Hotels in Dubai – Eccentric, Immaculate and Brand New
Dubai is new, and hotels in Dubai are mostly new too. Absolutely brand new. Many are incredibly exotic and over the top, richly decorated with marble and gilt. But it wasn’t always this way. Go back fifty years and Dubai was nothing but a scattering of buildings. Beyond which there was nothing but sand. Read Nevil Shute’s novel ‘Round the bend’ while you’re there on your hols – it’s an eye opener! Today’s Dubai is a big, cosmopolitan city mid way through a dramatic rebirth. Hotels in Dubai reflect this and the choice is superb. With its beautifully decorated rooms, the Al Khaleej Palace Hotel offers the biggest, most ostentatious rooms in the City. Stay there and you’ll be in easy reach of the city’s business and commercial district, Bur Dubai, with the added bonus of fantastic views over Dubai Creek and Deira City.
Dubai Hotels – Loads of five star, very few two star
Dubai is the second biggest emirate of the UAE, second only to Abu Dhabi, so you might be surprised to learn that Dubai only makes 6% of its money through oil. Most of the country’s wealth comes from us tourists and as a destination it is becoming very popular. But blimey, it’s hot! This city is a five star sort of place and most hotels in Dubai have at least four stars. But there is hope left for people who just want simple, basic accommodation. A bit of hope, anyway. The New Peninsula Hotel, in the shopping area of Bur Dubai near the Gold Market, offers cool, convenient rooms as well as the opportunity to hone your haggling skills in the local market.
Hotels in Dubai – Watch new buildings spring up in days
Things grow fast here and new hotels in Dubai spring up all the time. The city’s famous for innovative – but slightly mad – building projects, big money sporting events and high level conferences. If you’ve got a few quid spare you might as well go mad and splurge on one of Dubai’s 50 or so five star hotels. Or go for broke and grab yourself a Dubai hotel with seven stars, a world first. You’ll recognise this building – it’s the one shaped like a spinnaker; a grown up version of the one at Portsmouth. The 220 suite Burj Al Arab enjoys celebrity status and you’ll be treated like a king. No exaggeration.
Interested in the United Arab Emirates? Take a tour of our Hotels in Oman and Hotels in Abu Dhabi pages.
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Here are just some of the hotels and resorts we sell in
Dubai
Dubai Holidays - A Wonderful Experience
Dubai holidays offer an insight into the contradictory fantasy land. Dubai is on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf (unless you’re in America, in which case it’s known as the Persian Gulf), Dubai is moving from oil to tourism with an eye firmly on its long term future.
Dubai offers a real Arabian holidays experience along side some of the world's greatest hotels and the world’s most astounding building projects. It’s not all just sea and desert. Life in Dubai revolves around the Dubai Creek, which runs through the centre of Dubai. Dubai is divided into Diera on the north side of the Creek and Bur Dubai to the south, the Dubai business districts. Tunnels and bridges connect the two, but mosques, markets, and hotels abound on both sides.
In the old Bastakiya district wind towers remain from pre-electricity, when they acted as mechanical air conditioners for the houses below. The Souks on both sides of the creek are great for both shopping and sight seeing. A few ancient narrow alleyways have survived on the Deira side and it’s in these lanes that the atmosphere of the spice souk can be savoured. A Dubai city holiday allows you to experience the fascinating Dubai of new and old.
Cheap Holidays in Dubai - So Many Attractions
Horse riding has become synonymous with Dubai – both for people wanting to ride and people wanting to watch horse racing, including the sport’s richest event, the Dubai World Cup. Nad Al Sheba is the largest racecourse in Dubai. It’s at Nad Al Sheba that the US$6,000,000 Dubai World Cup is held. Along with the Dubai World Cup there are a further five thoroughbred group races and a group one for purebred Arabians, ensuring the day of the Dubai World Cup is one of the most significant in global thoroughbred horseracing.
Dubai has beaches and fine ones too. Dubai's main beaches run along Jumeira Road. A Jumeira beach holidays offer soft white sand with shallow warm Arabian Gulf water lapping upon them. There are swanky hotel beaches with bars and other facilities – anyone can use them, but there’s usually a small fee.
