Dubai Report
Dubai is the home of sand, sun and shopping. The duty free zone makes it a shopper’s paradise with some of the most lavish malls on earth, alongside local soukhs. With plans for a Dubai Disney resort in the next few years, the resort is constantly being updated with futuristic skyscrapers. Doreen Young, Business Division Manager, visited Dubai in October 2005. She was impressed by the immaculate hotels, pristine beaches and excursions on offer. Read Doreen’s report to find out more or call us on 0121 250 2211 or 0845 086 9710 to book your holiday to Dubai.
Airport – Birmingham
The check-in area was very busy, however, Emirates has a staff member greeting people and directing them to the check-in desk which smoothed the procedure. We waited in the Servisair lounge which provided a quiet, restful area to relax before the flight, and fresh coffee, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and snacks were available.
Flight
We flew from Birmingham to Dubai with Emirates, economy class. It was an overnight flight so we were quickly served our evening meal and then were able to sleep. All economy seats have seatback TV and games consoles.
Airport – Dubai
Dubai airport is huge, but easy to find your way around and the duty-free shopping area is world-renowned. Emirates are in the process of building their own terminal, so there is a lot of building work.
Dubai
Dubai is amazing. I had expected cranes everywhere due to the building projects and was not disappointed! These projects are planned until 2010 and beyond and include The Snowdome (with real snow) with a 1.5km ski run adjoining the Mall, plus a Disney project which promises to be bigger than Disney World in Florida. It is obvious that money is no object and they are creating the most incredible resort.
As there is no public transport system and petrol is cheap, the biggest problem the city faces is traffic. Everyone travels in a car or taxi, and there appears to be a constant traffic jam and no way to avoid it until a planned rail system is built.
Excursions
We only had time for two excursions, and chose the two most popular available – the half-day city tour and the desert safari.
The half-day tour gave us a good flavour of the city with stops at the main mosque and the museum. We then walked around the gold and spice soukhs and crossed the creek on a water taxi. I felt this was an excellent way to get acquainted with Dubai at the start of a visit.
The desert safari is another fabulous experience. We drove out past where Disney Dubai Land is going to be built and then over sand dunes into the desert. There are stops for photos and drinks at the camel farm. The day finishes with a chance to watch the sun set over the desert then off to the Bedouin camp for a barbeque. There is the opportunity to ride a camel, have a henna tattoo and watch some belly dancing before they put all the lights out and you can do some star gazing. I felt this was an exceptional excursion and a ‘must do’.
Hotel
We stayed at the Grosvenor House Hotel on West Marina beach. This fantastic, 5 star business hotel only opened in June 2005. It has views of the Dubai skyline and the Arabian Sea. It combines furnished apartments and luxury hotel rooms. Included in the 45 floors are 217 sea facing hotel rooms, 205 apartments, 12 restaurants and bars and an entire floor dedicated to health and beauty.
There are plasma screens in all the rooms, even in the ladies toilets! The dedicated conference centre has its own separate entrance and features all the latest in technology.
The hotel offers a shuttle service to all the main tourist attractions, including the Burjuman Centre, Gold Soukh, City Centre Mall, Ibn Mattuata Mall, Souk Madinat, Wafi Mall and Mercato Mall.
In addition to all this, guests have the use of all the facilities in the sister hotel, The Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa and a complimentary shuttle service runs between the two hotels.
Summary
The best time to visit Dubai is between October and May as it is too hot over the summer. Ramadan, which takes place at a different time each year, is strictly followed. This means it is illegal to eat, drink or smoke in public from sunrise to sunset. On the upside, hotel prices are usually a lot cheaper at this time.
Alcohol can be very expensive, so it may be worth paying for club rooms in the hotels. There is a wide range of restaurants outside of the hotels which are very reasonably priced and transport is cheap. Building work continues 24 hours a day so you do have to rely on keeping hotel windows and doors closed at night to keep out the noise.
Dubai is the perfect destination for shopping, beaches, nightlife and architecture. There is plenty to explore from the shopper’s paradise of duty free malls to the ancient mosques and soukhs.
