Royal Hammam Package in Dubai

Two treatments, run back to back in one two hour appointment. First the hammam half: steam in the heated room, black soap left on the skin to soften it, a kessa glove worked over the body in firm passes, and a warm rinse. Then the massage half, a full body massage with oil, started while the skin is still warm from the rinse. Neither half is shortened to fit the package. The price is 700 AED, or 600 AED when the appointment starts before 15:00, and it applies at our Bur Dubai branch, where prices are subject to 5% VAT added at reception. Towels are provided and you keep your underwear on throughout. Allow around two and a half hours in total once changing and the rinse are counted, and book ahead rather than walking in.

Bur Dubai, on the HC floor of the Grand Excelsior Hotel on Kuwait Street in Mankhool. The package opens with a full hammam scrub, so it can only run where there is a heated hammam room, and it is sold under this name at that branch alone. Bur Dubai opens at 10:00 and takes guests until midnight, seven days a week, charging 600 AED before 15:00 and 700 AED after, with 5% VAT added at reception. Our Al Barsha branch has no hammam room and offers massage only. Our DIFC branch does have a hammam room, but pairs the bath with a massage on its own menu rather than selling this package, so compare that branch's own two hour rates if DIFC is the nearer address for you. Walking in for this one is rarely worth the trip, since it occupies the hammam room for two straight hours.

Because the package needs two things free at the same time for two straight hours: the hammam room and a therapist. Earlier in the day that is straightforward to arrange at both branches, and the 600 AED Early Bird rate reflects it. From mid afternoon onwards both fill up, evenings most of all, and the same booking costs 700 AED. Nothing about the treatment differs between the two rates, so the only question is whether your day is flexible. This is a standing rate rather than a limited promotion, so you do not need a code or a voucher. Book a slot that starts before three rather than one that merely overlaps it, since the clock is read from the start time. Booking a start time before three is also the easiest way to secure the slot at all, since the room and the therapist are both freer earlier.

Hammam first, massage second, and the order is not negotiable for a good reason. The kessa glove removes the outer layer of dead skin, and skin in that state takes oil far more readily than skin that has not been scrubbed. Running the massage first would mean oiling a layer that is about to be scrubbed off, which wastes both halves. It also means you go into the massage already warm from the steam room, so the therapist spends less of the session simply getting the muscle to relax. Reception books the hammam room and the massage room in sequence when you reserve, so there is no waiting in between and the two halves run as one appointment. It also means you leave with skin that has been scrubbed and then oiled, which is the state most guests are actually after when they book the pair.

Yes, at both rates. Booked on their own, the Moroccan Bath is 400 AED and a full body massage starts at 500 AED, so the pair comes to 900 AED at minimum. The package is 700 AED, or 600 AED when it starts before 15:00, which is why most guests who want both book it this way rather than reserving two separate slots. The saving is not the only difference: as a package, reception holds the hammam room and the massage room in sequence, so you move straight from one to the other instead of waiting for a therapist to come free. Prices are subject to 5% VAT, added at reception. The package is also the only way to have both without a gap between them, since two separate bookings depend on a therapist being free the moment the rinse ends.

Two hours for the treatment itself, plus a little time either side for changing and for the rinse, so allow around two and a half hours from arriving to leaving. Booking a hard stop straight after is the one thing that spoils this package, because the steam phase at the start is what makes the scrub work and it is the first thing to get cut when the clock is tight. If you are coming before 15:00 to catch the Early Bird rate, aim to arrive with ten minutes in hand rather than exactly on time. Both branches that run the package close at midnight, so the last practical start is around 21:30. Our DIFC branch pairs the bath with a massage on its own terms instead, so check that branch's own menu if it is the nearer address for you.