Citymax Hotel Al Barsha at the Mall

Location is near subway, but so far from beach. But the hotel has a shuttle on the beach for reservation.
Atmosphere and service are very good. Stuff is understandable and carrying. Thanks.
Room is normal, there were all necessary here, but there weren’t some small things for a comfortable staying. Cleaning was good. One minus was a high noise level. In the room we heard all that was happening in the street and the hall.

I had a wonderful experience during my stay and the receptionist team welcomed me happily on glance . I appreciate the attention to details that they had noticed I was to celebrate my birthday on 22-02-2026 which was the next morning and they made my day feel so special with surprises all over my room .my heart stays with you for memorable experience captured.(#STELLA,#RUTUJA,#APPLE,#SUMI,) . I highly appreciate your efforts portrayed during my time of stay. I will remember you always.

Very nice and friendly company! The hotel was clean, and also the food was really nice! I recommend it!

I am currently still staying at Citymax Al Barsha (by the Mall) and wanted to share an honest, real-time experience as a long-stay guest.

Firstly, the positives:

The staff are friendly, supportive, and always willing to help where they can. Housekeeping, in particular, work hard and do their best within the limits of their role. I want that to be clearly acknowledged.

However, the persistent smoking issue remains a serious concern.

Despite being allocated non-smoking rooms, cigarette smoke regularly enters rooms through the ventilation and ducting systems. I was initially on the 8th floor and later moved to the 14th floor in the hope that conditions would improve — unfortunately, they did not. At times, the smell has been even more noticeable.

From what I have observed and been told, some guests attempt to bypass the rules by smoking near open windows or inside bathrooms, assuming the smell will dissipate. In reality, the smoke travels through the building’s air systems and spreads into surrounding non-smoking rooms, making it extremely difficult to escape.

For long-stay guests like myself — who spend significant time in the room working, resting, and living — this becomes more than an inconvenience. It affects comfort, sleep quality, and overall well-being.

I will be leaving for vacation on the 18th February 2026, and I must admit I am very much looking forward to breathing fresh, smoke-free air again. That alone should say a lot about how impactful this issue has been.

I’m not sure what conditions will be like when I return, but I sincerely hope stronger enforcement and preventive measures will be in place by then.

To be clear:
If you are booking here expecting a genuinely smoke-free non-smoking room, you may want to reconsider — as smoke infiltration has been an ongoing challenge during my stay.

The staff try — but policy enforcement and guest compliance remain the bigger issue.

My stay was booked through an agency, which contacted the hotel in advance to arrange all details, including the agreed price. However, upon arrival, I was informed of a charge that was more than double the agreed amount due to what was described as a miscalculation.

I raised this issue several times during my stay with reception staff members Nhamo and Apple and was repeatedly assured that a refund or price adjustment would be arranged. When I requested written confirmation, I was told that only the manager could provide it and that the matter would be resolved shortly. Unfortunately, after three days of receiving similar assurances without any progress, I was informed that the previous information provided to me was incorrect and that, in their opinion, the situation was not their responsibility. To date, I have not received the promised refund or the difference in price.

This experience was extremely disappointing and represents the poorest level of customer service I have encountered. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this hotel and would advise others to exercise caution when booking.

I had a great stay. The room was clean, staff was friendly and even make a surprise for my birthday. The location is also nice as soon as it is close to the Mall of the Emirates.

My stay at Citymax Hotel in Dubai was disappointing. The room was not clean and had a strong smell of cigarettes. Everything looked old and poorly maintained — the sink was clogged, and the bed was sagging and uncomfortable. On top of that, the service was unfriendly and unhelpful. I expected a much better experience and would not recommend this hotel to others.

We had a fantastic stay. The staff’s friendliness stood out, and their willingness to provide us with an early room was greatly appreciated. The location is perfect—close to everything we wanted to see. We highly recommend this place and will be back for sure!

Extremely small rooms. Feels like made for a single person stay. Extremely noisy due to pub on ground floor. No amenities in washroom.

