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AIRPORT TO THE HOTEL
The drive from the airport to the hotel was just 15 minutes. My driver was going 180km (111 mph), 20 km over the speed limit. The fare was 50AED ($13). When I saw the sign for Dubai, my driver informed me that it would take about 90 minutes and cost about 325AED ($88). I was tempted. I was surprised how green Abu Dhabi is. There are lots of parks and wide, tree-lined streets.

SHANGRI-LA QARYAT AL BERI
I checked into the brand-spanking-new Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, situated on 8.5 hectares. The hotel had a soft opening in August 2007 and they are still working on the second phase, which includes meeting rooms, souk, villas and residences. Once it's completed, there really won't be much need to go anywhere else for anything, except to go sightseeing.

WELCOME TO THE SHANGRI-LA
As you know, the Shangri-La is one of the top hotel chains in the world and their excellent service was evident the moment my taxi pulled up. I was immediately greeted by a bellman, then a beautiful woman opened the main door for me; see the video at the end. The impressive lobby was filled with shiny marble, picture glass windows and high ceilings. Like all guests, I was offered some Arabian coffee and fresh dates. I'm not a coffee drinker so I almost choked on it, it was so strong and bitter.

MY ROOM
The hotel is staffed with workers from all over the world and their uniforms were really cool. Even when I am overseas, I rarely feel like I'm overseas but here I did and it was due to a mixture of things: the people, the wardrobes and the hotel design. The Shangri-La has 214 luxurious rooms and suites with modern Arabic- style interiors and exteriors. I loved the fact that it wasn't a high-rise but rather two four-story buildings. Every room has a balcony or a terrace and when I walked out onto mine and saw the huge white mosque in the distance, I was wowed yet again. When this mosque is completed, it will be the world's second largest; the largest is The Masjidilharam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.



HOTEL FACILITIES
I felt like running around and checking out all of the hotel's facilities; the spa, two gyms, four swimming pools, the beach and the almost-completed "souk" – a traditional Arabian market that is connected by a waterway, featuring Arabic gondolas called abras. But I was tired, dirty and hungry. So I flipped on the flat screen TV and jumped in the hot shower and got cleaned up. The rooms are built solid and I didn't hear any construction, hallway traffic or guests next door … I'm not even sure if there were any. The owner of the hotel owns the largest construction company in the UAE so no wonder the place was built up to standards and quickly. However, the shower drain was slow to flow but I gather they've fixed that by now.

SKYPE BLOCKED
Before going down stairs for lunch I logged on to the Internet. I wanted to let everyone know that I made it safely to the Middle East despite their warnings. Internet in the hotel cost 90AED ($24) for 24 hours but for some reason, Skype wasn't connecting. So I logged onto Skype.com and discovered that it was being blocked! This was a first! Check out the reason that was given ... I captured a screen shot so you could see. I'm not sure how Skype's content is "inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the UAE," but I wasn't going to argue. Just to be sure, I typed in XXX but naughty sites were blocked, too ... sure enough, I got the same message. Now that I can understand. I suspect that Skype is blocked because they want people to use their own telecom providers so they can make more money.

HOTEL FOOD
The food at the hotel was awesome! I had lunch at their signature Chinese restaurant called Shang Palace. In a matter of steps, I felt like I had traveled from the Middle East to China. Everything from the food, staff and décor were authentic. Afterwards, I took a tour of the lunch buffet in the room next door and it was even more impressive. They had everything including three gigantic monster chocolate fountains (milk, white and dark chocolate). I had the breakfast buffet in this same room the following morning. Again, they offered every possible option and it was one of the top 10 grandest breakfast buffets I've ever sampled. Seriously, have you ever seen filet mignon and eggs at a buffet? Only in the UAE! And the breakfast buffet cost just 90AED ($24) per person. Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, Tel: (971) 2 509 8617.

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