Maison Privee - Balqis Residence

My family’s vacation visit to Balqis turned into my only bad experience in Dubai. The country is stunning, the people amazing, and I met many fabulous people. I was struck by how much it had grown in the last 50 years. While visiting Palm Jumeirah, a TFG group representative invited us to tour their tallest hotel in the world in dubai and hear about some promotions. We wanted to see the building’s breathtaking architecture, so we agreed. A car promptly picked us up from our hotel, and we were treated very well at first. Then Saleh, a salesperson, accompanied us. To our surprise, we were taken to one of their properties, Balqis residence, rather than the tallest hotel. Saleh was amazing and explained the property and its amenities. They later discussed pricing with us, but we weren’t prepared to make that kind of investment in Dubai at the time. After they got our survey, which I had rated highly, the way they treated us changed. We were left waiting for a car to take us back to the destination their management had promised. When it finally arrived, they put another family in the 7 seater with us, even though they were going somewhere different. We had already told them we had a hard stop in 1.5 hrs, but the whole presentation took almost 3 hrs. The difference in treatment before and after the presentation felt humiliating. I expected the TFG team to value me and my family. I ended up taking a taxi all the way back to our destination, 30km from balqis. That was the first negative experience I had in Dubai, and I’d rather forget it. In hospitality, this isn’t the right standard for management to set.

The service was superb, and the rooms were clean. A great location too.

We’ve made Dubai home in several places over the years, all in villas, before my wife picked Balqis Residence in the Kingdom of Sheba when we moved into an apartment in July of 2020. It has a resort-like feel, and the balconies are amazing. Our place faces inward toward the Palm, with the same lovely views you can see in my photos. A short walk along the beach takes you right by Atlantis Hotel, where you can watch the fireworks in peace. On New Year’s Eve, you can see the displays at JBR, Atlantis, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa from here. Security and management are good too, and we’ve found it a great place to live in Dubai.

Thanks for making a home for my cat, sukhwinder Kumar. He’s orange and white, vaccinated, and this is where he lives.