Reply With QuoteToo hot.
Was looking at getting away for a week and have stumbled in Dubai as a place which initially looks value at sub £700 a week for hotels with bed and breakfast
I’m not well travelled and worry about total costs
Am I to assume that evening meals are very expensive? Say to say living expenses? Excursions?
I’d be grateful of the ins and outs
Is 7 days too long?
Thoughts?
Too hot.
I think 5 days is enough to be honest
Stay 'central' to keep costs down
Do you have any hotel memberships?
Meals can vary massively.
What do you want to do/see? Beach/Malls/Desert?
HOT HOT HOT
HUMID, then some more HOT.
Expect high 40s. Plenty of AC, but there is a reason why it is cheap to go there in July
Stay...away!
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
To add to that, eating out is expensive, unless you go local, then it is cheap. Actually eating in restaurants without an alcohol licence is cheaper.
You will probably be able to get DBB deals, but a big part of the Dubai thing is eating out.
Ensure your hotel has a chilled pool - decent places do, otherwise it will feel like a bath. You need to pool to cool you off
Last edited by mtagrant; 4th July 2018 at 20:15.
You’re probably got the message by now - but it really isn’t the best time of year to visit
We went in August and it was hot obviously but a very dry heat. Get a resort hotel with decent pool (we stayed at the Meridien and it was great). Try for a club type room where you can have afternoon tea and snacks etc and they often include drinks. We didn’t find eating out expensive (say compared to Singapore). There isn’t much to see and 7 days is probably too long. Not a place we would go back to but a place that it worth seeing once just to experience the vast wealth on display. Our hotel was on the beach but the sea was too warm to swim in!
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Somebody on here coined a phrase that Dubai was like a sH1t rolled in gold.
I think that’s far too nice a description.
It’s as they say if it’s too cheap there’s a catch
Thanks fellas
Many years ago when joining a ship in the Gulf before Dubai was a holiday resort we decided to have a swim off the beach. You have never seen guys leave the water so quick ( like a Jaws movie) when we realised there were loads of sea snakes around. Still get the sweats thinking about it.Originally Posted by mhocking
Ditto. You will spend most of your time in Air Conditioning
Just got back - it is furiously hot (45) and humid i came back paler than i went but it was a work trip.
Plenty of cheap hotels and lots of building sites as they are preparing for Dubai Expo 2020.
If you want some sun and outdoors activities I would think twice even though I had a suite for 50 a night.
That said if you want to do some activities there is good stuff to do still - and not just the malls. Trip to desert (dryer & cooler at night there), restaurants & hotels, maybe waterworld but I would say 7 days too much this time of year as being outside for more than 10 minutes was a real ordeal and everyone there said it was about to get a lot worse and forget eating outside in the evening as well as the humidity, it was still over 30 at night.
Do not go there at this time of year. You won't go outside! I've been in May and January, January was great - like UK summer, May was ok but only just...
From guys I know who work there, the weekend begins Friday with lots of hotels offering good “all you can eat/drink” deals. Typically great food and as many high end drinks as you like.
Other than that, prohibitively expensive.
Quite hot too, apparently 👍
Hotter than hell in July / August, always the cheapest time to stay there. A lot of ex-pats are looking to get out for a while soon....
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I would go almost anywhere else tbh. Like others have said unbearable heat and just one of the more unpleasant places I have visited. I have to go for business from time to time but that’s it for me.
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John. I’ve been in August. About 50 degrees but strangely dry heat
We went 9yr ago when it was Decent price for beer and food
Any info call me 2m or pop in shop
+1.......I spent a day there in mid- August when the temperature was 40 degrees, after 10 minutes outside you’re very happy to get into an air- conditioned shop!
I’d class Dubai as interesting rather than enjoyable, not somewhere I’d recommend for a holiday but OK for a couple of days.........but not in July!
Paul
Still the classic article on Dubai...
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices...i-1664368.html
Stop posting interesting stuff. I still haven't got around to watching that video on the universe yet.
We stayed at Jumeirah Beach for our 4 night break and after driving around glad we did. It's all there for a short break, beach, bars and lot's of eateries. The JB Hotel was stunning and they couldn't do enough for us. We packed our days with activities which included a 4x4 safari, trips to the old town, Burj, jet skiing and even rented a 50` Sunseeker from the marina for a couple of hours on impulse.
