Mudding at the Dead Sea

In December 2022, Grace and I embarked on a grand trip spanning 5 countries and 1 city-state. In a series of posts, I’ll take you through our 28-days trip across Jordan, Egypt, The Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai. Jordan was the first stop on our grand tour and I’ll take you through our day at the Dead Sea.

We spent 5 days and 4 nights in Jordan. On the fourth day, we spent the early morning in Petra then drove to the Dead Sea to float the rest of the day away and get pampered. (Full itinerary and overview of Jordan)

Day 4 Itinerary:

• 5am: Breakfast at hotel near Petra
• 6am – 9am: second day at Petra. See my previous post that covers Petra
• 9am – 1:30pm: Drive to the Dead Sea and the resort
• Rest of the day: enjoy the resort

Floating in the Dead Sea

A stay at a Dead Sea resort was the perfect way to unwind, rejuvenate, and close out our Jordan leg. It took us 3 hours to drive from Petra, and it’s just an hour and 15 minute drive from Queen Alia Airport (AMM).

It’s a wild and mind-bending experience to be able to float so easily in water. While I understand the physics of it – the human body is less dense than the Dea Sea water, it is another thing to experience it. The experience tickled my inner child and it was like I was on another planet.

The water temperature was 70°F or 21°C in December and it stays that way in the winter month. To put the temperature into perspective, it was chilly on the way in but we acclimated quickly with some light movement. The murky water was no deeper than my waist and the dense mud and pebbles provided good footing. I laid on my back and flung my arms backward, careful not to splash. It took me a few seconds to find my balance, outstretching my arms to keep me from barrel-rolling. Grace, on the other hand, shows off with some intentional barrel rolls. Bring props for some creative photo shoots. Enjoy a morning coffee reading a newspaper or sling back an espresso martini, all while floating! (***Around any body of water, remember to use plastic)

Two important things to remember before going into the Dead Sea:

1. Don’t shave two days before dipping into the Dead Sea, or 3 days to be safe. The high salinity the water will find any nicks and cuts, and oh will it burn. Try some waterproof bandaids?
2. Don’t get water into your eyes. Grace and I got our hair wet floating on our backs. Droplets inevitably found their way running down our faces. Grace’s eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks red, as if sunburned.

There are bunch of benefits to regular soaking in the mineral-rich Dead Sea; I loved it as a unique outdoor activity hard to find anywhere else. Fifteen minutes was enough time in the water and honestly our faces started to sting.

Why Stay at a Resort?

The Hilton: Dead Sea

The room was spacious and comfortable, and the sea-facing balcony offered stunning views of the Dead Sea and surrounding mountains, including the water park that was under construction as part of a new resort next door. A sand-washed wooden door opens to a tiled entryway. The floor abruptly changes from tile to wood as your gaze continues to a king-sized cloud and then to the balcony. The room had plenty of natural light in the day and soft lighting in the evenings. The bath area and giant stand-up shower is adjacent to the entry way on the right, separate by frosted glass. I appreciated the standalone bathroom, which was on the left side of the entryway. The shower had just a glass half-wall and no door, which wasn’t enough to keep water from splashing out of the shower. Clearly designed for aesthetics over function.

We had all the modern amenities, including air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, and high-speed internet. Grace particularly liked the salon-quality hair dryer and I slipped on the cloth slippers and comfy bath robe. Other amenities included a pin-based safe, free waters, a mini-fridge, shoe heel, coffee and tea station, and lots of toiletries. We requested some extra towels from room service which they promptly delivered.

Mudding at the Hilton Dead Sea

Armed with our pool towels, we made our way to the Dead Sea. We started at the pool level and we found the first of two elevators down to the beach and the Dead Sea. Three male staff, one taller with a skinny build, and two others with strongmen physiques. greeted and directed us to set up at any of the open lounge chairs. The lounge chairs and umbrellas were set up at the top of a significant slope down to the Dead Sea. Several wooden benches dotted the water’s edge. Buoys and rope surrounded an area of the Dead Sea for guests to take a dip – not sure whether the ropes were for our benefit or for our protection. After a float, we made it back to the top of the beach for the mud experience.

The mud experience at the Hilton Dead Sea Resort is a must-do. It consists of four steps:

1. The staff covered our bodies from head to toe with mud from the Dead Sea while simultaneously giving us a full-body massage. We let the mud dry for 15 minutes while the staff prepared the second step.
2. Next, we got buried in the sand. The staff dug two people-sized craters in the sand and lay down painter’s plastic sheets. We laid on top of the sheets and the staff wrapped us like a burrito. They then piled sand on top so it all felt like a weighted blanket. They covered our faces with a towel and left us to bake.
3. With the wet mud almost dry, we scrubbed off all the mud in the Dead Sea.
4. Lastly, the staff rubbed us down with a salt scrub and hosed us off with cold tap water.

