Are there many examples of buildings which look better in real life? It's usually the other way round.The CGI's are pretty poor, I'd expect it to look a lot better in person than it does in those. There's a lot of detail to capture but whoever they've used hasn't managed to do it very well. When you look at all of the details around the hotel designs it should look okay.
Ultimately it is a bolt on feature which has to provide a service 365 days a year, whilst the football ground is used far less frequently. I don't think there's a lot more they could have done with the layout, and whilst the design doesn't really blow you away, the more quality the higher the costs of staying there ultimately and that's the balance.
That's why regardless of what they're doing in the UAE I've never expected to see the same quality here. The stadium has looked warn out for a while yet they just stick posters around it. The return on investment is much higher in the middle east, and the planning hurdles and other considerations don't exist.
I agree though that it might be possible - what looks like a plain office block in the wide shots, does seem to have a lot more detail close up. What it will struggle with is that the Etihad has one of the better silhouettes in football, and sticking all those boxes in front of it is a big shame - if you're going to hide it from visitors, you surely need something more impressive.