We were there in September and it was in the 80's then.
We went for a long weekend en-route to see friends in Bahrain.
Stayed at the Maydan as I like my horse racing - spent an absolute fortune and was pretty hot even then. We then had a couple of nights near the marina and did the usual sight-seeing and eating out in the Palm.
It’s personally not for me for any length of time, but I’m happy to go there for a couple of days when passing through other places via Emirates.
The Brunches (on a Friday) are fun, but are full of tax-free foreigners trying to out-do each other with cars and boasting about the number of servants they have.
Add flights, drink and food to that £700 and you’d be better off going to Sri Lanka for a 9 day holiday.
I knew it was bad over there but blimey... if even half of this is true why would anyone ever go there??
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I went on business a couple of times. It's an oven. Don't do it!
Any of the Jumeirah properties are good. Someone has already mentioned the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, close-by is the Mina a'Salam which is excellent. If you want a more desert type experience, there is Bab al Shams.
Given the time of year and the heat, it's basically off-season which means you can get some pretty good deals if you push hard enough, even the better hotels (like those above) will give good discounts on things like dining and activities, so you could get close to full-board if you want to control costs. Bab al Shams has an offer for 50% off food for example.
People have said it's hot and that's true - and a bit obvious to be perfectly honest given it's a hot desert during summer. Yes the heat can be hardcore (it'll be upwards of 50 degrees) but the country is set up for it and it's not that bad. There are quite a few things to be done in an air-conditioned environment. It's interesting to be in a different culture too (even if it's Westernised and quite mall-based).
A few things to try out during the weather: the Wild Wadi (go early from a heat perspective), skiing at the Mall of the Emirates, desert excursion in 4x4s, there's tonnes of watch shops so plenty to browse, there are tonnes of nice restaurants too. Not sure if you're going with kids (or like this sort of thing) but they have decent theme parks too, most of which are air-conditioned.
If you think its warm here at the moment, then its probably not going to suit you. I got back from a 5 night stop over in Dubai 3 weeks ago. Lets put it this way, after holidaying for 10 nights in the Indian Ocean, it did nothing to prepare me for the heat that hits you on arrival in Dubai. That said, there is plenty to do there if you give it chance. We spent most days in the waterpark, which is great for adults and kids alike. Nothing is cheap though, and if you have an affinity for the beer, prepare to pay up to £12 a pint in the hotels. A lot of hotels are now running offers/happy hours now though. We have had shortish visits (3-5) days every year for the past 5 years and, in contrast to others it seems, actually really enjoy it. I know you like cars too John, and there are plenty of high end cars to been seen everywhere you go.
Been there for work probably 6 or more times, hated it every time. Agree the heat is oppressing this time of year. I cannot imagine spending my own money to be there tbh but I appreciate some like the heat.
Took the family there some 10+ years ago and there is no way I'd ever go back there again.
Apart from the heat as others have already pointed out, I'm Indian and me and my family were treated like 2nd class citizens so there is no way I'd ever spend money there, doubt that any pitiful amount I'd spend will affect their economy but I won't and tell all my family and friends.
Some of the incidents, my wife got pushed around by a "local arab women" and we were told to effectively shut up, I had a friend with me who does business there and he told me it was best to keep quiet as the police won't even listen to you and will always side with the "local". Went to a bank to change money and they kept on serving "locals" who came in after us, I politely went up to ask and was told to wait my turn. In a shop, as we were being served, "local" women came in and we were told to sit on the side whilst they served them even though we were mid way through a purchase.
Now some of the above maybe traditions that I don't know or understand but I found the "locals" to be just plain arrogant and rude, but I suppose with their money they can afford to be.
I had booked a family suite and from there we could see workers on the various building sites, I went in August, it was 50c midday and these guys were there, no shade trying to work. I asked a hotel worker who was Indian how they can be allowed to work in the open in that heat, he told me that he couldn't say much but when I get back to the UK to search and then read.
So from me it's a no, spend your money elsewhere, I doubt that it'll make a difference as they are now being propped up by other Arab states but I personally would not.
