Swimming in Abu Dhabi

As I have mentioned before that I have been swimming for almost an year now. However, before even I could wet my toes I had to find a place to swim. Now Abu Dhabi is a very nice place to be except for the fact that it is running short of its pristine beaches which were easily accessible to people before. Before that happened, I decided to try the almighty sea for my weight loss targets. Bad idea. Very.
Not only I had no idea how salty the sea water is and how much it can burn your eyes and nose, coming from the land of rivers, I got a first hand experience of jelly fishes, razor sharp corals, sand, mud, dirty water, ear infection (although my encounter with the sea ultimately helped me to save a man’s life…Later folks, later.)  It was then I decided to join a swimming pool. I joined the Al Jazeera Club swimming pool and boy, did I swim.
The pool was-

• a. Dirty
• b. Sediments at the floor (they make nice patterns though…I thought they are giving some message)
• c. Over crowded with kids
• d. Ready to be converted to an aquarium to see whale sized humans peddling
• e. Broken washrooms
• f. All of the above

And the correct answer is f. All of the above. The only advantage- Super Cheap! For less than 300 Dirhams a month you have unlimited access to the pool and the always busy gym too! If you pay for a 6 months to an year in advance you get better deals! You won’t find a more conveniently located and cheaper swimming pool in Abu Dhabi. See its location on the map-

After surviving there for three months, I moved to the Armed Forces Officers Club (man! that sounds like something) and took an yearly package by paying Dirhams 3,600. A fair deal because the monthly charges can run as high as AED 700! Per day, you ask brother, Only AED 100! Pricy but very nice! It is beautiful, well managed, no reference required- although they do review your application before approval. The washrooms are very good, lockers are free and readily available, as the pool is 2.4 meters deep all across toddlers don’t even venture in it-in fact there is a separate pool for them! and, wait for it, you get a Jacuzzi too! (Don’t believe if the staff tells you that you get Sauna as well, you don’t. You have to pay extra for that but I think it is worth it as well)  and the Topping on cake- Clean towels! It is fairly busy but never more than 2 in a row, 3 tops! unlike Al Jazeera where I had 6-8 guys in a lane on busy days! Being a member of the pool you become member of the club as well and are eligible for special rates for other services, none of which I have availed other than the Sauna-there is a wooden room as well along with other steam rooms. See the location-

Verdict:

Al Jazeera is good if you want to try out whether you are going to stick with swimming at all for a cheap price. Once you have graduated from there, move on to better places like Armed Forces club.
Got anymore reviews about other pools/clubs in Abu Dhabi? Do let us know in comments.