Telal Resort Abu Dhabi Review: Maldives Honeymoon Stopover
Plan your Maldives honeymoon with a unique stopover! Explore Telal Resort Abu Dhabi, a captivating desert oasis where you can spot gazelles. Get pricing and booking tips for 2026!
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Plan your Maldives honeymoon with a unique stopover! Explore Telal Resort Abu Dhabi, a captivating desert oasis where you can spot gazelles. Get pricing and booking tips for 2026!
Abu Dhabi Desert Hotel Telal Resort Prices: A Recommended Stopover for Your Maldives Honeymoon
Abu Dhabi Desert Hotel Telal Resort Price
Maldives Honeymoon Stopover Recommendation
Abu Dhabi Desert Hotel Telal Resort Price
Maldives Honeymoon Stopover Recommendation
Text/Photos by Black Rabbit
Last September, during the Chuseok holiday,
I traveled to the Maldives with a stopover in Abu Dhabi.
There are many stopover options for the Maldives, like Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Sri Lanka, and more, but I chose Abu Dhabi entirely for this desert hotel!!!
I picked Abu Dhabi specifically for the desert hotel.
There were quite a few desert hotels to choose from,
Among them, the ones I really wanted to visit were Telal Resort (where I actually stayed) and Anantara Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort.
There's quite a price difference between the two, and I ultimately chose Telal Resort because it was more affordable and offered the chance to see cute gazelles.
Price Comparison
If you're curious about the prices at the time of booking, check out these posts~
Looking at current prices, they're much, much more expensive than last September.
Is it due to the exchange rate, or the season?
Anyway,
While I compared Telal Resort with the standard Heritage Deluxe Room,
I actually stayed in a Gazelle Room, a Gazelle Villa.
With full board, including all meals!
For one night full board during the Chuseok holiday in September, it was around ~$476,
I wonder if full board isn't available anymore...?
Only breakfast-inclusive options seem to be visible now.
Booking Telal Resort
I booked through Trip.com!
For those who prefer other platforms, I'm sharing a few more options~
Abu Dhabi Desert Hotel
All photos were taken by me! (Camera + Galaxy S23)
This adorable gazelle might look like a Windows wallpaper,
but it's a photo I captured with my own eyes and phone.
True to its 'Gazelle Room' name, you can see herds of cute gazelles right in front of your accommodation!
I saw them in the afternoon and again in the morning.
Ta-da! Right in front of the Gazelle Villa, you're greeted with this desert landscape, which is incredibly exotic and unique, isn't it?
The gazelles rest and feed under that tree.
It's said that you can often spot gazelles around here because their feeding area is nearby.
The resort is quite expansive, so we'd often call a buggy to take us where we needed to go.
And right next to our villa, there's even this incredible lake? Or perhaps a stunning water feature, either way, it's beautiful!
Even adorable cats strolled by, utterly charming...
Since it's only about a 1 to 1.5-hour drive from Abu Dhabi Airport, it's absolutely ideal for anyone looking for a desert hotel conveniently located near the airport, without a long journey.
We simply hopped into a taxi via the CAREEM app for our ride.
The Gazelle Villa
Telal Resort, an Abu Dhabi desert hotel, is truly distinctive, being entirely built with tent-style structures.
Our Gazelle Villa room was a bit of a trek from the main building, making the walk to breakfast or the pool a warm and distant adventure. But honestly, it was totally worth it because we got to see so many adorable gazelles right outside our door!
Under one tent roof, there are rooms on both sides, and our neighbors seemed to be a lovely Japanese couple.
It was so peaceful that we hardly noticed them.
Even our card key featured a beautiful picture of Telal Resort's stunning pool.
It's a charming studio-style layout, with the living area, bathroom, and toilet all harmoniously integrated into one space.
Having only stayed in modern resorts before, this was a completely new and fascinating experience for me.
There are two washbasins in total – one in the toilet area and another conveniently located right next to the bathtub.
And get this – you can even gaze directly at the sweeping desert views right from the bathtub window!
The toilet area was spotless, too.
Inside, we found a kettle, a capsule coffee machine, two complimentary bottles of mineral water, and a mini-bar fridge.
We only enjoyed the mineral water and didn't touch anything else.
From the comfort of our bed, we could step straight out onto the terrace and beyond, right into the mesmerizing desert!
It's such a unique and exotic landscape, even when I look back at the photos.
Gazelles would frequently wander past that very spot.
Whenever a gazelle strolled by, I'd excitedly dash out to get a closer look!
The Terrace
Our terrace was furnished with a table and a cozy sofa, and right in front of the sofa, there's a fantastic fire pit perfect for some mesmerizing fire gazing.
And at night, having a fire-gazing session? The romance level goes through the roof – it's absolutely insane!
Operating it is a breeze too – just a simple switch to turn it on and off!
The Swimming Pool
An absolute oasis nestled in the heart of the desert.
Honestly, this incredible pool was a major reason why I chose Abu Dhabi for my trip!
Where else in the world could you witness a landscape this breathtaking? It's truly one-of-a-kind!
Have you ever seen sunbeds placed right in the middle of a desert? Now you have!
Right in front of us, there was this desert dune. Seeing some Westerners hiking all the way to the top, I thought to myself, 'Koreans won't be outdone!'
So, to prove we could do it, Min and I started climbing, but seriously, I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion on the way up!
The sand whipped against my face, and my feet kept sinking deep into the soft dunes..
It was sunset, and we literally raced up there, thinking, 'Let's get to the top and catch that amazing sunset!'
Thankfully, we made it to the summit just before the sun completely dipped below the horizon.
Min said the view from there was stunning and told me to sit down for a picture,
but the incline was so incredibly steep that I sat down trembling, genuinely worried I might tumble down!
Desert hotels really are even more gorgeous when the sun sets, aren't they?
The next morning brought a spectacular sunrise.
It seems the area right in front of our villa is a real sunrise hotspot! Both Korean and international couples gathered here to witness it.
Since we were right there, we could just comfortably step outside in our robes – how convenient is that?
Highly Recommended Stopover for a Maldives Honeymoon
While many couples choose Singapore as their stopover for a Maldives honeymoon, I wholeheartedly, absolutely, unequivocally recommend Abu Dhabi instead!!
I'm already dreaming of another desert hotel stay; I'd even love to plan a trip to explore Abu Dhabi exclusively!
And that concludes my genuine review of a trip I paid for myself!
(Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll dive into more details about the resort's facilities!)
▼Click Here to Book Your Stay at Telal Resort▼
📍 Telal Resort Al Ain
Remah - Makhoola - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
During last September's Chuseok holiday, the full-board price for a one-night stay in a Gazelle Room/Villa at Telal Resort was approximately ~$476. Currently, the full-board option is not available, only breakfast-inclusive rates are shown, and prices are reportedly much higher than they were then.
It takes approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes to travel from Abu Dhabi Airport to Telal Resort. You can take a taxi using the CAREEM app for transportation.
There's a gazelle feeding trough right in front of Telal Resort's Gazelle Villas, so you can often see herds of gazelles. You can directly observe gazelles resting or feeding right outside your accommodation.
In addition to a table and sofa, the Gazelle Villa terrace features a fire pit facility. It can be easily turned on and off with a switch, allowing you to enjoy a romantic atmosphere at night.
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