though they stipulate that any child under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.
You should be aware, though, that the main pool near the main pool island beds is restricted to adults only, and children are not allowed to swim there under any circumstances.
Unlike in some beach clubs, where you pay per person, in Azure, you rent a specific bed or cabana and then the appropriate number of people may use it. Children count as one person for the head count.
One thing you should be aware of is that although there is a lifeguard on duty at all times in Azure Beach Club, you are expected to take responsibility for your children’s safety and keep an eye on them.
And while the UAE is famously one of the most family-friendly countries in the world, you are also expected to ensure that your children don’t annoy the other guests during their time in Azure.
Who Is The Owner Of Azure Beach Dubai?
Azure Beach Club is part of the larger Azure Complex in Dubai, which in turn is owned by Century Properties Group. This is an international investment consortium that specialises in luxury seaside property.
There are other Azure-branded beach clubs in Qatar, Bahrain and Marbella, and it seems likely that the group will continue to make similar investments in other markets as opportunities arise.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Azure Beach Dubai
Azure Beach Club is the epitome of Dubai luxury. While it’s far too expensive for us to recommend as a regular beach club, if you’re in the emirate for business or a holiday, we can certainly recommend treating yourself to a day here.
The brunch packages on weekends deliver some very good deals on alcohol and food, if you want to keep your costs down a little (though, unusually for Dubai, the brunch here is on a Sunday, not a Friday).
Overall, if you want a day of being waited on hand and foot, relaxing by the pool and enjoying the incredibly hot sun of Dubai, then you can’t really go too wrong at Azure Beach Dubai.
