It really depends on what sort of holiday it will be.
Many people visit Dubai and get caught in the mall/beach/brunch type of holiday or lifestyle and don't see any other side of it.
I have lived in the UAE for over half my life and have experienced very little of that simply because there is a lot more to offer and the fake/glam 'lifestyle' does not appeal to me.
The desert and the surrounding emirates are stunning. There is culture, there are old and historic parts, but visitors rarely seek this out or are not aware of it. Many people even live in the UAE for a few years and leave again having hardly even spoken to an Emirati, which is a shame.
To address some of the points other posters have made. Regarding human rights, it is good to have some understanding of the lives that the guys who work on the building sites have left behind. They have no work whatsoever in their home countries and are on such a low level of poverty that it is hard for us to imagine. They can come to the Middle East, work for 2/3 years, send all of their salaries home (food/accommodation comes with the job), and buy land or a home. They will also be supporting all of their extended families (aunts, uncles, cousins, parents etc etc) while away from home.
The UAE government has worked very hard to ensure that the accommodation the men live in is of a good standard and there are regular inspections. the men are not allowed to work outside in the summer between 12 and 3pm, companies who breach this are fined heavily.
It is very hard as Westerners looking from a Western point of view at the men outside, to think outside of our equal pay thinking but you have to look at it from their point of view - they simply wouldn't come if it wasn't beneficial for them, and as hard as that is for us to understand it is true - 2 or 3 years here is life changing for them, they return home and are sorted for the rest of their lives.
The economy in Kerala in India has been turned on its head due to work in the Middle East. There are now so many men in various positions in the ME that the women are actually going out to work, climbing coconut trees and doing traditional work that men used to do years ago, it's quite interesting to read about this.
Regarding safety, the UAE is an extremely safe place to be, whether this is leaving a phone or handbag in a taxi and having it delivered back to you a few days later intact, or walking around the streets in the day or night. Like anywhere, be sensible, but it is very safe.
It's very easy to think of Dubai as like Las Vegas or all malls in the desert, or all brunches etc, and yes if you come and you want that sort of holiday or lifestyle it's all there. If you want more out of it though, the culture, the simple life, the hospitality of Emiratis, it's there too, you just need to step off the beaten track.