Etihad Stopover: a hotel night in Abu Dhabi for a CHF 16.50 fee

What the Etihad Stopover is

When you fly Etihad via Abu Dhabi, you can add a stopover in Abu Dhabi while booking on etihad.com. Etihad offers up to two hotel nights for free, you only pay the stopover fee. The terms (fares, dates, hotels) change, so check them on Etihad's stopover page before you book.

My booking

• Route: Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok. One way, Economy Value, booked directly on etihad.com.
• Hotel: CHF 0. Stopover fee: CHF 16.50. The flight itself was CHF 255.50, CHF 272 in total.
• One night: landing at 7:05 pm, onward flight the next day at 3:20 pm. Around 20 hours in Abu Dhabi.
• Room only, no breakfast. According to the hotel voucher, stopover guests can check in and out around the clock.

How to book it

1. Search etihad.com for a flight with a stop in Abu Dhabi, for example to Bangkok.
2. Add the Abu Dhabi Stopover while booking, then pick the number of nights and the hotel.
3. Pay the flight plus the stopover fee. The hotel then shows up on the receipt at CHF 0.

Book directly with Etihad, not through a travel agent or a booking site.

Where I slept

My hotel was Capital Centre Arjaan by Rotana, a studio with a real desk and an office chair. On the wifi I measured 51 Mbps down and 10 up at night, enough for video calls. The only thing that got in the way was construction noise from outside. For a stopover night it does the job.

Tip for your evening: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

In the evening the mosque is lit up, which is when it looks best. It is open to visitors until 8:30 pm, and since September 2026 tourist entry costs AED 10.

Is it worth it?

For me, yes. For CHF 16.50 I had a room to work and sleep in, and the mosque in the evening. If you want to see more of Abu Dhabi, take the two nights Etihad offers.

Prices: what I paid, as of October 2026, non-binding.