Cindy, from LilOneOfTheAshes shares some tips on how she plans to use her Privilee membership during the holy month of Ramadan when school is on.
For most schools, the first half of Ramadan will occur during the term break - which means as families you can take the kids out to the resorts for a fabulous pool and beach day.
When the kids go back to school, it will be a much shorter day! This means early school pick-ups and more time to utilise the membership in the afternoons as well - hooray!
Here are some tips on how we plan to use our membership during Ramadan when school is back on.
Head to the gym after school drop-off
I try to head to a gym after dropping the kids at school during normal days and want to maintain doing it during Ramadan as well, especially when you have to pick the little ones up so soon. It’s important for us parents to have some time to ourselves, after all!
I love the Strength and Core classes at NRG Fitness, the Blackbox Burn classes at Warehouse Gym Springs Souk, and Barre Burn at StudioRepublik - amongst many others - but these are definitely my favourites.
During Ramadan I am hoping to get to the gym a bit more as some gyms like StudioRepublik have such a huge variety of classes available - so you could even do a high-intensity class and then go to a low-intensity class after! Note that Privilee Members have complimentary access to two classes per week at StudioRepublik.
Tip: The great thing about the Privilee app is it sorts out all hotels and gyms by location so you can very easily see which venue is closest to you. There are tons of fitness classes accessible with Privilee - some require you to book beforehand - so if there is a class you've really been wanting to go to then call the venue before to book your spot.
Early school pick-up
For those of you who have kids of various ages and multiple school pick-ups like me, the great thing about Ramadan is they will typically finish at the same time. This means just one school pick-up, yay! But - that also means you have the entire afternoon to entertain these little people who have so much energy!
Well, that's where Privilee comes in handy. There are no 'Ramadan hours' when it comes to the opening times of resorts. Plus, there’s the opportunity to check out some of the Privilee venues that you don’t normally get the chance to go to. We will be exploring a few in the other emirates for sure - such as Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah!
Lunch in a Privilee venue
Instead of heading home, on some days I will just go straight to a resort for lunch. All hotel restaurants will still be open throughout Ramadan, so if the little ones are not fasting, you can take them there to get fed. An easy option is the all-day dining which typically serves buffets - there is always SO much choice for little ones and for you too.
Tip: If you have kids under 6, they typically eat for free with a paying adult in the resort's all-day dining and some restaurants, which is a bonus. We love Crescendo in Anantara the Palm for the buffet, Seagrill at Fairmont The Palm and Villamore at Kempinski Hotel Palm Jumeirah for a la carte lunch with the kids. Make sure to show them the Privilee app when paying as you always get a discount for food and drinks at Privilee venues.
Kids’ Club
If it's too hot out at the pool, I take the kids into the kids’ club first for some indoor activities (a great way for them to burn some energy, too!). Then once it has cooled down a bit later in the afternoon, we will go for a dip.
Our favourite kid's clubs are Coco Kid's Club (Waldorf AstoriaPalm Jumeirah), Popsicle Kid's Club (Taj Exotica Resort & Spa) and Amura Kid's Club (Sofitel the Palm).
Tip: Make sure you find out the kids’ clubs' latest timetable, so you can plan accordingly. Most kids' clubs shut during lunchtime as well, so find their opening hours to avoid taking the kids all the way there and finding out it's closed - or if there is a shaded pool at the resort, you can play there for a bit!
Pool & beach afternoons
With the temperature slowly rising, it'll definitely be the perfect time for poolside afternoons.
We can’t wait to float around the lagoons at Anantara the Palm and to slide down the slides a million times at Sofitel the Palm and Habtoor Grand Resort. We also love Doubletree Hilton JBR as they can scoot and run around the outdoor lawns, before diving into the pool!
Tip: Bring their pyjamas and toothbrushes, so you can get them bathed in the resorts and then changed for bedtime. It’s one less thing to do on a school night!
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