Long weekend in Abu Dhabi

Along with over 100 Gold Travel Counsellors, I was invited to spend a few days sampling all that Abu Dhabi has to offer. My first impression is that the city is clean, and gradually developing. It is not as high rise as Dubai, which is only 90 minutes away by car. It is quite a spread out city, and not a place that is structured for pedestrians.

There are some lovely hotels, which would be suited to business or leisure. We stayed at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, which is contemporary, with spacious rooms. There is a speciality restaurant owned by Frankie Dettori and Marco Pierre White, serving Italian cuisine. I liked the pool area, which has an inviting pool bar which kept you cool in the 38c heat. The water view rooms have a fantastic view of the Grand Mosque on the opposite shore, which is lit at night. Across the water is the Ritz Carlton hotel, which I found to be very elegant and calm.

There are a few things to do beyond relaxing at the hotel. A visit to Yas Island will bring you to the F1 Circuit and Ferrari World, plus a fantastic Water Park. Ferrari World has the world's fastest rollercoaster and is a great place to get away from the heat of the day, as all the activities are inside. There are simulators and shows for those that don't want the high rollers. There are a few hotels in this area too, such as the Rotana, and the Yas Viceroy, which has a colour changing roof once the sun goes down.

The tour of the city was interesting, as we visited the Heritage Village, and the Grand Mosque. You get a good feel for the size of the city. We crossed over to Saadiyat Island, which is being developed. By 2030 there will be a Louvre and a Guggenheim museum there, plus villas and hotels. It is a work in progress, but from this island, which looks out over the Arabian Gulf, you will get the most pristine sands and uninterrupted views of the sea. At the moment, there are two hotels completed and a Beach Club- the Park Hyatt and the Regis hotels offer a peaceful getaway. If you are looking for a beach based break in the sun for a few days, it would be a good choice, but you must be aware that the roads leading to the hotels are still under construction. As long as you know that, it wouldn't be an issue. Once inside the hotels, you can forget about the work outside. These hotels are only 20 minutes from the city and Yas Island.

Another trip we did was a drive out to Al Ain, some 90 minutes away. This trip was rather disappointing. We spent a total of four hours on the coach, and visited a small museum, an oasis, which didn't have any water, a camel market and a large shopping Mall which had the main UK High St names, such as M&S. The trip was too far to travel for a limited amount of things to see. If shopping was of interest, there were shopping malls that were much nearer to our hotel.

So for anyone stopping off for a day or two en route to Australia, or someone on a business trip, or just a place that guarantees sunshine and no rain for a winter break, I think Abu Dhabi would tick the boxes.