A quiet waterfront hotel on Abu Dhabi's eastern edge, long known as the Anantara Eastern Mangroves, is returning as The Mangroves Abu Dhabi, part of Hilton's LXR Hotels & Resorts collection. According to What's On (4 November 2026), room bookings opened from 26 November 2026, which means the discerning traveller gains another private base for a winter stay in the capital, well away from the busy Corniche.
What is actually happening
The hotel sits in the Eastern Mangroves district along the lagoons of the Mangrove National Park, on Al Salam Street. It is the former Anantara Eastern Mangroves, which Hilton is relaunching as its first LXR address in Abu Dhabi, after an earlier plan to open a Waldorf Astoria here was dropped. Management passed to Hilton under an agreement with local developer Aldar.
The industry is still cautious about the exact date the first guests arrive, with late 2026 as the guide, but one planning detail is already fixed: rooms can be booked from 26 November 2026. For a private trip that is a cue to lock in dates early, while the opening is fresh and availability is wide.
Why it matters for a private trip
LXR is Hilton's collection of individually characterful luxury hotels, where each address is presented as its own personality rather than a cookie-cutter brand. Here the draw is the setting: mangrove lagoons right at the doorstep, calm and green water instead of skyscrapers, which makes the hotel a rare format of serene, nature-led luxury for Abu Dhabi.
Published details point to around 167 rooms and suites, a spa, a fitness club and three pools, plus a dining line-up with a brasserie, a rooftop restaurant, a poolside lounge and a lobby bar. For a guest travelling privately it is a self-sufficient base: you can spend a day without leaving, or use the hotel as a quiet headquarters between cultural outings.
How to build it into a private itinerary
A mangrove address practically asks you to add water to the programme. A private kayak paddle through the national park's lagoons at sunrise, while the channels are empty, is a natural extension of such a hotel, and a personal guide will set the pace to you rather than to a group.
From there it makes sense to assemble a day with a personal driver: the Saadiyat museums, the Corniche and Qasr Al Watan are all 15 to 25 minutes away, and the hotel works as a calm point of return. For a couple or a family it is an alternative to the city towers: privacy, nature and luxury service in one address.
Bookings for The Mangroves Abu Dhabi opened from 26 November 2026: a rare nature-led luxury address by the mangrove lagoons that is worth pencilling in early as a quiet base for a private winter stay.
