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Post by tassiedevil on Dec 14, 2014 5:40:16 GMT
I will be visiting Dubai for the first time at the end of April and was wondering if anyone had been there before and could recommend where is a good spot to look to stay. Is downtown the place to stay? Thanks in advance.
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Post by Owen on Dec 14, 2014 20:26:07 GMT
I have started planning a trip to New York for 2016. Flying Sydney, Dubai and New York with Emirates. 2Night stop in Dubai going and 2+N coming home.
Please browse the Infinity Holiday brochure for United Arab Emirates. Infinity is a division of Flight Centre.
Many hotels near the "Mall of the Emirates" (very large shopping centre complex with numerous attractions besides shops) and a Metro station. Hotels ~ Ibis, Novotel and others. Prices reasonable and across street or short walk from the Mall of the Emirates. Size of a city block does vary is some cities e.g. Las Vegas & newer parts of Dubai. Ask your travel agent about Dubai. Many travel agents have visited on special promotion visits with Emirates Airlines.
Burj Al Arab is 7star hotel. No casuals allowed into lobby. Entry OK & escorted if you book a "High or Afternoon Tea" tour held on the 120th floor.
Burj Khalifa is tallest tower in the world. The Highest Observation level opened recently (since August 2014). You buy a ticket within the Dubai Mall and entry via a underground walkway.
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Post by tassiedevil on Dec 15, 2014 2:39:18 GMT
Thanks Owen. Will take a look. I think the Burj Al Arab is out. I normally don't book anything above 3star!
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Post by Oz-T on Dec 15, 2014 21:11:57 GMT
Hi Tassie,
Last year we stayed in the adjoining emirate, Abu Dhabi. The hotel was the Park Inn and was about $170 per night. It's a 3-star hotel but was quite comfortable. And most importantly, the air-conditioning worked fine, shielding us from the relentless 40C desert temperatures.
I'm not sure whether they have something similar in Dubai, but I'd be looking for 3-star, then checking out Trip Adviser before deciding.
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Post by tassiedevil on Dec 21, 2014 5:19:24 GMT
Thanks Oz.
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denise
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by denise on Jan 11, 2015 4:31:22 GMT
We stayed at the Pullman Mall of the Emirates Hotel in September 2012. The hotel is attached to the Mall of the Emirates (2nd largest shopping centre in Dubai). We had pre-booked airport transfers but I don't think you really need them - plenty of taxis and they seem reasonable.
The hotel was fine, we were collected from here for 2 tours - a 1/2 day city tour that when it ended dropped us off at the Dubai Mall where we went up the Burj Khalifa, watched the synchronised water fountain show and shopped. We got a taxi back to our hotel - it was about the equivalent of$22 (AUD).
The other tour we did was a 4WD tour out to the sand dunes including dinner, falcon show, camel rides, henna tattoos, belly dancing etc - thoroughly recommend this, extremely well organised and excellent value.
There is a metro there and if I went to Dubai again I would certainly try using it. Your travel agent may have further recommendations - it also depends what you plan to do there?
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Post by tassiedevil on Jan 12, 2015 1:59:37 GMT
Thanks Denise. I was looking at doing something similar to what you did, a city tour, desert tour and going to the top of Burj Khalifa. I will look into Pullman Mall of the Emirates Hotel. Do you remember who did those tours with?
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 12, 2015 6:37:09 GMT
.... The other tour we did was a 4WD tour out to the sand dunes including dinner, falcon show, camel rides, henna tattoos, belly dancing etc - thoroughly recommend this, extremely well organised and excellent value. I went to that same place, Denise. Mrs Oz freaked out going down the dunes in the Land Cruiser, but was rather relaxed when she got her (temporary) henna tattoo. I was more interested in studying the belly dancer.
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denise
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by denise on Jan 12, 2015 7:40:40 GMT
Thanks Denise. I was looking at doing something similar to what you did, a city tour, desert tour and going to the top of Burj Khalifa. I will look into Pullman Mall of the Emirates Hotel. Do you remember who did those tours with? We did all our tours and airport-hotel transfers with Arabian Adventures: www.arabian-adventures.com/en/tours-and-safaris/find-tours-and-safaris/Dubai.aspxarranged via our travel agent - Harveyworld Travel.
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denise
Junior Member
Posts: 86
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Post by denise on Jan 12, 2015 7:42:47 GMT
.... The other tour we did was a 4WD tour out to the sand dunes including dinner, falcon show, camel rides, henna tattoos, belly dancing etc - thoroughly recommend this, extremely well organised and excellent value. I went to that same place, Denise. Mrs Oz freaked out going down the dunes in the Land Cruiser, but was rather relaxed when she got her (temporary) henna tattoo. I was more interested in studying the belly dancer. 1 landcruiser actually got bogged in the sand dunes! I was amused that the ladies doing the henna tattoos used the light from their mobile phones to see by. We got 1 tattoo when we first arrived and got a 2nd when they turned off all the lights for star gazing.
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Post by Oz-T on Jan 12, 2015 22:28:41 GMT
I enjoyed the stargazing bit as I'm an amateur astronomer. I laid down on my back on that stage area to look up, holding my smartphone with the app that labels all the stars and constellations. As the far-northern sky is hidden to us in Australia I love to stare at the sky whenever I'm in the northern hemisphere to see the unfamiliar star patterns. Does the following look familiar?
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Post by tassiedevil on Mar 6, 2015 1:22:02 GMT
I booked into a Holiday Inn at the airport. We decided as we had an early morning departure we might stay near the airport. The hotel offers complimentary shuttle buses to and from airport, to various locations in Dubai and is only a 2 min walk to a metro station.
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Post by plane2catch on Nov 23, 2015 23:57:32 GMT
I booked into a Holiday Inn at the airport. We decided as we had an early morning departure we might stay near the airport. The hotel offers complimentary shuttle buses to and from airport, to various locations in Dubai and is only a 2 min walk to a metro station. Tassie Devil did you post a travel tale of your visit to Dubai. I saw a little of Dubai enroute back to DFW from India. Our tour group had like 20 hours in Dubai so we booked a day room and had a half day tour of the city. Would have enjoyed more time there and especially would have liked a visit to the Sand. Remember being so happy to find a McDonald's at the airport after not seeing any in India and craving a Quarter Pounder.
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Post by tassiedevil on Nov 24, 2015 1:32:25 GMT
No I didn't do a travel tale.
A few of the things I did there, the 4wd desert safari, which was great (a nice dinner, camel rides, sand boarding, dancers and more), indoor ski centre where I had a snow boarding lesson, got the monorail out to the end of the palm island, Burj Khalifa (paid extra to get to the higher observation deck which included drinks and nibbles), had a 'accident' and 'broke' my arm (saw a doctor 6 weeks later when I got home and had my suspicions confirmed). I would advise anyone wanting to visit Burj Khalifa to pre-buy their tickets, as they sell out quickly. If I had of rocked up to buy the tickets when I arrived I would have missed out, the day I wanted and the next day were totally sold out and there were only a handful of timeslots available for 2 days later.
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Post by plane2catch on Nov 24, 2015 2:46:07 GMT
Has' your arm healed? You didn't mention how you managed to break it?
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Post by tassiedevil on Nov 24, 2015 3:56:46 GMT
The arm is fine now, took a lot longer to heal than it should as I didn't seek medical attention for 6 weeks and was using the arm. The incident involved ice and speed!
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