Tell me about Dubai - Recommend me hotels/appartments which aren't extortionate and suitable for family of 4 (2yr and 4yr kiddies)

[Amani]

Would love to go, but hotels are sooooo expensive. Can't afford it so would like to be recommended a decent but more reasonably priced place.

I've only been once and wouldn't go back. Stayed in one of the hotels on the beach and could see dozens of cranes building new buildings everywhere. Beach etc were nice but could have been anywhere else in the world as there was nowhere to walk to from the hotel.

My sister was there at the same time and stayed in a hotel in the city. Took her an hour to get back to her hotel by car at the end of a day on the beach as the traffic was so bad.

Sorry to be negative but to me the reason to go is purely the weather and impossibly good service and cleanliness. Its a long flight for what you get IMO.

Agree with jollyma. I would NEVER go back and I cannot for the life of me understand why some people rave about it.

Horrible horrible place.

I have been a couple of times - because DH is in forces and was there for a bit, and also a friend lives in Abu Dhabi and we went to stay with him.

If you want to stay in a nice (expensive) hotel, it may be for you. If you like to wander around a soak up the local culture, don't bother.

To be honest, there are much nicer places to go.

PS We stayed in the Al Habtoor Grand...nice hotel, but not that cheap.

i go 3 or 4 times a year, love it. long flight!? it's just six hours,nothing at all. mina a salaam is a lovely hotel, what type f thing do you want?

I don't like Dubai either. I have no idea why anyone would go there on holiday. We visited 2x while out in AD and found it soul less and ugly.

hi amani, the world trade center apartments on sheik zayed road are pretty good, they are old but well maintained and a decent price. they are also very centrally located for both the 'new' city and the old. they also have a very nice pool and playground area for the kids. hope you enjoy your trip

Four Point Sheraton on Sheikh Zayed road is usually pretty reasonable (£600 for 7 nights twin share)but it's not a beach hotel- does have a nice pool but not really that child friendly as it's primarily a business hotel.

The beach hotels are expensive. The Atlantis (on the Palm) periodically does some good deals and has the advantage that you can go to Aquaventure (awesome waterpark with flumes, rapids, lazy river etc) free if you stay there so if you have kids they will be happy as larry.

A lot of what people have said about the construction is mainly true of the Marina area. The traffic in Dubai overall has improved massively since end of 2008 when I moved there - again the Marina area is the only real problem area now so avoid that if you're planning to go out and about a lot.

A friend of mine has just come back and they stayed at the Hilton on a all inclusive deal which was very reasonably priced if I remember. It was with Virgin Holidays.

Its been a long time since I went there so it has changed quite a lot.

With Dubai you either love it or hate it. I love it and we go as often as we can to escape from KSA.

The traffic was particularly bad a few years ago when it was taking around an hour to get from the airport to Jumeriah Beach. However, things have improved a lot. DH and I went with our two DC (3 and 1) in December and had a fab time. We stayed in one room at the Jumeriah Beach hotel which was ample for us. Double bed, roll out bed for DD and cot for baby. It is very expensive (particularly when traveling from ME, it is actually cheaper to fly back to UK and get a package deal) HOWEVER, the FREE kids club was worth the extra expense of the hotel. We were able to deposit both DC at the club every morning for 4 hours of bliss.
You also get into the adjoining wild wadi waterpark free which is a huge bonus.

God yes, it is vile, naff abd built on the blood and swaet of Bangladeshi slaves.

you forgot 'tears' moondog.

We went in January for a week and stayed at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel (B&B basis), which I can totally recommend. The kids (aged 2.5 and 4 yrs) LOVED it there. Sinbad Kid's Club is brilliant fr preschoolers but we only used it 6 - 8pm so we could have adults dinner.

Alot of people have opinions about Dubai but if you fancy a medium haul flight (we couldn't do any longer at the moment) and winter sun it's a good choice but not the cheapest. If you shop around online you might get a good deal.

Rohati, isn't Sinbads fabulous?
We thought about the 2 hours of peace and quiet in the evening but the 4 hours in the morning was more tempting. Think when DC are over 4 they can go for two free sessions a day.
Did you to go the steak restaurant on 25th (I think) floor? It was fantastic

The kids loved it - they thought of it as a real treat. Face painters, balloon magicians and live music! My youngest lost his dinky car in the sand pit and despite me telling them not to bother, they got a metal detector out and found it! He was very happy (I was slightly embarrassed) - but the service is excellent.

We went to the bar on 25th floor for great cocktails!

The whole family enjoyed this holiday and I am definately converted about Dubai as a winter sun destination. (Family trek around India is not realistic for quite a while!)

yikes such a mixed bad of reviews and echoing what my friends have told me - it's a building site so don't waste time going there....

Totally agree Moondog. It is full of indentured workers which are bought and sold between companies. So yes slavery.

XDP had a company in Dubai and so spent a significant anount of time there. He had a 'compound' where he employed 40 workers who lived in teh compiund, often sharing beds acording to the shifts they worked. These people were Filipino and XDP 'sponsored' them, which meant that they couldn't leave, couldn't wprk for someone else. They were paid very little - due to the fact that accomodation and food was provided. So yes effectively a slightly grander form of slavery. XDP sold his business in the end, and 'sold' the blokes lock stock and barrel to someone else.

Sorry I know you didn't ask about the economics of the place, however I think it ipretty vile that all the hotels etc are built on the backs of people who are essentially treated as commodities. Vile, hideous place.

It's as windy as hell too.

Aren't we all commodities of sort?

Amani, if you are ethically, there's probably alot of places not to go to, Dubai being one of them. Still, Thailand continues to be really popular too. Child trafficking, indentured labour, 'cheap' prostitution. But cheap to go to.

And really hot.

lol - goatpie - Jumerai Beach hotel is extortiate!!! I think I might have to dump my plans of Dubai and think about Sharm el She

Let us know how it goes as we'd love to visit there next year :-)

Enjoy your family time, regardless of where you go.

We love the middle east, but hate Dubai all that building and traffic. Abu Dhabi is okay staying in Kallaifa village rather than the city. However, Oman is our new favourite. Yes it's really expensive, but DD (6years old) is treated like a princess by the staff and the pools are great. As DH and I run 4 businesses between us a great holiday is when DD is happy so it's worth every penny.
Only 7 weeks to go till we leave for Muscat and we can't wait. I can already smell the smell of the desert and hear the call to prayer.

Lizcat - totally agree with you about Oman - would def recommend over Dubai.

I live in Dubai. Cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would come here on holiday. So much of the world is beautiful. Dubai isn't.