I think I found Abu Dhabi’s Best All-Inclusive Hotel…

I spent two nights at Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island with my two children, Rocco and Tahlia, and my nephew, and came away thinking this is quite simply the best all-inclusive hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Rixos calls its concept “All-Inclusive, All-Exclusive”, which is a slightly grand way of saying that this isn’t all-inclusive in the traditional sense. You get all the convenience, food, drinks, activities and entertainment largely taken care of, while still feeling as though you’re staying in a proper luxury hotel.

And then there’s the beach.

Saadiyat Island has one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the UAE; powdery white sand and wonderfully clear turquoise water. On the right day it genuinely has a Maldives feel to it, except you’ve arrived in Abu Dhabi rather than spent half a day getting there by plane, boat and seaplane.

The hotel itself is big, glamorous and polished, but what impressed me most was how well it works for families with children of different ages.

The younger ones have the Rixy Kids Club, water park, slides and endless organised activities. The water park probably leans more towards younger children, although the wave pool was great fun and definitely isn’t just for five-year-olds.

Where Rixos really gets it right, though, is with teenagers.

The teens facilities are excellent, particularly the computer gaming room. Hotels often advertise themselves as brilliant for families and then provide endless entertainment for six-year-olds while apparently assuming teenagers will entertain themselves. Here, they’ve actually thought about what older children want; gaming, sport, somewhere to hang out and a little independence.

And if that wasn’t enough, the boys headed off to Ferrari World for the day.

Ferrari World is over on Yas Island and is one of those Abu Dhabi attractions that works particularly well with older children and teenagers. It’s not simply a collection of Ferraris to look at: there are more than 40 rides and experiences, racing simulators and some seriously ambitious rollercoasters.

Its headline attraction is Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest rollercoaster launch, which fires riders from 0 to 240km/h. So while the boys were getting their adrenaline fix at Ferrari World, the alternative of staying behind on that Saadiyat beach didn’t exactly feel like a hardship.

That is one of the big advantages of staying at Rixos, you have a resort holiday without being cut off from Abu Dhabi.

And Abu Dhabi itself is increasingly worth exploring rather than simply treating it as a place to fly into and head straight for the sunbed.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is actually on Saadiyat Island and is worth seeing even if you don’t consider yourself a serious museum person. It’s the Arab world’s first universal museum, with art and objects telling the story of human creativity across different civilisations and thousands of years.

The building is arguably as spectacular as what’s inside. Designed by Jean Nouvel, it sits beside the sea beneath an enormous geometric dome that filters the fierce Abu Dhabi sunlight to create its famous shifting “rain of light” effect. It’s one of those rare museums where you can happily spend as much time photographing the architecture as looking at the art.

Then there’s the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which should be on the list for any first visit to Abu Dhabi. It is one of the world’s largest mosques, with vast white marble courtyards, reflective pools, enormous chandeliers and an extraordinary hand-knotted carpet in the main prayer hall.

So Abu Dhabi gives you a rather unusual combination: beach in the morning, the Louvre in the afternoon, one of the world’s great mosques at sunset, or send the teenagers off to be fired around Ferrari World at 240km/h.

Back at Rixos, there are plenty of reasons not to go anywhere at all.

One of my favourites was the pool service.

Waiters on roller skates.

It sounds slightly ridiculous, but I loved it. Staff glide around delivering drinks, snacks and ice creams to guests around the pool. There’s something wonderfully indulgent about lying on a sunbed beside the Arabian Gulf and having your drink arrive at speed on eight wheels.

Food is another reason the hotel stands out from the usual all-inclusive experience. There are several restaurants, so you don’t feel condemned to eating from the same enormous buffet morning, noon and night.

Our standout was the teppanyaki.

It isn’t included in the standard all-inclusive package and there is an additional charge, but it was absolutely worth paying for. The chef cooks everything in front of you with all the flames, flying utensils and theatre you’d hope for, so dinner becomes part meal, part entertainment. With three children at the table, it was always going to be a winner.

And that’s really the clever thing about Rixos Premium Saadiyat.

It manages to be very family-friendly without feeling like you’re staying in a children’s resort.

You can spend the morning on one of the UAE’s most beautiful beaches, have lunch without thinking about the bill, let the children disappear to the gaming room or water park, enjoy the pool, head to the gym and then have a genuinely good dinner in the evening.

There are enough activities to keep everyone occupied, but you can equally do absolutely nothing.

For me, the beach remains the star of the hotel. There are plenty of spectacular five-star hotels across the UAE, but you can’t manufacture the natural beauty of Saadiyat. The white sand and colour of the water give Rixos a genuine sense of being somewhere much more remote.

Who is it for?

Rixos Premium Saadiyat is particularly good for families who want a luxury holiday but also want their children to have some independence. If you have teenagers, I’d put it especially high on the list.

It’s also ideal for people who love the convenience of all-inclusive but are normally slightly suspicious of the concept. Here, all-inclusive doesn’t mean compromising on surroundings, service or food. It simply means you can relax without constantly signing another bill.

There are optional extras, the teppanyaki being one, but importantly, you don’t feel as though you need to keep paying supplements to have a good experience.

After two nights with Rocco, Tahlia and my nephew, my verdict was pretty simple:

Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island is all-inclusive done properly.

Fantastic facilities for children, some of the best facilities I’ve seen for teenagers, good food, a brilliantly theatrical teppanyaki dinner, roller-skating waiters, a wave pool that is far too much fun whatever your age, and one of the best beaches in the UAE.

Add Ferrari World, the Louvre, the Grand Mosque and everything else Abu Dhabi has on its doorstep, and it works equally well as a fly-and-flop beach holiday or a base for actually exploring the city.

Maldives looks, Abu Dhabi convenience and almost everything already paid for.

That’s a fairly difficult combination to beat.