Holiday in Dubai - Recommendations?
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st4
Banned
Hello ***.
The SL is going really well, no problems at all.
As people had said when i bored you all with my marathon thread when i joined here, the right one did come along eventually, (but i have had a small problem with the bloody alarm that goes off every 10 minutes for a couple of hours, then will behave itself for the next 2 weeks.)
No, i did not make the driving trip up to Scotland, my wife say's we cannot afford it because we/i have a SL to feed.
Seriously though, i would love to do the drive one day (the Mrs has never been up there) but my wife is now working harder than ever and cannot/decided that she should earn while she can before the inevitable slump hits her trade harder that it has already.
Hopefully i will be able to do a "meet" of some sort in the summer.
Nice to hear from you Alfie and I am glad the SL is going down well, even though its fuel consumption isn't (with the Mrs anyway)
Modern electicals are a pain though and intermittent ones are a pain.
The drive up here is excellent and its well worth doing. Stick about here
flango
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
You might want to check on that sounds as they may not be giving you the best deal. My First Direct Debit card is free to use overseas in ATM's and for transactions you just get charged at the prevailing exchange rate which I generally find works in my favour, unless we are talking about credit cards then you are correct there is a cash withdrawal fee but no fee on transactions. Use mine all over the world and would not bank with anyone else.
ALFIE CONN
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I never pay for anything on holiday with a card, cash is king for me because i like to keep track of spending and know how much i have left and dont go over the amount i have planned.
When we stayed at the Atlantis, a small bottle of water during the day was over £5. We got a cab to a shop and bought loads of 2 litre bottles for maybe 30p each, which was not a problem with staff around the pool.
some people/guests around the pool were all looking down their nose at us ang saying things like "Your on holiday in Dubai and know it is expensive here, so why lower yourself?"
Pretentious pricks im afraid.
P.S. The 3 Mitchelin* Sea food restaurant in the atlantis called "The Ossiana" is absolutely superb but expensive.
I did not know whether to cut the food or pick it up with my fingers half the time.
It was well better than any cockles and Muscles stall i had ever been to.
When we stayed at the Atlantis, a small bottle of water during the day was over £5. We got a cab to a shop and bought loads of 2 litre bottles for maybe 30p each, which was not a problem with staff around the pool.
some people/guests around the pool were all looking down their nose at us ang saying things like "Your on holiday in Dubai and know it is expensive here, so why lower yourself?"
Pretentious pricks im afraid.
P.S. The 3 Mitchelin* Sea food restaurant in the atlantis called "The Ossiana" is absolutely superb but expensive.
I did not know whether to cut the food or pick it up with my fingers half the time.
It was well better than any cockles and Muscles stall i had ever been to.
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Thanks for the tip Alfie. I will definitely be buying the water from a shop! the missus is extremely fond of seafood so she will definitely want to go sample that restaurant.
The holiday is already costing more than I thought, what I failed to factor in was that the nicer place that we stay at, the nicer clothes the wife will want to buy to wear there! we have spent a small fortune this weekend on dresses, swimsuits, hats, shoes etc etc. this was never a problem when we went to Butlins last year!
The holiday is already costing more than I thought, what I failed to factor in was that the nicer place that we stay at, the nicer clothes the wife will want to buy to wear there! we have spent a small fortune this weekend on dresses, swimsuits, hats, shoes etc etc. this was never a problem when we went to Butlins last year!
My recommendations
Hi
I Go to Dubai regularly, in 5 weeks will be my 30th trip in some 8 years.
Ok, I have stayed at numerous hotels, but i will be staying for the 23rd time in May at the Royal Meridian Hotel in Jumeira off the Sheikh Zayed Rd.
My parents and sister are visiting there tomorrow for a week.
It is one of the smallest hotels on the Beach, but the service is exceptional, the quality of every room is brilliant, recently refurbed a few times over, the building work is nearly over, and you have the Marina right behind you.
The water park is great 15 mins away, but this is more suited to you with your baby.
If you wait till May, the room rates will reduce, as it is pricey at the moment. Normal rates are between £200 - £800 per night, i use my corporate discount for my family which gets me it for £65 / night. I can not pass discount unless i was there in person, but im sure if you shop around, you might find deals. If not, then if you can afford it, do it,
The Jermeriah Beach hotel is now old, and starting to date, the elevators are slow and often took me over 5 mins to wait for an Elevator, though the hotel still is popular.
The Meridian is popular next door, but the hotel has on numerous occasion shave a bad smell of tobacco odour which on more the one occassion, hence dont stay there.
