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I'm looking to plan a nice 10 day vacation with the Wife in Dubai, but we're having trouble picking out a hotel!

I was wondering if anyone have been to Dubai for a vacation, and would offer any advice.

I was going to go with the Atlantis at first, but read it's got a lot of kids running around, so that's a No-go. I'd prefer something on the beach, and it's probably hard to go wrong with anything there, but I'm not sure.

I've only spent a day in Dubai for business, but it seemed pretty awesome for vacation!

My parents went there for a few days last year. They really enjoyed it. Also had a friend who lived there for 6 months.

General advice is this:

Never go outside unless it's to transition between one air-conditioned area to another air-conditioned area.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
My parents went there for a few days last year. They really enjoyed it. Also had a friend who lived there for 6 months.

General advice is this:

Never go outside unless it's to transition between one air-conditioned area to another air-conditioned area.

Haha, I planned to do some beach time! It was really pleasant when I went in November, granted this is for August so it will likely be quite a bit hotter.

Do you know what hotel they stayed in?

The main three I'm looking at are Al Qasr, Jumeriah Beach, and the La royal Merdien beach.

Thanks!

It almost goes without saying but...

Be extremely frigging aware of local laws. If something seems unclear, stay on the side of caution.

This is also worth a read.

My Dad works out there and we went over to visit him a few years ago around July/August time. Never. Again.

The heat. Mother of God. The heat. The sea offers no respite, it's like a warm bath.

 Medium of Death wrote:

The heat. Mother of God. The heat.

You do get used to it, it generally takes longer than a holiday to aclimatise though.

 Palindrome wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:

The heat. Mother of God. The heat.

You do get used to it, it generally takes longer than a holiday to aclimatise though.

Looking at the Weather Reports, it looks very similar in climate to Texas, Sans humidity. So I don't think it'll be that much of an Issue. At least I hope not!

Avoid June/July, Ramadan falls around there, and the whole Middle East will go insane.

 marv335 wrote:
Avoid June/July, Ramadan falls around there, and the whole Middle East will go insane.

It will be in August, but thanks for that. I didn't even consider it.

Yeah, August (temperature wise) won't be fun.

There's the souk in the Madinat, for a rather polished version of a Middle Eastern souk. There are the malls as well. If you feel like the sun is killing you a bit too much, then you can go to the Mall of the Emirates and ski at Ski Dubai. There're the beaches, as you said. The high tea at the Burj al Arab (the sail building) is apparently good. There's the "At the Top" thing at the Burj Khalifa, where you get a good view of the city (though, to be honest, it's not really quite at the top). There's also the desert safari stuff you can do with Arabian Adventures. If you want cheap (but counterfeit) goods, there's Karama in the old town.

So yeah, there's quite a bit to do. But just remember the sun block - the sun is quite harsh.

A word of warning: when you get off the plane, make sure you get of very very quickly, otherwise the queues at immigration will get quite long.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Yeah, August (temperature wise) won't be fun.

There's the souk in the Madinat, for a rather polished version of a Middle Eastern souk. There are the malls as well. If you feel like the sun is killing you a bit too much, then you can go to the Mall of the Emirates and ski at Ski Dubai. There're the beaches, as you said. The high tea at the Burj al Arab (the sail building) is apparently good. There's the "At the Top" thing at the Burj Khalifa, where you get a good view of the city (though, to be honest, it's not really quite at the top). There's also the desert safari stuff you can do with Arabian Adventures. If you want cheap (but counterfeit) goods, there's Karama in the old town.

So yeah, there's quite a bit to do. But just remember the sun block - the sun is quite harsh.

A word of warning: when you get off the plane, make sure you get of very very quickly, otherwise the queues at immigration will get quite long.

Ah, since you live in the UAE, do you know anything more about the three hotels I'm looking at, or if There are better options than them?

For reference, they are

The main three I'm looking at are Al Qasr, Jumeriah Beach, and the La royal Merdien beach.

The Jumeirah Beach has a good reputation in the city, and it's pretty iconic. The La Royal Meridien is a bit further out - you may not really want to stay on anything further west than the Palm. I'm not so familiar with Al Qasr, but judging from the location, that may not be so bad a bet. Based on reputation alone, the Jumeirah Beach may be your best option (if you're not looking at the Burj al Arab or Atlantis).

Keep in mind that many of the hotels are very gaudy. The Jumeirah Beach hotel, for example, is quite extravagant on the inside.

Something that you may want to look at is the Park Hyatt. It's quite (actually, very) far out, over the Creek, and it's not on the beach, but it's a really pretty hotel.

Oh, something else: weekends here are Friday and Saturday (rather than Saturday and Sunday), and a lot is closed on Friday morning. Pork items might be more expensive or non-existent and alcohol is served in limited places outside of the hotel restaurants. Also, don't drink and drive (not that you may have been planning to, but keep that in mind). Most of the shop assistants and serving staff are likely to be Filipino and you most likely won't run into too many Emiratis.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
The Jumeirah Beach has a good reputation in the city, and it's pretty iconic. The La Royal Meridien is a bit further out - you may not really want to stay on anything further west than the Palm. I'm not so familiar with Al Qasr, but judging from the location, that may not be so bad a bet. Based on reputation alone, the Jumeirah Beach may be your best option (if you're not looking at the Burj al Arab or Atlantis).

