Dubai - impulse trip

[Isochronous]

Am impulsively planning a trip to Dubai for the first time soon for 3 nights.

What hotel recommendations do people have? I like 5 star but this is a solo visit so not really keen to fork out $500 for one of the blingy type of places. Have Hilton and Hyatt Diamond as well as Accor Platinum, SPG Gold, and Shangri La Jade. Rate at the Shangri la looks OK - has anyone stayed there before?

Also, what do people think in terms of location? For example I see quite a few listings for Dubai Creek where the deals look better - for example Hyatt Regency at Dubai Creek is half the price of Park Hyatt. From a quick Google it seems there are water taxis you can use to get to the other side of the creek/river. I also see references to locations like Mall of the Emirates, Baniyas Square, and Al Rigga.

P.S. I suspect the hotel swimming pool is the most important amenity to consider! Which properties have a good pool?

 

[Pushka]

Just back.
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....hotos/lighting-up-burj-khalifa-new-72945.html

What time of the year are you going? I love Jumeirah Beach area. Madinat is spectacular. Taxis are cheap transport to get into the city cbd.
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[opusman]

Surely you shouldn't consider anything other than the Burj

 

[Pushka]

Surely you shouldn't consider anything other than the Burj

$2k a night.

 

[opusman]

$2k a night.

It's only 3 nights!

 

[Renato1]

It really depends what you like. The Jumeirah Beach area puts you closer to the huge shopping malls and other resort locations. The Deira Creek area puts you closer to the old end of town where you have all the shops on streets in the area between the Gold Souk and Baniyas Square.

Using the Metro is very cheap, and handy for up and down the Deira Creek side, though it becomes a lengthy trip from Deira Creek along the length of Jumeirah - and you really want to avoid using it at peak period (and don't get into the women and children's section of the train).

We like the Deira Creek area, and stay at the Radisson Blu Deira Creek, which is handy for walking to the Metro and around Baniyas Square. The Metro station nearest it is Union Station, and you can get on both lines there. But its pool is out of action. There are other "four star" places in that area, which are a bit dodgy when you read the Booking.com reviews. I had considered the Novotel at Deira Creek - which is very near the Deira City Centre Mall and near a Metro station on the Deira Creek line. It is also handy because a lot of bus tours start off from the side the Deira City Centre Mall, and it does have a pool. But it isn't really within easy walking distance of the street shops where one finds good value inexpensive things to buy. The malls in Dubai aren't inexpensive anymore, and you will most likely get a better deal in Australian shopping malls.

You might be tempted to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It is pretty good for the Deira Creek side where it is a short trip, but we found that the leg along the Jumeirah beach side to be very, very long. You would want to get off at a few places along the way, not just take the full trip and then decide where to stop on the next circuit.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Foreigner]

Found this today on The Telegraph UK for short break in Dubai:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...bai/12119275/A-weekend-break-in...-Dubai.html