Dubai Hints & Tips! (Merged)

xueta

Just a quick mention of the Al Mahara 'underwater-themed' restaurant in the Burj Al Arab. Is it still there? We had lunch there out of curiosity after hearing much excitement about the 'underwater restaurant in Dubai', but my advice to anyone going out there is to avoid it. It's expensive and really isn't that special.

The restaurant seems to be very popular amongst rich Arabs, however, taking their children or favoured nephews and nieces out for a special treat. Imagine a bearded Arab dressed in the traditional dishdasha and headdress with a small throng of young children dressed in pink lace and little suits - you get the picture. In the daytime, staff will transfer you from its sister hotel - the Jumeirah Beach Hotel - to the Burj in a golfing buggy, but in the evening they'll lay on a special BMW limo for the purpose.

I'll let you into a secret :shhh: ...the underwater restaurant isn't really underwater at all, it's on the ground floor! Anyway, once at the Burj you walk up the gilded marble staircase up to the first floor where you are greeted by the 'Captain' of your 'submarine' about to take you on your adventure. The Captain (properly attired in a peaked cap and uniform) undoes the 'airlocks' at the entrance to your 'craft' (ok, so it's actually the lift attendant opening the door to the lift) and invites you in. Inside the 'craft', you are invited to take your seat and 'strap in'. Once seated, the Captain winds close the heavy chamber door and welcomes you on board. A bank of computer screens open up around you simulating an underwater scene and the craft judders as it glides down to your underwater table (OK so it's on the ground floor).

The restaurant itself is cool and darkly lit, dominated by a huge marine aquarium at its heart. The theme of rounded portholes and gates is followed throughout. Staff are attentive, but food was sadly expensive and uninspiring. So there you go. I hope I've debunked some of the myths surrounding the restaurant and possibly made people thinking of going there out of curiosity rethink their choice. Don't let me stop you if it's what you want to do, but money might be better spent elsewhere.

xueta

Just stumbled across this website [URL=http://]http://www.timeoutdubai.com/[/URL] ... includes a very useful directory. Here's an updated list of tour operators copied from the site. Apologies if this has already been posted.

Tour Operators
Whether you fancy attacking big red sand dune in the desert outside of Dubai or prefer a sedate open-top bus ride around Dubai's historical sites the following tour operators will have something for everyone.

Arabian Adventures
Tel +971 4 303 4888
Tours include
Dune dinner safari Dhs295, Sep-May; Dhs270 Jun-Aug
Overnight safari Dhs440
Stable tours Dhs205; Dhs143.50 concessions
https://www.arabian-adventures.com (part of the Emirates group)

Arabian Desert Tours
Tel +971 4 268 2880
Tours includes:
Desert safari Dhs150; Dhs100 concessions
Dhow dinner cruise Dhs120; Dhs90 concessions
City tour Dhs80; Dhs50 concessions

Desert Rangers
Tel +971 4 340 2408
Tours include
Dune buggy safari Dhs375
Dune dinner safari Dhs260
Ccanoe rental at Khor Kalba Dhs150
https://www.desertrangers.com

East Adventure Tours
Tel +971 4 355 5677
Tours include
Desert safari Dhs240; Dhs110 concessions
Camel safari Dhs355; Dhs155 concessions
City tour Dhs155; Dhs110 concessions
https://www.holidayindubai.com

Lama Tours
Tel +971 4 273 2240
Tours include
Desert safari Dhs220; Dhs150 concessions
East coast tour Dhs180; 100 concessions
Guided city tours of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Dhs170-Dhs90; Dhs100-Dhs60 concessions
https://www.lamadubai.com

Net Tours
Tel +971 4 266 6655
Tours include
Desert safari Dhs260; Dhs180 concessions
Dhow dinner cruise Dhs200; Dhs150 concessions
Hatta trek Dhs310; Dhs250 concessions
https://www.netgroupdubai.com

Off-Road Adventures
Tel +971 4 343 2288
Tours include
Desert safari Dhs270; Dhs175 concessions
Hatta trip Dhs200; Dhs130 concessions
https://www.arabiantours.com

Voyagers Xtreme
Tel +971 4 345 4504
Tours include
Desert safari Dhs200; Dhs180 concessions
Hatta safari Dhs260; Dhs185 concessions
City tours (Dhs175-Dhs110; Dhs85-Dhs55 concessions
https://www.turnertraveldubai.com

fatboyonadiet

http://www.arabiannights-tours.com/ Went with these in the end they did me a price of 180 each down from 240

Moose_2

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone has stayed at the following hotels and what thier opinion is of facilities, restaurants etc....

Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, Le Royal Meridien
Mina A Salam or The Sheraton

Thanks in advance for any response to this.

H :beer:

bigup

wow wish i knew about that site before i went Fatboy....would have saved me loads! have a good trip.

xueta thanks for them sites. lots of good info on them. definatly got my mind thinking about going again and what to do next time

cougar_3

I heard that if you buy flights via Dubai to India but get off in Dubai anyway, they are cheaper. Is this true and is it possible to do that?

khizman

truscott_uk wrote:

I heard that if you buy flights via Dubai to India but get off in Dubai anyway, they are cheaper. Is this true and is it possible to do that?

They may be cheaper depending on the time of year etc.

budgetflyer

Moose wrote:

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone has stayed at the following hotels and what thier opinion is of facilities, restaurants etc....

Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, Le Royal Meridien
Mina A Salam or The Sheraton

Thanks in advance for any response to this.

H :beer:

I stayed at the Sheraton in APRIL. Hotel is lovely. Very uncrowded. However MASSIVE building work going on Landside. You must book seaviw room.or dont bother. Most rooms dont have balconys. Upgrade to seaview+balcony highly recommended.
Nearest hotel to it is Hilton. 0.5 KM.next door to that is OASIS. These are more crowded. Le Meridian Hotels are nice also,Mina Seyahi has a great beach bar. Very lively.For choice of facilities Mina A Salam is probably the best. You have Jumeirah Beach hotel next to it and you can share facilities with all hotels in the group(except Burj al Arab)
I must mention "The One and Only"
This impressed me the most. Beautifull hotel and very luxurious. My pick if I had the money

fatboyonadiet

Moose wrote:

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone has stayed at the following hotels and what thier opinion is of facilities, restaurants etc....

Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, Le Royal Meridien
Mina A Salam or The Sheraton

Thanks in advance for any response to this.

H :beer:

Went into the Royal Meridien to eat seems very nice. Stayed at the Oasis which is just round the corner and couldn't recommend it enough, really, really nice and enjoyed it.

Having said that if I ever went to Dubai again I would stay in a city centre hotel as you pay more to stay at Jumeirah beach but don't actually get much more for your money, most city hotels will have a pool and we ran up most of our big taxi's fares going to and from the centre.

freddie_2

Stayed at the Burj this year for a few nights and was brilliant. The service is amazing and I didnt find it too ott. Dont knowe what the food is like as between eating in town during the day and canapes and champagne in our room at night and the chocolate cake they gave us, oh and the massive breakfast we wernt hungry enough to spent £200 on dinner there.

If you get the chance to go - GO it is a fab experience, but I have found now when I go away my phrase is 'not quite the burj is it' HAHAHA

Also got some carrier bags at the hotel as had bought too much stuff. Had one over my shoulder when checking in at stop over hotel and manager ungreded our room and asked what the burj was like. May take it with me in future.