Friday Lazy Brunch at The Market Place, Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf

Although Dubai is known to be fast-paced and busy because of so many things to see and do, the city slows down on Fridays because it's the weekend.  During the morning and afternoon, the roads are clear, people are more relaxed, and unless we have activities or appointments, most of us prefer to do our own things at our own leisurely pace.

Overnight at Marriott Executive Apartments

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ate Ning booked a 2-bedroom apartment in Marriott Executive Apartments on the night of Caila’s birthday. The birthday girl called it “a wonderful surprise,” and truly it was. Of course the bonus part was that all of us got to enjoy the surprise as well =)

I'm not sure if it's only with MEA or the same with other Marriott hotels, but the way they number their apartments was a bit confusing.  You see, we stayed at No. 1145. Ordinarily, you'd think our room was on the 11th floor, right? But at MEA, the floor number was the second and third digits (14), the fifth was the room number (5), and I don't know what the first digit represented...probably the block or building? Anyway, moving on...

Caila’s Birthday Surprise at Marriott

If you think Caila’s birthday celebration ended when the last guests left the party, think again. My sister had arranged a special surprise for her niece, and it was one that we all enjoyed. The only clue we told the birthday girl was that we would be staying at a “nice, nice house” (how she describes a hotel) after the party. That alone made her excited already.

Ate Ning had booked a 2-bedroom apartment at Marriott Executive Apartments for that night, ordered helium-filled balloons in white and green (Caila’s favourite color), and two dozen cupcakes. A fruit arrangement, delicious chocolate cake, card from the staff, kiddie toiletries, and swan and monkey towels were a bonus courtesy of Marriott.

full body massage at oxygen spa

Last week, I had a full body massage at Oxygen Spa in Marriott Executive Apartments in Deira. This was supposed to be an all-girls group bonding activity with the rest of the ET ladies, but it was only after we bought the vouchers for the deal from one of the group-buying sites that we found out that they could only accommodate two at a time because they only had two therapists. In the end, we planned a different activity (we had dinner and then watched Man of Steel at Al Ghurair) so that our bonding pushed through and later paired up to book the massages.

Since we had to book an appointment in advance, and there were only 2 days in a week that both our schedules were free, and Ann really wanted needed a massage, she called the Spa. We thought we could easily book it for that same week (she called them mid-June), but they were so full. Finally, they had an opening for the 30th of June and that night after work, we headed to Marriott Executive Apartments.

Upon arriving at the spa, we gave the receptionist our printed vouchers and then we were told to go into separate rooms.

The therapist assigned to me was a Filipina (I forgot her name) and she did a good job in massaging my whole body, managing to remove the “lamig” from my back (I asked her what it translates to in English, but she also didn’t know; anyway, at least we understood each other). She used a lot of oil which was just fine with me because it helped her hands glide over whatever part of my body she was massaging. Before starting with my legs, she wiped my feet with a moist towel (most probably to remove any dirt); and every time she finished a part, she would use a dry towel to wipe off the oil.

Her light pressure (my preference), the dim lights, and the soothing background music were just right. But before I had a chance to fully drift to sleep, the one hour was already over. Bitin! Although the therapist was a bit talkative, I managed to drown her voice out most of the time and just concentrate on relaxing. All in all, I enjoyed the massage. My body felt light and tension-free after the session.

see my sleepy eyes?

Ann also had a good experience. She had asked her therapist to apply hard pressure, and by the time the session was over, the back and shoulder pains that she had been complaining about for two weeks were gone.

For Dhs79, a full-body massage of your choice of Moroccan, Thai, acupressure, or whatever was definitely sulit. I hope they offer this deal again soon.


Oxygen Spa
Ground floor, Tower B
Marriot Executive Apartments
Maktoum Road, Deira, Dubai
Tel: 04-2222920