Traveling in Dubai, UAE, part 2

As Westerners who traveled in Dubai in May of 2005, John and I found out a few details of travel there that we'll share here in part 2:

Lodging in Dubai

If you are staying at the Burj al Arab in Dubai (pictured above), then none of the following applies to you. However, if your pocketbook will stretch only to a more conventional stay, here's the best advice we have to offer:

Pick your hotel very carefully. Stay in the 5-star hotels only. To read the rating of a Dubai hotel, take off a star from the rating system you are accustomed to in the West. It doesn't really matter where the hotel is located in terms of whether it's in the city or near the airport or which side of the water. What does matter is the amenities at the hotel. You will spend a lot of time there. Choose your hotel for the room size, the restaurants available at the hotel, the club and bar facilities, and swimming pool and other outdoor facilities. Dubai has no "night-life" in the terms that Westerners are accustomed. There are clubs and bars where you can drink and dance and smooze; all of these are located in hotels. The hotels are spread out across the city so a bar crawl is not a real possibility. Therefore, if night-life is your bag, it's going to be happening most likely at the hotel where you are staying. Likewise, most of your breakfasts and dinner meals will be eaten at your hotel. Check-in at the hotel can be hectic with lots of waiting around for a room. Evidently, hotel service help is difficult to keep. The desk will apologize but it won't get any better during your stay than it was at the start.

There is a Western-style grocery store ( a French chain, I think) which is a godsend. After checking into your hotel, catch a cab for Carrefour supermarket. Get lots of bottled water and drinks, mixers and snacks, cheese, etc. for the little frig in the hotel room. Be sure to buy some plastic ware. There is a cab queue outside Carrefour so it's easy to get back to your hotel. There is another popular supermarket called Spinney's, but since we only went to Carrefour, we don't know what the Spinney's experience is like. There are more Spinneys around than Carrefours. We saw another Carrefour in a mall, but we don't remember which one. To get to any location in Dubai, jump in the cab and give the name like "Carrefours" or "Spinney's" and the cabbie will drive you straight to the nearest one.

The hotels rock until after midnight so if your room is near the bars or clubs, expect to hear the racket or join in the fun!

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