There are also lots of jewellery shops in Dubai, which is no surprise because the covered gold souk in Deira is a world famous gold market. Whatever you need made of gold, from 22 carat Indian elephants to delicate18 carat car parts you can find it here or if you can’t, arrange too have it made for you.
Dubai Holidays - A World of Luxury
Some of the world's most luxurious hotels have risen from the Dubai desert or shoreline. Holidays to Dubai Desert are a good trip outside the city where you can see the magnificence of a desert at first hand. The Burj Al Arab is among the more notable – you don’t see many hotels the shape of a ship’s sail. Not only that, it’s currently the tallest hotel in the world into the bargain. Dubai is justifiably now identified with this giant and gigantically luxurious hotel, which was built on its own man made island – a cheeky technique now synonymous with Dubai.
You can discover Dubai Creek courtesy of the comfort of the local dhows and abras, where an abra is a traditional boat unique to Dubai. It’s made from wood and used specifically to transfer people on Dubai creek. The journey from Deira to the other side of the Dubai Creek takes about ten minutes. Abras used to be the main way of transport between the two sides before the bridges and the tunnel were built. Those were the days.
Dubai is just across the Gulf from Iran, but you knew that didn’t you? The supply of Persian carpets is considered one of the best outside of Iran. The Blue Souk in Dubai is famous throughout the UAE for its carpet shops as well as gold shops. You can also buy a handy camel at the world’s largest camel souk as well. Be sure to check the mileage, and make sure it’s got a full ‘main dealer’ service record. Seriously though, check it’s been wormed and remember camels live for up to 50 years. A camel is for life, not just for Christmas… Fina great package deal to Dubai and enjoy the vast array of activities and culture.
Flights to Dubai – Helicopters, yachts and toys for the boys
Rich? Rolling in it? Oodles of dosh? Too much money to spend in a lifetime? Well, make a generous donation to us first. Oh, thanks for that… you’re so nice! Then book yourself a brace of first class flights to Dubai. Playboy heaven, home to more expensive gadgets than we can conceive of even though we always watch the Gadget Show. Flights to Dubai deposit you into the heart of a land of plenty and excess. If you’ve got the cash you can do all the things that rich folk do: take helicopter rides, hire a massive great yacht the size of your ego or embark on an crazy desert safari through the dunes.
Dubai Flights – Bars, clubs and sophisticated nightlife
Some people book flights to Dubai just to experience the jaw dropping views from the Sky Bar of Burj al Arab. Others come to enjoy the spectacular resorts and amazing architecture. Dubai’s nightlife has come along in leaps and bounds and there days hits top notch international standards. Spend a good wedge of your wad at Trilogy, The Chi Lounge and the Peppermint Club. Flights to Dubai land you at Dubai International Airport, probably terminal 1. If you’re stupidly rich, you can park your private jet at Al Majlis. If you like it hot Dubai will suit you just fine. And there are only around 13cm of rain a year so umbrellas are unheard of. Madly, Dubai is home to one of the world’s finest indoor ski slopes and there’s an amazing snow park there too.
Flights to Dubai – Join the party
Want to book flights to Dubai? Join the party. This has become an increasingly popular destination and there’s a big British contingent living there on a semi permanent basis working in industries like IT and oil. UK residents seem pretty keen on buying property there too. Take woolly clothes if you’re planning flights to Dubai. Honest. This is desert country and temperatures can plummet into the minuses at night. Dubai is home to real estate craziness and creativity on a vast scale at Palm Island, which has helped to put the place firmly on the map. If you’re a homesick Irish person lost in Dubai head for the airport’s Irish Pub. Yup, an Irish pub. Brilliant.
Dreaming of Dubai? Book your flights to Dubai here.
Or take a tour round our pages for flights to Oman and flights to Abu Dhabi.
The Grand Mosque - Dubai Attractions
The Grand Mosque in Dubai is one of the largest mosques in the UAE. It opened in 1900 as a kuttab, which is a Quranic school where children learn to recite the Quran from memory. It was rebuilt less than ten years ago in 1998, and now proudly displays the tallest minaret in Dubai. Non-Muslims aren’t allowed in, but can look at it from the outside.