Agreed. The article is an old one but one that still rings true. Much of the content is visible daily, other stuff is definitely kept under wraps. Another old adage I've heard which is true is "Dubai; the world's biggest departure lounge". It really is just like being in a massive airport. Mall to mall, hotel to hotel, restaurant to restaurant, all icy-cold with air con. As only hotels have the right to serve alcohol, if having a night out, you are basically ferried around from hotel to hotel in taxis. All very odd.
Why would anyone ever go there? Whether it be to live (and work) or holiday, the answers are generally the same; top class hotels, restaurants and beach clubs where you have people waiting on you hand and foot. It certainly attracts a certain type of people. Work-wise, I know a few Johnny Average mid-20s guys who worked in call centres in UK who went into 'sales' out there ten years ago and now drive Porsche 911s and live in nice apartments. To the materialist who simply isn't going to get off the bottom social rung elsewhere I can see why people would be attracted to it. Others I know decided to go there for a few years so that they could retire 15 years later, and they have. So I can see the attraction. make no mistake though, even if you're paid £10,000 per month rather than £1,000 per month, many of the issues are the same. Passports are held by the company as the default position and they can make life very difficult for you. So many of the instagram-appealling lifestyles are marred with same oppression just as the Indian service workers.
Somebody I know was out there six years fixed contract. Only in the last couple of months were they complaining about the human rights abuses and generally terrible conditions for the majority of people. Ironic really, you were happy to take the money but only realised the issues on your way out.
The striking thing for me is this... People who live there complain and say how much they hate it. Yet when somebody who doesn't live there criticizes, you get "yeah, but you don't get this and that in UK, beach clubs, bars, clubs" etc. Also, many lacked a certain something before they went to live out there so they become "Dubai" and it is all they have to talk about. "In Dubai...", "In Dubai...". I find the other UAE states such as Abu Dhabi similar at times, but nowhere near apparent.
I find the psychology of people who chose to be out there fascinating, I just wish the lives and sanity of 'second class citizens' wasn't destroyed in the process.
Source: I have family and friends out there. Been a good few times.
Edited to add: As per Hammond's later point, the article is MASSIVELY unbalanced. There is plenty of good that happens here too and, as with anything, its easy to manipulate the facts.
Last edited by Progressive; 5th July 2018 at 17:06.
This blog was written very shortly after that Independent piece in 2009. Posting just for some balance - I don't have an opinion either way nor any experience to add weight to either side.
https://christophersaul.wordpress.co...dubai-article/
Thanks for posting that article.
As someone who visits Dubai frequently for work I find a lot more I recognise about Dubai in that article than in the Independent one.
I have worked with local Emiratis, European and US expats, and many of the workers who have moved there from the Indian sub-continent. I can honestly say I have never encountered the type of behaviour suggested in the independent article....but then I am not a journalist looking to get a story published.
I also have many colleagues who have moved there from around the world, none of whom have ever even hinted at Dubai being as it is portrayed in the article. Maybe people living outside of Dubai know it better, though.
Whilst Dubai isn’t my favourite place in the world, and I wouldn’t personally choose to live there, neither is it the hellish caricature that some might have us believe.
I am back there next week. I’ll be sure to look out for all the expats living in their Range Rovers in hotel car parks.
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We did Dubai last year in July and are off again next week for 9 nights, myself, my wife and my 15 year old son one of the Hilton hotels 4 star all inclusive £2,400 for us all! Yes it’s hot as hell but we just want to sit in the shade and dip in the pool. We will only go Ann inclusive cos food and drink is expensive.
There’s not a lot to do or see but for me it’s about just chilling and reading.
Check out the BA website it’s a crap site to navigate but search hotels and flights, play about with dates and see what comes up.
To try to get slightly back to the original question..
I lived in Dubai for 2 years, and before that bounced back and forth every 3-4 weeks.
July is a furnace. There’s a reason every expat runs for the airport as soon as their kids finish school.
That said, if you’re brave and happy to run on your tiptoes in to a sea that’s like bath water before the sun is fully up, then you could give it a try. In reality it’s far better to stay inside. If you don’t like shopping, that might be tedious as the biggest air conditioned places are the malls. Lots of nice watches to see mind..
