Nestled between regional heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, Bahrain often flies under the radar as a destination. While it is unlikely to ever be a destination that could justify a two-week holiday, stopovers in conjunction with a cheap-ish Business Class flight on Gulf Air can prove a good opportunity to explore this country. The country’s population and hotels are largely centred around the capital Manama, which is where I stayed during this flying visit. I opted for Le Meridien – a hotel that is part of the Marriott Bonvoy programme.
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Getting there
Le Meridien City Centre Bahrain, to use the full name, is located in the North West of Manama near the Seef district. There is no metro system from the airport to city centre with sporadic bus connections taking about one hour. Uber and Careem are available in Manama to get around the city, including to/from the airport. As with anywhere in the Middle East, this is not a walkable city during daylight hours – so taxis will be your friend to get around.
The hotel itself is physically connected to a shopping mall through a private corridor, where you can access mostly fast food restaurants, clothing shops and a Carrefour.
The experience
Having arrived late in the evening from the airport, I just wanted to get into bed as soon as possible. The staff probably recognised this and quickly got me checked into my room with little fuss or fanfare, thankfully. I had opted for the base level Superior room for this stay, which can usually be found around ~GBP 120-150 per night.
At the heart of the room is the firm King-sized bed which, paired with the Arctic-level air conditioning, meant I slept extremely well during this short visit. While this is a chain hotel, I liked the small touches that made the room feel less bare – such as the Arabic calligraphy on the wall.
Elsewhere in the bedroom was a chaise-longue that feels a little redundant and not particularly useful as well as a fairly sized desk below the television. The desk paired with a proper chair and respectable WiFi, albeit noting the usual internet restrictions in this part of the world, would make this a good place to work from. Too many hotels are opting for the most comfortable set-ups, so this is good to see.
Plenty of bottled water is provided by the hotel without extra charge, which is always welcome in a country where tap water is not recommended for consumption. The hotel provided a basket of fruit and some biscuits for this stay, which was probably as a result of my Marriott Gold status which I held at the time of stay. While Nespresso can be of variable quality, that wasn’t to be found here with Nescafe sachets available instead – a bit of a disappointment for a hotel that is the mid-range category. Le Meridien do provide a complimentary one-off barista-made coffee as part of stays, which does make up for this somewhat.
There wasn’t a tonne to see out the window, beyond the quite obtrusive Las Vegas-style LED signage on the building opposite. Thankfully, the room had excellent blackout curtains to block any of the light pollution from outside.
Large wardrobe space with plenty of room for 4-5 days worth of clothes can be found near the entrance. Each room comes with a iron and ironing board.
A sizeable bathroom completes this room. Bright lights, excellent water temperature and pressure, as well as plenty of room to move around make this a pretty good facility. Small amenities are sourced from the Malin+Goetz brand.
The hotel does play host to a pool, gym, spa and club room – none of which I managed to make use of during this visit. Three restaurants are available within the hotel – one focussed on Middle Eastern food, one on global fine dining and the final on burgers.
Final thoughts
A one-night stay is far from ideal to form a solid opinion on a hotel. However, Le Meridien City Centre Bahrain is a good, all-round hotel that is well suited to this kind of fleeting visit to the city. It’s easy to get around from here, there’s sufficient amenities available in the area (without needing to take a taxi thanks to the shopping mall) and it’s an all round nice hotel. While some may be concerned about the distance from the airport, they needn’t. It’s a really easy city to get around and this hotel represents good value for a city in the Middle East.
1 comment
We are off to Bahrain again for our usual Winter week at the end of this month; it will be our 10th time to Manama. It is a fabulous Kingdom to visit, partly due to it’s history getting it where it is today. Both the National Museum and the Oil Museum are essential to see as is the magnitude of the Bahrain (GP) Circuit. There are several Malls in Bahrain but none are up to Abu Dhabi class. Nevertheless they are worth a wander around.
We have always stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is nothing short of amazing (see website for facilities). It was a Royal Meridien when we first started going.
BA flights are as usual, rubbish! Over the years the arrival time has got progressively later, from 8PM to 00.10 now! So, forget it – we are flying with Etihad this time. Gulf Air are fine, but tend to reflect BA prices but with better arrival and departure times. Etihad (via AUH) is priced well with a decent arrival time.
Please don’t be tempted to go though – we love it just the way it is!!
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