Trust me, Royal Meridian is everything and more you could want..
If i am wrong, i apologise, but i have always recommended it to everyone and anyone, and not yet had any complaints
Hi
I Go to Dubai regularly, in 5 weeks will be my 30th trip in some 8 years.
Ok, I have stayed at numerous hotels, but i will be staying for the 23rd time in May at the Royal Meridian Hotel in Jumeira off the Sheikh Zayed Rd.
My parents and sister are visiting there tomorrow for a week.
It is one of the smallest hotels on the Beach, but the service is exceptional, the quality of every room is brilliant, recently refurbed a few times over, the building work is nearly over, and you have the Marina right behind you.
The water park is great 15 mins away, but this is more suited to you with your baby.
If you wait till May, the room rates will reduce, as it is pricey at the moment. Normal rates are between £200 - £800 per night, i use my corporate discount for my family which gets me it for £65 / night. I can not pass discount unless i was there in person, but im sure if you shop around, you might find deals. If not, then if you can afford it, do it,
The Jermeriah Beach hotel is now old, and starting to date, the elevators are slow and often took me over 5 mins to wait for an Elevator, though the hotel still is popular.
The Meridian is popular next door, but the hotel has on numerous occasion shave a bad smell of tobacco odour which on more the one occassion, hence dont stay there.
Trust me, Royal Meridian is everything and more you could want..
If i am wrong, i apologise, but i have always recommended it to everyone and anyone, and not yet had any complaints
My driver
I also have my driver based there. He will happily arrange collection and drop off to you from airport to hotel and return, and he is a qualified sand dune driver and does all my tours and driving.
He is also cheaper than most others on his personal rates, so should this be of interest, then let me know and i am PM you his number in Dubai
I also have my driver based there. He will happily arrange collection and drop off to you from airport to hotel and return, and he is a qualified sand dune driver and does all my tours and driving.
He is also cheaper than most others on his personal rates, so should this be of interest, then let me know and i am PM you his number in Dubai
miro
MB Enthusiast
I would certainly like a better experience than the first one. Crowded, overpriced and ludicrously out-of-control crowds. Inefficient customs procedures and a total lack of information.
One thing I would like to know is where the magic in Dubai is. Take for example Hong Kong ... for all of its problems the airport is a dream, the transport cheap and the shopping excellent. The hotels in HK are easily 1/2 price.
I would like to know more about Dubai. As I seem to have found all of its problems.
One thing I would like to know is where the magic in Dubai is. Take for example Hong Kong ... for all of its problems the airport is a dream, the transport cheap and the shopping excellent. The hotels in HK are easily 1/2 price.
I would like to know more about Dubai. As I seem to have found all of its problems.
Got back from Dubai yesterday and had a great time.
Got off to an awful start when we arrived at the Heathrow parking drop off and I realised I had forgot to pack the baby's suitcase! result - one very cross wife! Things got rapidly worse when we realised we had missed our flight - despite the wife leaving the Army only one year ago, her mastery of the 24hr clock escaped her and she mistook 20:00 on the ticket as 10pm (she booked the tickets!) emirates were good though and got us on the next flight only 90mins later.
This horrendous run of bad luck and idiocy could only continue and when I saw the 20stone old lady in the departure lounge I knew that she would be sitting next to me on the 7 hour flight and lo and behold my assumption was indeed correct.
So we arrived at the Juremiah Beach Hotel very tired and after unpacking had to spend the rest of the afternoon at the emirates mall buying clothes for the baby for the week - (£200 pound ouch!)
The Juremiah did not really impress that much, some parts were good but as the Boss Man says it is starting to get old, we did have a great time at the Wild Wadi water park the next morning though.
Off to the Atlantis in the afternoon for the next 4 days and things immediately turned for the better; everything was much more impressive, better room, better service and everything was so much grander and more special. Aquaventure was better and bigger than the Wild Wadi and we had some excellent meals in the evenings, prices with 2 drinks each ranged from about £80 - £120 for the two of us which was reasonable, although we did not eat at any of the michelin starred venues like Nobu.
It became apparent that the rich people of the world were taking their kids to the Atlantis as some of the discreet displays of wealth were apparent everywhere - I saw 2 mean looking russian gentlemen having a beer at the poolside bar sitting with 2 gold Vertu phones each on the table in front of them.
