There’s one thing I’ve learned about Park Hyatt: they spare no expense to be the best at what they do. This Ramadan, the garden by the pool has been transformed into a wonderful Arabian oasis, complete with a grand entrance lined with Iranian carpets, Bedouin-style Arabian tents that housed the buffet and private dining areas, a traditional oud player, and colorful lanterns dotted all over.

We started with the usual starters of cold salads and mezze with a cup of zesty Moroccan harira soup and then headed straight to the mains. The live cooking stations were the main attractions of this iftar. The charcoals were fired up for the grilling of the mixed grill meats. The usual suspects were there – huge pieces of shish tawouk, lamb kofta and beef grills. The prawns were huge and had great flavour. The chicken shawarma station was really good with fresh Arabic bread and they were also baking different flatbreads in the outside oven. They baked fresh ones throughout the evening so I waited for a fresh one with gorgeous melted cheese and toppings of mince, pine nuts, and sumac powder.

My brother is crazy for rice and meat and he thought the humungous platter of lamb ouzi was absolutely amazing. I was so glad to see a wide selection of other options available as well (too much ouzi recently!). The cheese on top of the rich, meaty lasagna was still bubbling away as I cut through it, and the chicken tagine with cous cous was simple but tasty. I liked that the butter chicken had a bit more spice than usual as a much of the food had milder flavours.

As if one tent wasn't enough, there were two dessert tents! The first had a selection of puddings including chocolate pudding, date pudding, and the wonderful Umm Ali. It also featured a traditional Syrian bakdash stand with booza ice cream served either in a cone or cup with a sprinkle of pistachio. The second had all the traditional Arabic sweets including baklawa, atayek, muhalabieh, halawa, maamoul, and stuffed dates.

After all the eating, the Moroccan tea house-inspired lounge was a nice little spot to relax and digest with freshly brewed tea.

One thing that I loved about this iftar was that the staff were just as enthusiastic as the guests. They were playful and fun, each manning their stations with pride and excitement.

If you have guests during the Ramadan period, or if you just want to have a special iftar experience, then look no further than this iftar at the oasis. This should make it to the top of your list – it doesn’t get much better than this!

AED 290pp - Half price for kids 6-12 years, under 6yo free.

For bookings, call 02 407 1234