Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Mandarin Oriental to take over the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Whilst it won’t be bookable on points, regular holidaymakers to the Middle East will be keen to know that Mandarin Oriental is taking over management of the iconic Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi from 1st January.

Emirates Palace opened in 2005 and was, at the time, revolutionary in terms of quality for the region.  It was given a prime position and huge sums of money were thrown at the construction.

Giving it to Kempinski to manage always seemed like an odd decision.

(Something similar has happened in Qatar recently.  When I was there this year, I stayed at Kempinski Marsa Malaz on The Pearl.  The Pearl is Qatar’s smaller version of Dubai’s The Palm, and Marsa Malaz is – by a long way – the best beach resort in Doha.  And yet, for some odd reason, Kempinski was brought in to manage it.)

With Mandarin Oriental in charge, Emirates Palace will become a genuine top-end option again.  Don’t rush to book, however.  The hotel is embarking on a two year renovation in January – although it will remain open – which means it will be 2022 before it is fully reflecting Mandarin Oriental’s vision.

As usual, if you are looking to book a Mandarin Oriental property then you should get a quote for our luxury hotel booking partner Emyr Thomas.  Mandarin Oriental bookings via Emyr will come with:

  • Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
  • Complimentary Breakfast for two daily for duration of the stay
  • $100 USD equivalent Food & Beverage credit (a small number of hotels offer a different amenity instead of this)
  • Early check-in / late check-out, subject to availability 
  • Complimentary Wi-Fi

You can contact him via the form on this page of Head for Points.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

best hotel loyalty promotions

Hotel offers update – April 2025:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

  • Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 29th May 2025. The annual purchase limit is also increased to 240,000 points pre-bonus. Click here to buy.
  • World of Hyatt is offering a 25% discount (equivalent to a 33% bonus) when you buy points by 14th April 2025. Click here to buy.
Category

General

Comments (129)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Peter says:
    18 Dec18 December 20:57

    Is it likely that we will be able to use the BA Amex two-for-one voucher on a China Southern flight?

  • Michael G says:
    18 Dec18 December 20:58

    Not a minute too soon. Absolute cowboys.

  • Ali says:
    18 Dec18 December 20:58

    OT – looks like since the 15th December, the non-sterling transaction fee has been removed for EEA purchases on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card

    This change was written on my most recent statement. Applies to purchases made in Euros, Swedish Kronor, and Romanian Lei. Cash withdrawals still attract cash advance fee.

    I don’t know if this is also the case for the Reward credit card too, or for new customers. The summary box on the application page doesn’t seem to reflect this.

    Could be a positive change for some

    • Ali says:
      18 Dec18 December 21:06

      Also OT – does the £160 annual fee count towards the £3000 in 90 days or £10000 in 12 months spend targets?

    • jc says:
      18 Dec18 December 23:36

      Mentioned this in comments twice last week (it’s a knock on effect from an EU regulation) – surprised it hasn’t been mentioned more widely here and elsewhere.

  • PaulC says:
    18 Dec18 December 21:06

    I still haven’t seen any of my second lot or bonus appear in my BA account yet. My first trial of about £1 or so worked fine.

  • Martha says:
    19 Dec19 December 00:20

    Virgin Reward card voucher- No status, can you use voucher for RETURN upgrade to premium?

  • The Jetset Boyz says:
    27 Dec27 December 13:39

    “It was assumed that China Southern would then apply for full oneworld membership, but for now it appears happy to strike bilateral deals with key oneworld members.”

    China Southern previously stated that they’re not interested in joining another alliance. Last week they announced they will complete the exiting process from Skyteam on 31st December and from 1st January will no longer be a part of Skyteam. They will continue to collaborate with some Skyteam partners which include AF, KL, DL, KE, CI & SU.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!