Experience Dubai!
We flew with Emirates in economy, punctual and comfortable (even better if you can get the rows with two seats towards the back - more leg room!). clearing Dubai Immigration is not the quickest but the airport is lovely and new and about 20mins drive from our hotel - 5* Madinat al Qasr.
A half day city tour is a good idea to get your bearings, visit the Bur and the Creek, the Souks..it might be a good idea to pay a bit more and do a full day tour on your first visit to Dubai - see the Burj Khalifa and take afternoon tea at the Burj al Arab to really get a feel for Dubai! The downtown area is really new and the Address hotel is in a great location with a walkway to the Dubai Mall and a short walk to the downtown 'modern' Souk. I would highly recommend staying around here if you're just on a flying visit to Dubai stopping over for a couple of nights. you can fit in all the shopping you want, see the tallest building - the Khalifa and the dancing fountain every evening. Dubai Mall is huge! As well as all the shops it has an ice rink, an aquarium, cinema and its own gold souk.. For a sundowners cocktail try out Nero's bar on the 63rd floor of the Address with great views over the lagoon.
The Madinat Jumeirah is three hotels in a huge resort complex, there are complimentary buggies and gondolas on the internal waterways to get around but is really pleasant to just stroll through the gardens. We stayed in the 5* Madinat Al Qasr in a lovely Arabian deluxe room looking out at the lagoon, the Souk and the Burj al Arab. Rooms are really spacious and luxurious and the service is very personal. The Pool area is large BUT we did find it difficult to get sunbeds in sunny spots as lots of palm trees shading the pool and lots of towels left on sunbeds! We opted for the private beach, very relaxing sunbeds, drinks table, waiter service, gorgeous beach scenes with the Burj al Arab and pier in the background .. with the pool only a few feet away and nice cool showers definitely the best option. Little treats throughout the day, cold towels, ice lollies were well received too. the poolside restaurant was actually quite good value with the daily offers and all hotel guests were given complimentary access to the wild wadi waterpark next door.
Our holiday offer included not only half board but a 'dine around' option meaning we were able to eat in all the Jumeirah hotels at Al Qasr, Mina Salam, the Madinat Souk, Jumeirah Beach and the Zabeel Saray at the Palm.Our favourites were Al Hambra spanish restaurant and Segreto stylish italian where you arrive by Gondola - but saying that there was an excellent choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the main Arboretum buffet restaurant.
I think understanding the geography of Dubai is really important to any travel agent. I had already completed my Dubai Expert course before visiting but nothing is the same as personal experience. It is a very busy city and traffic is quite heavy in some areas, the beaches are beautiful but again there are different beach areas so knowing what to recommend to suit people is essential.
I was lucky enough to do several site visits (yes during my holiday!) whilst in Dubai and visited several downtown and beach hotels including the Burj al Arab - Wow!! So if you are thinking of a holiday, stopover or shopping trip to Dubai please get in touch as I will be able to offer suggestions and tailor make my recommendations to suit you.
I am definitely converted... although I must admit I couldn't personally cope with staying down in the city itself - I would always stay out at the beach - probably the Madinat Al Qasr again as we really loved it! Definitely going to try to squeeze in couple of nights at the Burj al Arab in the future too - for a special occasion of course!