If you’ve been watching Downton Abbey, a wildly popular British drama I used to watch in Netflix and a big fan of the series, I use to always imagine about the aristocratic life, their elite class status, and their luxury equestrian lifestyle.

This was now a reality when I was given the opportunity to visit St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club for their Friday brunch and to experience the very best of Polo with a live Mclaren cup (which is the most premium polo tournament in the region), where they mark the legendary brands first ever equestrian-inspired resort, and introducing a serene level of sophistication to a world-class city of Dubai!

The resort extends timeless elegance within an oasis of excellence with an unbeatable luxury and quality service.

Upon entering you can sense the royal n sophisticated ambiance, from the opulent chandeliers, the setting, and furnishings. We were asked to wait at the Equestrian lounge, as we were seated in the pristine setting, I couldn’t stop gazing out of their windows and was in awe at the lush green outdoors, such a peaceful and serene feeling.

 

There were a pianist and a violinist that played such soothing and sophisticated music that added the glamour to the lounge.We were greeted by the courteous and professional manager who escorted us to our private buggies to the stables so we could interact with the horses!! my favorite part of the day was the horses! we were briefed about the stables, the background of the horses, how well they were taken care of with perfect stable conditions and were well maintained.

 

Once we were done interacting with the lovely horses, we were then taken by our private buggies to our next activity which was a to the Polo Academy for a polo brief by instructor Alejandro Gowland The Al Habtoor Polo Academy provides an opportunity to enter the fascinating world of polo at the state of the art Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club under the instruction of the head instructor Alejandro Gowland, 3-goal professional from Argentina.

 

Alejandro’s team includes international polo players to provide all levels of instruction from those just beginning to ride on a fast track system for the first time, or those looking to improve and fine-tune their already established skills. there was so much to this high-end sport and am definitely a fan now!!

Right after the polo training we were escorted to our private seats with an amazing view of the lush green polo field to view the Mc Laren cup.

The brunch takes place across two restaurants: the all-day dining restaurant, Andalucia, and the fine dining steakhouse, The Grill Pit. You can choose to sit in either location. The Andalucia is the atrium dining room with natural light and high ceilings. There’s a little center stage at the top of which were a keyboardist and violinist playing live lounge music giving us the Downton Abbey vibes.

 

We then headed to Andalucia restaurant buffet area which was a vegetarian cuisine and Argentinian grills, a grand spread indeed! the highlight of the buffet was the live grilling station, there were a variety of fresh and organic steak meats that can be grilled live for you in their authentic signature Argentinian style. The process of grilling in them in low flame makes the meat perfectly cooked, tender and succulent.

 

Their salads and appetizers were true work of art, served beautifully individually with perfect sauces. My favorite was the mashed cauliflower pots just perfect! along with the live grilling station, you can find a cold seafood bar from Atlantic lobsters, shrimps, oysters and mussels a true seafood heaven! Not to forget the delicious assorted sushis to add to the delight!

There were copper hotpots lined up beautiful serving other cuisines as well such as Indian, Arabic, and Italian to keet the buffet diverse as possible!

The Spanish specialty dish was the Paella right next to the live BBQ station, it was a large pan stuffed with Paella goodness and the chef adding in exquisite flavors and having them cooked right in front of you! definitely, a mouth-watering experience and what made it even enjoyable was the live Mclaren Cup, the intense game was a true pleasure to watch!

 

Now to my favorite part. Desserts!! I cant tell you how hard I tried to focus on the main dish and try not to glance at the dessert section, as I have quite a sweet tooth! The dessert section was like walking into a dessert heaven from assorted little cakes, caramel puddings & pot de creams! There was not enough place on my plate to stuff and will have to admit I made 2 rounds from the dessert section!!

 

We ended the event and brunch with a sabering event “Popping of champagne” with a knife which the server explained the history behind the process, bottle popped and champagne was served! we enjoyed witnessing the event.

 

Once we were stuffed wholeheartedly we made sure to take advantage of the location for photoshoots! there were so many Instagram worthy locations which made it perfect for my Instagram posts and stories!

To sum my whole experience up, this was one of the most memorable brunches I’ve had, it was not just about the food, it was learning the history of Polo, interacting with the beautiful horses and above all enjoying a true, unique and grand equestrian brunch!

Thank you, St Regis team for making our Friday memorable and sharing the special moments with us.

Check out my youtube video for highlights

For more details or booking for the resort please visit http://www.stregisdubaialhabtoorpoloresort.com/