Holirays

Dubai – one of the most popular holiday destinations. I think there’s something here for everyone, but you can definitely go wrong if you don’t know before you go. Here’s my guide on how to do Dubai depending on what you want from your trip.

There’s new hotels and restaurants opening all the time, so feel free to contact me for more info if you’re planning a trip!

WHEN TO GO

Dubai is in the desert. IT IS HOT. EVEN IN WINTER. I would avoid between July and September when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and the humidity is high. I love going around Christmas when the temperatures are pleasant enough to walk around. Between Mar-May or Oct/Nov the temperatures are really warm. Personally June and Sep are a bit too hot for me.

WHERE TO STAY

Firstly, where to stay depends on what you want to do whilst you’re there. I’d highly suggest going to explore if you visit, there’s so many amazing sights and the restaurants and beach clubs are some of the best in the world so you’d be missing out if you just stay in your hotel. The city is large and spread out and although it’s easy to get around the traffic can be pretty terrible in Dubai – especially at rush hour and there are some parts which get more congested than others – i.e. the marina/JBR and the Palm Jumeirah. Also some parts of the city are really not made for walking around. Here’s a few ideas based on what you want….

WANT TO FLY AND FLOP: If you’re looking to just stay in the resort most of the time, I’d suggest a hotel on the manmade island of the Palm Jumeirah. Some of the most luxurious resorts are here with multiple restaurants available and with The Pointe and West Palm Beach there’s a few options outside of the resort too. My favourites are Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, The W Palm, Sofitel Palm, Anantara and the Fairmont. Another option is around the Madinat area where there are a selection of luxury Jumeirah hotels.

WANT TO WALK AROUND: If you fancy being able to walk out of your hotel and explore, I’d suggest staying around the marina or on Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) Walk. Bluewaters island is also a great place to stay where you can walk over the bridge to this area. These areas have lots of walking routes and promenades with restaurants, shops and beach clubs. My favourites are Banyan Tree (on Bluewaters), Le Royal Meridien Mina Seyahi, The Westin, The W Mina Seyahi and the Address.

If you want to walk around outside of your hotel, do not stay on the Palm fronds or crescent (Atlantis etc)!

Another new place to stay is Palm West Beach – on the trunk of the palm this stretch has many new hotels, restaurants and beach clubs on a walkable promenade. I’d highly recommend staying here!

WANT TO EXPLORE ALL THE SIGHTS: If you’re likely to be going out everyday and exploring, I’d suggest staying on the outside edge of the marina or in Jumeirah in the Mina Seyahi area, my top picks are The Westin, The W Mina Seyahi, Le Royal Meridien and Jumeirah the Greens.

WANT TO SHOP: The biggest mall in the world – Dubai Mall is in Downtown. This is also the home of the Burj Khalifa and it’s famous fountains. Downtown is closest to the airport and is the business district but does have some fantastic city style hotels and great restaurants. My pick would be any of the Address hotels.

WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Dubai is in the desert after all, and not too far away are some fantastic desert retreats. One of my favourites is The Ritz Carlton Al Wadi in RAK but if you’ve no budget Al Maha is the ultimate luxury desert retreat.

WANT A LARGE RESORT & I WON’T LEAVE: If you’re really not fussed about leaving the hotel at all, I’d suggest staying in the nearby emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (about 45 mins from the airport). Marjan Island has a variety of large resorts offering all inclusive options and it’s much cheaper than Dubai itself.

WANT TO PARTY/BE SEEN: Some resorts are quite lively and have pool parties/beach clubs attached. W Palm, Rixos Premium JBR, Five the Palm all have instagrammable pools and frequent parties. The new Palm West Beach is home to many new beach clubs and amazing restaurants too.

Secondly, depending on your budget you can get more for your money in some areas than others.

SKY IS THE LIMIT: If you want to stay in some of the best hotels in the world, Dubai really is the place for you. The 7* Burj Al Arab is the world’s most luxurious. There’s also two One & Only hotels, a few Jumeirah (the Souk Madinat hotels are amazing) and Address properties and pretty much every luxury hotelier has a property there. The new Atlantis The Royale has some incredible suites too. If you’re a group, a private villa in a hotel is a good option for a luxury hotel and private pool.

CHAMPAGNE TASTE & LEMONADE BUDGET: The hotels are not typically cheap at all here. If you’re thinking of spending most of your time out and about, an idea is to get an apartment around the marina where you can walk to beach clubs and restaurants and get a taxi easily. The larger hotels offer pool day passes for a fee so this enables you to visit more than just the one pool or beach. I recently stayed in JA Oasis Beach Tower which was reasonably priced and has 1,2 and 3 bed apartments. Another option is to stay further out in an area such as Jumeirah village where the instagrammable Five hotel is located.

Lastly, it depends on who you are travelling with:

FAMILIES: Dubai is really family friendly with resorts including waterparks, such as the famous Atlantis The Palm, the Jumeirah hotels, the Royal Meridien and Le Meridien. Atlantis is great for older kids as you get free access to the massive Aquadventure and there’s an aquarium in the hotel too. I’d steer clear of some of the livelier hotels mentioned above.

GROUPS: There’s so many apartments with 1/2/3 bedroom options around the marina and JBR that work well for groups. If you’ve a large budget, some hotels have attached serviced villas with private pools such as Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on the Palm.

COUPLES: Some hotels have an adults only pool area such as The Westin and The St Regis is fully adults only (the home of the Aura Skypool).

For enquiries and holiday bookings contact me directly – laura.holirays@gmail.com