Camel Racing - Attractions in Dubai
Yes – camel racing. You are likely to encounter a camel race on a Friday or public holiday. Expect lots of traditional dress, and young jockeys charging miles on specially bred beasts. There’s no betting on camel racing in Dubai, but there are big prizes for the winners. The jockeys used to be as young as six years old, but this practice has been stopped and budding camel jockeys have to wait until they’re 15 now. The races go for up to six miles, as many as 70 camels take part, and you don’t have to pay to watch them. Binoculars not to mention some kind of hat might be in order. Remember, you can buy your own camel at the camel souk in Dubai, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you;ll be allowed to take part in the races.
Desert Safaris Dubai Attractions
A trip to the desert in Dubai can mean many things. If it’s Bedouin tents, barbecues and belly dancing you want then you’ll be sorted. If it’s sand dune surfing, which is charging up and down sand dunes in a four wheel drive vehicle, or wadi bashing your way to the mountains (wadis are pools of water that your four wheel drive vehicle charges through gamely) then you’re also sorted! Either way, take an organised trip to the desert as it’s well worth it if not just for the sunsets alone, then certainly for the rewarding experience of seeing a four wheel drive off road vehicle in its natural habitat, and not coming out of the Chelsea Harbour Club gym car park. NB: Chelsea Harbour Club Gym, your nanny gets in free. How the other half live eh? Something to think about as you hurtle across the sand dunes.
Creek Tour Dubai Attractions
Take a traditional wooden dhow or abras tour of the creek and spend a relaxing few hours learning about life on both sides of the tracks. Well, both sides of the creek at least. There’s great food to be had on many of the boats, which range in size from about 15 feet long right up to 100 feet. Don’t forget that you’ll not be drinking alcohol on any of them though.
Shopping Dubai
It would be churlish to pretend that the only reason you want to visit Dubai is to go skiing or drive up a sand dune! Shopping brings people to Dubai from all over the world. Getting engaged? Surprise Madame (or surprise sir) with a romantic trip to Dubai, where you can shop for a gold engagement ring and save about 70 per cent on UK prices. Sir, don’t tell her and she’ll be none the wiser. Madame, DO tell him, but make sure you buy a ring that’s worth four times what you would have spent in the UK. That way everybody wins, sort of.
Water Parks - Attractions in Dubai
At Beat the Brochure we don’t think a holiday is complete without a trip to a water park. We’re even thinking of making it compulsory. The desert is as good a place for a water park as any, and Wild Wadi is 12 acres of desert filled with 30 million litres of water. The biggest slide is a 33 metre high steep one that will have you hurtling down the tubes at up to 50mph. It doesn’t sound safe to us. However, any water park you can see from space, via Google Earth at least, gets the Beat the Brochure stamp of approval. Slide of approval at least:
Travel to Dubai
Dubai is on the south side of the Persian Gulf, and direct flights take just under seven hours from most UK airports. Dubai Airport, like many things in Dubai, is among the best in the world. There’s some great shopping to be done at the airport, and its easy to find several great bargains. Emirates is one of the main airlines here, because Dubai is a hub for all their long distance flights.
Travel in Dubai - Airport Transfers
We can arrange low cost transfers to your hotel. Plenty of private taxis are available, but these are slightly more expensive. The public transport is good in places, and buses cover most parts of the city. Abras (Water taxis) are a great way to see the city too. Car hire rates start from as low as $20 per day.
There’s the Dubai Film Festival, the Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai Winter Bazaar… lots of things! Few will interrupt your trip, with the possible exception of Ramadan, the month of fasting and abstinence that’s strictly observed even in this country devoted to commerce and growth. You’ll want to respect this and make sure you don’t break any of the restrictions when you’re out and about. So no eating or drinking in daylight hours please. Not in public. Dress conservatively too please girls, no tight jeans or low cut tops. Perish the thought
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Visiting Dubai soon and want to know how to get out and about?
Street maps of Dubai are provided here by our partner Google. You can use the interactive maps to view a map of tourist attractions in Dubai, city and road information and for general directions. We believe Google provide the best tourist maps of Dubai so have integrated them into our comprehensive travel guide