Hotel Accommodation Suggestions

Firstly, August is a pretty rubbish time to visit as it really is too hot to do anything except drive in an air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned shopping centre or hotel! There are lots of hotels on/close to the corniche. I've been here six months and haven't been in any of them (as I don't spend that much time on the Corniche). For the first month that I was in Abu Dhabi I stayed at one of the Rotana hotels, which are usually quite nice and reasonably priced; Centro is a cheaper option. You might also be interested to know that there's a Premiere inn in Abu Dhabi (close to the exhibition centre). If you wanted something a bit more luxurious, I'd recommend the Shangri-La or the Ritz-Carlton in the Al-Maqta area, the Viceroy (built over the F1 track) or the Hyatt on Saadiyat Island (Saadiyat is lovely - it had a beautiful beach with open sea and there's an art centre too). Obviously 'The Emirates Palace Hotel' is on the corniche but a stay there is outside of most people's price range! I've always thought that Le Meridien looks nice from outside and there is a Hilton on the Corniche too but I've no idea how much it costs! Before we came to Abu Dhabi we thought we'd live on the Corniche but have opted to live closer to the airport. Downtown Abu Dhabi is really the CBD, there are a few shopping centres but they're not necessarily the nicest (though Al Wahda Mall is one of my favourites). There are some really nice parks along the corniche, but again, my favourite is set back a bit in the Mushrif area. To be honest, I spend most of my time off island at our housing development or on Yas Island (where there's a fantastic shopping centre, waterpark, Marina, cafes and hotels with restaurants. If I were you, I'd stay somewhere fairly central (perhaps Capital Gate/Al Maqta) so that you can really explore the city and all it has to offer easily. Hope you find somewhere nice and enjoy your stay!