This is the 6th time I have stayed here and this was by far the worst stay. Admittedly, I tried to stick with what I knew location wise and found a great price online for half board.
I requested an early check in ( has never been an issue before) and was told I would have to wait an hour. No problem, headed to the mall for breakfast. Returned at 12 pm saying it would be 20 minutes. Sat with a coffee. 45 minutes later still waiting. Eventually managed to get in at 2.30pm.
Paid my city tax on arrival, then was tried to be changed again a further 3 times as they had no record and the receptionist had gone home. Showed my statement on my phone proving it, but they wanted the palaver reciept which I didn’t get given.
Room was clean, smelt heavy of air freshener but I needed a shower after a long flight. Shower didn’t drain and ended up flooding bathroom.
Mentioned it to three people but took 2 days to fix. Nearly slipped over 3 times due to slippery floor!
Went for dinner first night, didn’t look appealing- mainly set up for the tastes of the 99% Russian residents there. Ate some stew, was average. Zero atmosphere. Asked if I could have credit in the huddle sport bar and eat in there, told not possible without a charge, but couldn’t be told how much and for what!
Went for breakfast varying between 7&9am, the quieter times. Again, average. Tables reserved with no one sat at. Fruit salad was about the best. Hot food was ok at best. Didn’t bother with any food in the hotel again. When it was busy they sat you in the sports bar which wreaked of smoke. Far better and nicer options with in a 5 minute walk.
Slept great the first night, and ok the rest, corridor was sometimes noisey but mainly as residents “talking” to each other loudly down the corridor.
Pool was good and actually not too busy in the mornings for a change.
Was occasions where only 2 lifts were working due to maintenance, and had a note to say they were maintaining the water and would be disruption between 9-6 after room cleaning to flush pipes. Luckily was out for the day but if you wanted to lie in all day would have been annoying.
Check out was ok- knew I had nothing to pay but took three people to confirm behind the conceiege at 7am!!

Location of hotel is great, usually taxis outside and. 5 min walk to mall and 10
Min to metro.

Disappointing to say after 8 years of staying here this will probably be the last, based on this experience. Better options very close readily available.

Delicious food front dedk very accomodating like ms Leonora

Good location, clean, varied food, friendly service, clean, small but nice pool. The same fruit—watermelon and melon—always served, with no peaches, pineapples, or ice cream. That's the only downside to the meals.

The windows in the rooms were dirty, leaky, and very noisy (the seals didn't work and needed adjusting).

Clean.
Friendly staff.
Good, diverse food on breakfast and dinner.
We appreciated the fact that the hotel is near the Mall of the Emirates, which is a busy area. Due to the location, at night, you can hear a little street noise even from the 8th floor.

So I didn’t want to write a prolonged review of how disastrous this hotel actually is because I liked the staff however I need to detail exactly how awful it was for potential travelers.

1) This Hotel has a pub in its ground floor with non existent sound isolation so be prepared to hear the tunes coming all way up to your room till 3 AM

2) I’ve only had breakfast once in this hotel, I got sick. I spent the entire day with nausea trying not to vomit.

3) My first room had flickering lights straight out of a horror movie then they relocated me to another room which had an even more horrifying bath tub, you need to manually remove the metallic cover or the entire bathroom will be flooded.

4) The hotel wanted to charge me 750 AED (205 USD) because a cup of coffee was spilled on the bed sheets, (You can buy an entire bed in Dubai for that price)

Summary DON’T EVEN think about staying an hour in that hotel.

I wish nothing but the best for the staff team and hope I’ll never have to see them in that hotel again.

Needed urgent advice on reservation.

However, there was zero response despite sending numerous emails to reservations@citymaxhotels.com and messages to their Facebook messenger! Saw some past comments in other platforms about their responsive too. Not a good a way to manage incoming guests’ expectations.

The service from Momin was very good. Well maintained hotel and good food. Very close to mall of emirates and the metro station.

Thank you for everything. The cleaning was very nice, staff was very friendly and nice. The location is very good also. Nearby metro station and the Emirates Mall. Momin and supervisor Rohan were also very nice people,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I had a fantastic experience at the hotel! The staff provided excellent service, making my stay truly enjoyable. A special shout-out to Hamza, the security supervisor, who was incredibly nice and helpful throughout my visit. His friendly demeanor and willingness to assist created a welcoming atmosphere. The hotel's overall ambiance was great, and the facilities were well-maintained. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a comfortable and pleasant stay. I'll definitely be returning on my next trip!

We stayed there for 2 nights. The location was the main reason why we chose this hotel as it is in 2 mins walk from the Mall of the Emirates and the metro station. It is a good, budget option for those who come to explore the city and intend to spend the entire day walking or going shopping etc.
Clean rooms, good service. I would like the food to be a little more varied. Also, the hotel has a ingrained smell of cigarettes, which is noticeable to a non-smoker.

Soooo much wrong, against so much right. The rooms are modern, clean, look good and staff very good. However, it all goes wrong from there. The only chair has the a/c blowing on it, so even at 26C, you have to turn it off. TV didn't work and took over an hour after check-in for a tech to turn up. The doof tent below was pumping bass at abt 50 db, so like having a 2 people conversation in the room, until 3am (pic to follow). Staff closed off the shower drain, so the bathroom flooded! Had dnd on the door, so someone rang the bell, and then called on the phone. If you call for more drinking water, housekeeping want to charge, unless you ring reception for the free option, that never turns up - until housekeeping ignore the dnd sign, knock anyway and look surprised when you ask for water. All in all, happy my 2 night stay ends tomorrow. Many, many better options than this around al barsha. Pics look great, but it ends there im afraid...