When we lived there we treated midsummer like a bad weather day- drew the curtains, watched movies and cranked up the AC. Nothing outside except maybe swimming in the morning and evening. You can forget sitting outside for dinner though as it’s still 40c at midnight!
As for all the cultural bits, that’s a whole other post! I will say that I was always deeply uncomfortable with the stark contrast between the lifestyle of the expats with the construction workers, waiters, hairdressers etc. You would not believe the wages these guys are there for. Then there’s the bonded labour, labour camps in the desert, frequent fatalities on building sites.. it’s a bit Wild West in many respects.
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Just got back, some say it's to hot. Was in the low 40's and lovely for me and the wife.
We stayed 4 days at the Shangri-La , got a deal that included breakfast a lunch and evening snacks with free drinks from 5-7. Also room upgrade for an extra 40£ a night. Club rooms from memory. The we went about an hour outside Dubai to the Rixos Bab al Bahr which does all inclusive and had an adult pool. Very relaxing 7 days there.
Was paying around £13 for a pint of peroni in dubai and £120 for a meal for 2 when we eat out
If it was a cheap sh1th0le I could understand why some folk go to Dubai.
It is rock bottom on my list of places to visit, and this only confirms it.
If you want to go off season to get a cheap holiday, go to SE Asia in the summer
It can be very cheap. I purposely sought out a branch of an Indian chain restaurant that's a favourite of mine - the prices had, perhaps, a 5-10% uplift on their Delhi franchise.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
hotel saravana bhavan? is the owner still doing time for murder?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Yes. Don't know.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Look on the bright side, at least the place is vegetarian
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Dubai is the parable of what money makes when it has no purpose but its own multiplication and grandeur. When the culture that holds it is too frail to contain it. Dubai is a place that doesn’t just know the price of everything and the value of nothing but makes everything worthless. The answer to everything in Dubai is money. In the darkness of the hot night, the motorways roar with Ferraris and Porsches and Lamborghinis; the fat boys are befuddled and stupefied by sports cars they race around on nowhere roads, going nowhere. Taxi drivers of their ambitionless, all-consuming entitlement. Shortchanged by being given everything. Cursed with money.
From AA Gill
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/04/dubai-201104
I'd agree if you were going for at least a couple of weeks but a 12 hour flight is no good for a short break. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are borderline long-weekend destinations.
It's far from my favourite destination, but, while booze is certainly expensive in the UAE, hotels can be great value and if you eat where workers from their respective countries eat they're superb food destinations and very cheap.
basically there's two types of people that go to Dubai on holiday :
1. 'new money' types that think showing off is cool
2. poor people that save for the whole year just to be able to feel like type 1 for a week
as others already said, it's like a tu*d rolled in gold : sure it looks shiny, but it's still a tu*d. with so many other holiday options available, I don't see why anyone other than the 2 types above would even consider going there
I'd advise going to Dubai in July only if it's to transit onto an onward flight to Thailand. I'm amazed that people go to Dubai for the beach when for less money (factoring in drinks and food) you could be in the Far East which is a zillion times more interesting, has better beaches, better food and the locals aren't privileged prats.
I've worked in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and I've had short leisure breaks in both (a stopover coming back from India, and a long weekend). I don't think I fit in either category.
Are you a 1 or a 2?
I don’t think I fit either 1 or 2, I went simply out of curiosity and people coming back exclaiming how great it was but as I said above for me and my family, never again.
I'm in the 'went there against my will' camp.
Basically Emirates screwed my flights and was stuck there for 24 hours. I would not willingly go back
Nope I’m neither and NOT going now anyway
MrsO took 3 of the kids there for a week last month .
Jumeirah beach is closed for renovations so they stayed at Jumeirah Creekside - had a great time - access to Wild Wadi was free , they got a free upgrade to a club room .
Basically hardly paid for any food or drink the whole holiday as there was a lot of food and drink for free in the club lounge .
In the evening there was a choice of 3 hot and 3 cold dinners , other buffet style food and the theme changed every night . She said she felt quite comfortable having a glass of wine on her own in the club lounge and the kids ( one of which can be quite fussy) enjoyed the food selection.
The free food and drink and free water park left more money for outside excursions like quad biking .
Overall a good inexpensive holiday.
I wouldn’t class us in either category above .
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