Keep in mind that many of the hotels are very gaudy. The Jumeirah Beach hotel, for example, is quite extravagant on the inside.

Something that you may want to look at is the Park Hyatt. It's quite (actually, very) far out, over the Creek, and it's not on the beach, but it's a really pretty hotel.

Oh, something else: weekends here are Friday and Saturday (rather than Saturday and Sunday), and a lot is closed on Friday morning. Pork items might be more expensive or non-existent and alcohol is served in limited places outside of the hotel restaurants. Also, don't drink and drive (not that you may have been planning to, but keep that in mind). Most of the shop assistants and serving staff are likely to be Filipino and you most likely won't run into too many Emiratis.

I was actually going to do Atlantis at first, but I read that it is super family oriented, with a lot of kids running around. So that's no good for me and the wife. The Burj Al Arab is really just more than I want to spend. I'm trying to keep the hotel below 5k, and the Burj Al Arab would be nearly double that.

I like the Al quasar, because it's part of the Madinot Juremiah, so it has a ton of amenities, and is real close to everything. The only thing I dislike about it, is the rooms seem very "Old school" luxury, and I'm more a fan of a modern look.

The Jumeriah beach hotel is very nice.

I don't plan to drive anywhere, so that's no big deal.

I know it's kinda nitpicky, I know.

Btw, I apologize if I am misspelling these names!

Don't worry. I misspell the names all the time, and I've been here for two and a half years. When you get here, you'll see place names spelt differently on signs: you'll see Jumeira/Jumeirah, Jabal Ali/Jebel Ali etc.

Yeah, the Burj is very expensive.

If it's part of the Madinat Jumeirah, then it should be good. It's in a good location and stuff. You'll find that many hotels do have an old school luxury kind of look. More so down the road in Abu Dhabi, though.

Alcohol is not permitted, why would you go there for vacation?

 Andrew1975 wrote:
Alcohol is not permitted, why would you go there for vacation?

You can drink just fine in every hotel Bar/Lounge!

 Sasori wrote:
I'm looking to plan a nice 10 day vacation with the Wife in Dubai, but we're having trouble picking out a hotel!

I was wondering if anyone have been to Dubai for a vacation, and would offer any advice.

I was going to go with the Atlantis at first, but read it's got a lot of kids running around, so that's a No-go. I'd prefer something on the beach, and it's probably hard to go wrong with anything there, but I'm not sure.

I've only spent a day in Dubai for business, but it seemed pretty awesome for vacation!

Why would you want to go hang out with peasants? Go to Switzerland for awesome skiing.

 Sasori wrote:
Haha, I planned to do some beach time!

And that is how Sasori became a piece of bacon.

It looks like an expensive place.

2008....spent a week there. Its not the heat but the humidity that suck your life away. We worked at night and it still sucked our souls away little by little. That high a heat with humidity really hits you like a free Mike Tyson hit. All actually we were there 15 days being we had to wait for shipment to come in and then waiting to get the heck out. Its expensive and never go anywhere by yourselves unless its a group function. Also remember..its a Muslim country.

 Andrew1975 wrote:
Alcohol is not permitted, why would you go there for vacation?

Yeah, that's not quite true. You can still get alcohol even as a resident as long as you're not a muslim. You can also buy it in the duty-free, and there are plenty of bars.

Regarding expense, it is pretty expensive, but it's not much more expensive than other cities. Shopping is tax-free, for example. Alcohol probably will be the most expensive thing you'll have to get due to extra taxes (which is understandable, considering the religion of the country).

How muslim is the country? It's clearly a country based on many Islamic principles, but you'll find that it's very liberal, especially compared to some other countries in the region. As I said, you can drink. Just be wary not to have too many PDAs (or none, if you can help it), so try not to hold hands in the malls, for example. In the malls, don't wear anything too revealing (ie for the women, keep your shoulders and midriff covered). In other words, be sensible and be respectful.

 Sasori wrote:


Looking at the Weather Reports, it looks very similar in climate to Texas, Sans humidity. So I don't think it'll be that much of an Issue. At least I hope not!

Dubai averages 42C during the day and 30C during at night in August. In Texas in July it is between 35C-38C. 7C is huge. Even 4C is a big diffrence. Try fiddling woth your heating/AC to see the diffrence it makes. I wouldn't expect much beach time unless it is unseasonable cool.

I just want to say, that I apperciate all the input!

After taking this input, and speaking with my Wife, we decided not to get a beach hotel, since we may not be doing the beach all that much.

We went with the Grand Hyatt instead. They had a pretty fantastic deal, with a free room upgrade, 20% of food and spa, and a few other nice amenities!

Still should be plenty to do, even if we don't hit the beach all that much. I'm looking forward to going to Abu Dhabi, and hitting up Ferrari World.

Thanks everyone!

You're not staying in the Grand Hyatt Residences, are you? That deal sounds remarkably similar to what you get with the Residences.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
You're not staying in the Grand Hyatt Residences, are you? That deal sounds remarkably similar to what you get with the Residences.

No, Just the Grand Hyatt Dubai.

If you're a Texan why would you want to go some place MORE hot than here?