Words by Yvonne C Mtengwa

A weekend rarely feels long enough. On Saadiyat Island, at the newly opened Bloom Arjaan by Rotana, ours did. With two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining table and a lounge to call our own, my two teenagers and I settled in as though we had borrowed a home beside Abu Dhabi’s museums and beaches.

In brief: Bloom Arjaan by Rotana is a 217-key hotel apartment property that opened at the end of July 2026 in Saadiyat Island’s Marina District, Abu Dhabi, next to NYU Abu Dhabi. Two-bedroom apartments start at 104 square metres with a full kitchen, Louvre Abu Dhabi is 4 km away, and guests get complimentary access to Saadiyat Beach Club.

Staycations are a habit I defend. Living in suburban Dubai, I know how quickly a weekend can disappear into errands, screens and task lists. So, when the invitation came to review Bloom Arjaan by Rotana, which opened on Saadiyat Island at the end of July, with suitcases packed, I took my two teenagers with me, with the drive from Expo City area taking just under 50 minutes.

Saadiyat is not new to me, and neither is Abu Dhabi. I lived in this city for six years, and it holds a host of memories as the place where my life as a UAE resident began. In my agency years I worked on communications for projects on this island, among them Mamsha Al Saadiyat and the lead-up to the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi. Much of what we described to journalists then was still a drawing. Returning as a guest here, ever so often with two teenagers in the car, I wanted to see what the island had become since I last stayed at another hotel on the island.

The hotel had been open for only a few days when we pulled in. Arrival was swift all the same. We were early, and the team checked us in ahead of time, a small kindness that set the tone for the weekend.

My teenagers are seasoned hotel guests, and they carry opinions. Space matters to them. So does what there is to do nearby. Above all, they judge a place on how it looks and how it feeds them. Bloom Arjaan would be marked on all four.

An Island That Kept Its Promise

Bloom Arjaan by Rotana stands on Laffan Street in the island’s Marina District, with NYU Abu Dhabi for a neighbour. It is a hotel apartment property of 217 keys, developed by Bloom Holding and run by Rotana under its Arjaan brand. Doors opened right at the end of July 2026.

What surrounds it is the reason to come. The Saadiyat Cultural District is minutes away. Louvre Abu Dhabi is 4km from the door, with teamLab Phenomena close by. Zayed National Museum and the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi both opened late last year, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has been announced to follow in December 2026. The Abrahamic Family House is 3km away, and guests have complimentary access to Saadiyat Beach Club. For teenagers who want things to do, that is a full weekend without once returning to the highway.

Two Bedrooms and a Kitchen Table

We were given a two-bedroom suite, and the word that stayed with me all weekend was room. The hotel’s two-bedroom apartments start at 104 square metres and sleep up to five, with a fully equipped kitchen, a washing machine, a dining area and a lounge.

Those are fittings on a fact sheet until you live in them with teenagers. Mine loved the suite for how spacious it was. Everyone found a little corner to settle into without infringing on anyone else’s, and we still met at the dining table and on the sofa, much as we do at home.

We did not cook and did not need to. Waiting for us was a table set with welcome treats to nibble on, a well-curated gift bag and a handwritten note from the hotel manager, Marwa Mustafa. A handwritten welcome is a touch I appreciate every time I check into a hotel.

Dinner Downstairs, Two Nights Running

What we loved most was the dining downstairs. Distrikt Social is the hotel’s all-day café, terrace and bar, and its menu is a robust one. The tapas were tasty and arrived looking nothing like tradition says they should, which earned approval from the two critics at my table.

Breakfast produced the weekend’s treats: corn dogs and caramel French toast. As for me, I ordered the steak on our first evening. It was cooked so precisely to my liking that I ordered it again on the second.

Peak Summer, Happily Indoors

We came at the peak of summer, and I will be honest about how we spent it. With scorching temperatures outside, we much preferred the cool of the air conditioning and a Netflix series watched back to back. A suite this size makes a pleasure of that, where a standard hotel room would have had three of us climbing the walls. We saved the beach for the end of the day.

The rest can wait for a cooler month. The hotel’s infinity pool is set on a bridge that links its two buildings, some 30 metres above the ground, and the museums of the Cultural District are not going anywhere.

New Friends by Checkout

The team were particularly friendly, and by the time we left they felt very much like new friends. Marwa Mustafa set the example. She would pop over for a quick chat at mealtimes, and we came to enjoy how often she checked in on us. In a hotel’s first days, that kind of presence from the person in charge counts for a great deal.

The Verdict

Bloom Arjaan by Rotana suits families, longer stays and anyone planning a weekend around Saadiyat’s museums. Space is the luxury here: enough of it for everyone to be together, and apart. Pet owners are welcome too, in dedicated apartments – and elevators.

It is a hotel apartment, and it does not pretend otherwise. There is one restaurant and bar, a fitness club with a sauna and whirlpool, and the beach is at Saadiyat Beach Club, not on the doorstep. If you want a beachfront resort with a spa and a choice of restaurants, this is the wrong address.

For a family that wants Abu Dhabi’s cultural heart close by and a home to return to at the end of the day, I would go back, in a cooler month, to do the island justice. On space and on food, it passed the teenage test comfortably, and I am well confident that younger children and the young at heart in the elderly years would be quite happy here.

Plan Your Stay

• Getting there: Just under 50 minutes by car from Expo City Dubai. About 20 minutes from Zayed International Airport, 24km away
• Best time: October to April for the pool, the beach and walking between museums. The museums themselves work year-round
• Stay: Two nights for a weekend. Three if you want a slow day between museum visits
• Rates: Rates change daily with the hotel’s offers. See Bloom Arjaan by Rotana for the current price
• Good for: Families with children, under tens or teenagers, longer stays, culture-led weekends, travellers with pets
• Check-in: From 3pm, with early check-in on request and subject to availability

Frequently Asked Questions

To learn more about Bloom Arjaan by Rotana, visit: https://www.rotana.com/arjaanhotelapartments/unitedarabemirates/abudhabi/bloomarjaanbyrotana

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