The Hilton recommends repeating this process twice a day for the most benefits, so do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This was the absolutely the best part of our stay. Did I mention it was complementary? I was so surprised I left a tip for the staff at the front desk.

The Rest of our Stay

Arrival and Check-In

We were taken care of as soon as we arrived at the front gate. I gave my name to the security guard and he checked us off his list. He noticed Grace taking photos of the views and motioned to her to pose at top of the driveway. A luggage porter and valet clerk met us at the front of the hotel. I remember the valet saying that the valet was complementary, but when we checked out he asked me for 2JD fee. I wasn’t sure what that fee was for but paid the fee.

Security staff blessed our luggage and we made our way to the gigantic lobby, which was still decorated as a Christmas wonderland. Grace explored the lobby, happy with my selection of resorts, while I checked us in. The front desk staff spoke eloquently and described the facilities of the hotel to make our stay enjoyable. She claims Hilton upgraded me but I didn’t clarify what kind of upgrade it was. I booked the “King Deluxe Room with Sea View” and that’s exactly the room we stayed in. Oh well, my jaw was still on the floor how beautiful this Hilton was.

The front desk staff then walked me over to the large floor to ceiling windows and pointed different parts of the resort area: the pool for kids and families, the main pool with the pool bar, the third pool for adults only, the route to get to get to the Dead Sea, and the towel station. Guests are given towel cards to trade in for beach/pool towels. At the end of our stay I was supposed to hand back the towel cards to avoid a fee – not exactly first-class but the Hilton has its reasons.

Dining

When it came to dining, the Hilton did disappoint in this area due to the lack of value rather than quality. The hotel has one Italian restaurant, one Lebanese restaurant, and an international buffet, all full-service.

Pool Bar

We hung out at the pool bar. I looked over the menu saw all the sweet tropical drinks. Grace ordered the margarita and I got an old fashioned. “Do you have any other cocktails that aren’t sweet?” I asked the bartender. “Can you make a Negroni?” He shook his head and radioed for his colleague. The new guy made me a Negroni first, then an excellent espresso martini to accompany the sunset.

Spectrum restaurant

We had breakfast included in our stay as Hilton Gold members, a perk granted by the American Express Platinum credit card. This we enjoyed at the international buffet, the Spectrum.

We sat outside overlooking the Dead Sea and the Hilton resort area. During breakfast service, the staff was attentive – it felt as though there was one staff for every 3 tables. As soon as we sat down we were offered choices of fresh juices and coffees. A staff member was always nearby to open doors as I went back and forth between the buffet and my table. As for food, I gorged on various baked goods, fresh cut and dried fruits, several cheeses, a bowl of foul (pronounced ful), and other, more typical, breakfast items. Foul is a Middle Eastern stew of cooked fava beans meant to be paired with a whole assortment of toppings: chopped tomatoes and onions, various fresh herbs, tahini, and olives, to name a few. The espressos and coffee, while prepared from an automated machine, met our uppity standards.

During the evening, a live band was performing at the Spectrum when we passed by to go to one of Hilton’s two restaurants, the 1312.

1312 – Lebanese Restaurant

While others have touted this restaurant as top notch, the value wasn’t there for me. I paid around 30 USD for the mixed grill. Two skewers of ground korma (beef + lamb), one skewer of marinated chicken, and one skewer of marinated lamb paired with garlic toum (whipped olive oil and garlic sauce), a side of pickled veggies, some fire-roasted vegetables, and thin wrap. The resort charges tourist prices – mixed grills of equal quality went for a fifth of the cost at restaurants in Amman. Skip 1312 and go for the international lunch or dinner buffet at Spectrum restaurant.

December at the Dead Sea

Downsides

It wasn’t lively. There weren’t a lot of guests staying at the hotel and the pool bar did not see a lot of traffic. It was too chilly to suntan by the pool and the only entertainment was live music at the Spectrum during the dinner service.

The temperature was great to enjoy walking through Amman, navigating the Wadi Rum Desert, and exploring Petra. However, it was not good pool or beach weather. The Dead Sea water temp is between 63°F and 72°F in the winter. What got us was the wind. It stripped whatever warmth the sun gave our bare skin. We could have spent more time on the beach and even do a second mud experience if the weather had been warmer.

Upsides

Not a lot of people also means that we were able to get quick and better service everywhere. We didn’t have to wait at all for the mudding experience and another bartender came to make me drinks when nothing on the menu looked good.