Horrible service! My friend is visiting Dubai and staying at the Novotel. Since I live in Dubai, I wanted to visit her. I brought my e-version of my Emirates ID, but the receptionist, Mirza, refused to accept it. I explained that I also had my physical UAE driver’s license, but they were extremely rude. Another receptionist, Sheraz, was busy registering a guest and dismissively told me, “Madam, I’m registering guests who are providing me their documents.” I didn’t respond, as I could see those guests were actually checking in, not visiting. After they left, I told Sheraz, “Next time, don’t treat people like they’re foolish. I know they weren’t visitors; they were checking in.” He apologized and acknowledged that he understood, but they still wouldn’t let me visit my friend. I provided her room number and asked them to call her to confirm she was waiting for me. Despite there being three receptionists, none of them were able to assist. I requested to speak to the duty manager, Imran, but he never appeared. Eventually, I asked my friend to come downstairs to bring me up herself. When we reached her room, the reception immediately called, ordering us to come back down. I was shocked by how rudely they treated their in-house guest. I work in hospitality at a senior level myself, and I’ve never seen service like this. My friend was exhausted, not feeling well, and we hadn’t seen each other in five years – she preferred to meet indoors for those reasons. But after that call, she didn’t feel comfortable staying in her room. Instead, we went to the lobby and sat there for over three hours. The three receptionists and the duty manager couldn’t have cared less. After ten years in Dubai, I never expected such poor service. I clearly remember the names of the staff involved, and I’ll be including them in my review so higher management can address this and provide them with proper training in hospitality service.