My little boy loved the water park and we took him there everyday, they give them a complimentary life jacket which he swims in quite happily, getting him to take it off at the end of the day was a real struggle though! he had great fun playing with all the other kids on the slides and waves, Gary Lineker was there too and his kids helped my boy up the stairs to the slides and stuff.
Only real disappointment was the weather, in 5 days we had 3 with some rain and only really one day of any decent heat, we had to come back from the water park early on 2 of the days as he was starting to shiver.
All in all we had a great time, and would certainly recommend it if you have kids! thanks for all the advice from everyone prior to the Holiday.
Got off to an awful start when we arrived at the Heathrow parking drop off and I realised I had forgot to pack the baby's suitcase! result - one very cross wife! Things got rapidly worse when we realised we had missed our flight - despite the wife leaving the Army only one year ago, her mastery of the 24hr clock escaped her and she mistook 20:00 on the ticket as 10pm (she booked the tickets!) emirates were good though and got us on the next flight only 90mins later.
This horrendous run of bad luck and idiocy could only continue and when I saw the 20stone old lady in the departure lounge I knew that she would be sitting next to me on the 7 hour flight and lo and behold my assumption was indeed correct.
So we arrived at the Juremiah Beach Hotel very tired and after unpacking had to spend the rest of the afternoon at the emirates mall buying clothes for the baby for the week - (£200 pound ouch!)
The Juremiah did not really impress that much, some parts were good but as the Boss Man says it is starting to get old, we did have a great time at the Wild Wadi water park the next morning though.
Off to the Atlantis in the afternoon for the next 4 days and things immediately turned for the better; everything was much more impressive, better room, better service and everything was so much grander and more special. Aquaventure was better and bigger than the Wild Wadi and we had some excellent meals in the evenings, prices with 2 drinks each ranged from about £80 - £120 for the two of us which was reasonable, although we did not eat at any of the michelin starred venues like Nobu.
It became apparent that the rich people of the world were taking their kids to the Atlantis as some of the discreet displays of wealth were apparent everywhere - I saw 2 mean looking russian gentlemen having a beer at the poolside bar sitting with 2 gold Vertu phones each on the table in front of them.
My little boy loved the water park and we took him there everyday, they give them a complimentary life jacket which he swims in quite happily, getting him to take it off at the end of the day was a real struggle though! he had great fun playing with all the other kids on the slides and waves, Gary Lineker was there too and his kids helped my boy up the stairs to the slides and stuff.
Only real disappointment was the weather, in 5 days we had 3 with some rain and only really one day of any decent heat, we had to come back from the water park early on 2 of the days as he was starting to shiver.
All in all we had a great time, and would certainly recommend it if you have kids! thanks for all the advice from everyone prior to the Holiday.
Sorry to ressurect this thread but we have just decided to get away for Christmas and go to Dubai for a week.
We stayed at the Jumeriah last time and the Atlantis. we preferred the Atlantis as it was just a bit more special.
Atlantis is too expensive this year and we are also keen on trying new places so we are looking at the Le Meridien resort and spa, has anybody been there? or has anybody been to Dubai since the supposed financial meltdown?
We stayed at the Jumeriah last time and the Atlantis. we preferred the Atlantis as it was just a bit more special.
Atlantis is too expensive this year and we are also keen on trying new places so we are looking at the Le Meridien resort and spa, has anybody been there? or has anybody been to Dubai since the supposed financial meltdown?
I visited Dubai last month. But having not been there before the financial crash I can't make comparisons.
On the whole many of the construction sites were empty, bar the stationary cranes. I guess this made for less noise and air pollution. But as far as I could tell all the expensive shops were still open.
On the whole many of the construction sites were empty, bar the stationary cranes. I guess this made for less noise and air pollution. But as far as I could tell all the expensive shops were still open.
I dont think the mynah sinai is the same one we are looking at, I believe there are a few meridian hotels in the area. we will have a look at that one as well though - flights appear to be aplenty at the moment but hotel vacancies are running out!
James Rothwell
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I was in Dubai a few weeks ago and bar the empty construction sites the city is still busy as ever,no real trace of the financial meltdown as such. All the shops in the malls are all still active and busy.
This is well worth doing if you can get yourself to Jebel Ali- Seawings: Dubai Seaplane Sightseeing Flights
I too was going to go again at Christmas but the flights seem awfully expensive compared to what I paid in November for a flight in early December.
This is well worth doing if you can get yourself to Jebel Ali- Seawings: Dubai Seaplane Sightseeing Flights
I too was going to go again at Christmas but the flights seem awfully expensive compared to what I paid in November for a flight in early December.
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