Dubai is the most populated place in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai is home to the tallest building in the world The Burj Khalifa. It has also one of the lowest crime rates in the world and is considered one of the safest places in the world.
Travelling to Dubai
We travelled to Dubai from Heathrow Airport in the month of April. This holiday had been won in a raffle with British Airways therefore we were able to travel Business Class. Also included in the prize was entrance to the executive lounge prior to flying. We were picked up from Dubai airport via a private transfer in a luxury car. The transfer from the Airport was around 35 minutes. April was a good time to visit Dubai as the weather was warm but not too hot as with the summer months.
Accommodation
We stayed at Jumeirah Emirates Towers which was a lovely hotel. Surprisingly we were in a Premier Deluxe Room with a view of Dubai. The rooms were very spacious with added luxury. Additionally There was an outdoor swimming pool where you could also buy light and bites and drinks both alcoholic and none alcoholic. Towels were provided by the hotel for around the Pool. Although it was quite small we never had any problems getting a sun lounger. There were no issues within the hotel of having to cover up. We wore shorts and T Staying most days. The breakfast in the hotel was amazing with such a vast choice. Undoubtedly there was something for everyone at Breakfast. The hotel provides a full English Breakfast and boasts that some of its ingredients come from UK farms. Continental Breakfasts were also provided along with many other interesting things to eat.
Sister Hotel
Jumeirah Towers has a sister hotel (Jumeirah Beach). There is a free shuttle service from Jumeirah towers to Jumeirah beach which runs several times a day. The Jumeirah beach hotel has its own private beach and overlooks the most iconic hotel in Dubai the Burg Al Arab AKA the Sail. which is the worlds only 7 star hotel. Jumeirah beach is a man made beach which was previously known has Miami beach. It was lovely to spend days on this beach with such luxury and amazing sun sets.
Irish Village
On an evening we occasionally went to The Irish Village which was a short taxi away from our hotel. The Irish village has live entertainment every evening. Everywhere you go drinks are expensive in Dubai compared to in the UK and the Irish Village is no exception.
Regardless of this the food here was a lot cheaper than other places in Dubai. Also you can sit in doors at the village but most all the entertainment is outside and this is where you need to be to experience the buzz of the place.
Dubai Brunch
When in Dubai it is recommended to go to a Friday brunch (2-3 hours) if you like good food and a range of alcoholic and none alcoholic drinks. The cost of the brunches range from £35 to £300 depending on where you go. Hence we went to The Hive Warehouse brunch with cost around £70 per person. Although this may sound a bit expensive but as drinks and food are expensive in Dubai the cost of this brunch wasn’t.
The staff serving at the brunch were predominately from the Philippines. All the members of staff were so friendly, attentive and helpful. During the brunch the waiters did not wait until you finished a drink before they asked you what your next drink was. They drinks recommended drinks and brought them to try. Consequently we had a least 4 drinks lined up at one point (a bit greedy we know but it is a brunch). There was such a good choice of food to suite everyone’s taste from sea food platters to burger and chips. Overall the drinks and food was so varied and in plenty of supply.
Burj Khalifa
When in Dubai it is a must to go to the Burj Khalifa which boasts a number of world records and took over 122 million man hours and 6 years to build.
- Tallest building in the world
- Highest number of stories in the world (160)
- Highest outdoor observatory deck in the world
- The longest elevator in the world
Before travelling to Dubai we were informed that there are area’s where females need to cover up therefore when we went to the Burj Khalifa I wore a long dress and covered my shoulders. When we got there most tourists including women had shorts and tshirts on. Fortunately I (Debbie) had put shorts and tshirt under the dress just in case.
The entrance to go up the Burj Khalifa is in a mall with eating places and shops. The queue is quite lengthy to go up in the elevator but worth the queue. Once in the lift you can sense how fast it goes (10 meters per second) which is amongst the fattest in the world. The views are amazing once you reach the top. There are various viewing areas to see Dubai from different angles. After 6pm the
Dubai Fountain
The Dubai fountain is outside of the Burj Khalifa just a few minutes walk. Dubai fountains run every 30 minutes every day from 6pm – 11pm and lasts around 5 minutes. The fountain is absolutely spectacular and a must see when in Dubai. Over 6600 lights light up the fountain which change colour. The fountain shoots up water to over 500ft high.
Nightlife
Finally we visited a lively beach bar (forgot the name) one evening with great music. The clientele were mainly young ex pats but we still enjoyed it even though we appeared to be the oldest people in there . Especially the cocktails although they were quite strong A ex collegue and his wife had gone to live in Dubai so we met up with them at this bar on their recommendation. It was a very westernized bar with most dressed as they would do in any bar. The skyscrapers of Dubai overlooked the beach bar .
Summary
Before travelling to Dubai we were a bit apprehensive after hearing some of the horror stories of people been put in prison for public displays of affection, not been married, not covering up etc. Also we like to enjoy a cocktail or two or three or more when we are on holiday so we were also a bit worried about the rules on consuming alcohol. Fortunately we need not have worried about the above.
All the myths we had heard were totally dismissed. Of course if you don’t respect the country and their culture you may get in to trouble but we never experienced any problem as we were aware of this . We would strongly recommend anyone to visit this most amazing place
Images
Things to do
- Go to the Irish Village
- Go up the Burj Khalifa
- Go to a bottomless brunch
- Go to Jumeirah beach to see the Burg Al Arab AKA the Sail
- Visit a mall
- Watch the Dubai fountain show.
Top Tips
- Ladies take clothing to cover up when necessary. You cant enter malls if you don’t
- Check out the Friday brunches which are good value considering the cost of food and drink in Dubai
- Sharing an hotel room with someone you are not married to is a crime in Dubai be aware of this.
- There is no issue with drinking alcohol in places such has hotels and specialist bars but don’t drink alcohol outside of these premises.
- Check out Government website for information before travelling to Dubai https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/united-arab-emirates/safety-and-security
- Dubai can get extremely hot especially in the summer months this can be unbearable to walk around. Check out the temperatures below when deciding to visit Dubai
- Be aware of the countries culture. If you respect the culture and abide by the countries rules you will have a great time
Weather
| Temp – Celsius Rain – mm | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| High Temp | 23 | 24 | 27 | 32 | 37 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 38 | 35 | 31 | 26 |
| Low Temp | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 16 |
| Rainfall | 10 | 40 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Number of days | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |