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Dubai question for Anne (Jayayeff)


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10 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Anne - I've enjoyed following this thread and appreciate all the great information you've shared. 

 

Can Uber drop off at the airport? 


As far as I’m aware the Uber drivers can drop off at the airport as the drop off area at Departures is a ‘drive thru’ open road.....

 

Anne...

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17 minutes ago, compozer said:

Sorry if this has been asked.   I try to print everything related to our trip but sometimes I forget and then I can't remember.   What type of currency will we need?  Our plan is to take the hop on hop off bus during our cruise stop,   Not sure which attractions we will tour.  Too much on my mind getting ready to be gone 6 weeks.   And so many ports  to make arrangements at.    So we  will wait and decide when we are on the ship and can relax with clear heads.     I am trying to figure out which and how much currency we need to bring.   I was hoping euros might be ok in some of the ports.  I do not like to use ATM's but can if I need to.    Thanks so much for any help.  And thanks for all your advice - It is heartwarming when strangers come forward to help others. 


The currency in the U.A.E. is the U.A.E. Dirham, and if you prefer not to use ATM’s there are plenty of Currency Exchange houses.  They are in all malls, the airport, cruise terminal, etc..so you can just exchange other currencies (Euro, Dollars, Sterling, etc) you may have with you.  These currency exchanges are regulated by the central bank so you get an official rate of exchange - they are not ‘back street’  money dealers....

 

Anne...

Edited by Jayayeff
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Hi Anne . . .  We will be on the Symphony in May . . .  Dubai - Rome.  Was hoping you could give advice for hotels.

Berj al Arab was on my "bucket list" but I don't care for the location (or prices)  Would like an upscale hotel in a

central location. (Special occasion)   Thank you for any help . . .

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Hi Ann,

You are always so appreciated in this forum.

I dont know whether this question was here yet? TIPPING.

Please advise about "tipping in Dubai" from restaurant to Taxi, including tour guide.

Thank you so much again for your time and great help

lam

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2 hours ago, lamwinn said:

Hi Ann,

You are always so appreciated in this forum.

I dont know whether this question was here yet? TIPPING.

Please advise about "tipping in Dubai" from restaurant to Taxi, including tour guide.

Thank you so much again for your time and great help

lam


I don’t know where you are from but unlike the USA, here in Dubai hotels and restaurant bills already have service charge and taxes added to them so there is no need for tipping however, most of us do as we do in the UK and the rest of Europe,, etc. and leave an extra cash tip for the wait staff in restaurants for good service.     Taxis are all metered and I’d say that for taxi rides around the city that in general it’s a case of just round up the fare to the next Dhs. 5 or 10 depending on the length of the journey, which is probably around 10%...(Dhs 5 for fares up to Dhs50, Dhs.10 for fares up to a Dhs.100, etc...).   I really don’t know about tour guides as I’ve never been on any organised tours however, I would say again that it’s probably a discretionary thing so do what you’re comfortable with, or the rest of the people on the tour do....

 

Anne....

 

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3 hours ago, lido1 said:

Hi Anne . . .  We will be on the Symphony in May . . .  Dubai - Rome.  Was hoping you could give advice for hotels.

Berj al Arab was on my "bucket list" but I don't care for the location (or prices)  Would like an upscale hotel in a

central location. (Special occasion)   Thank you for any help . . .


I’m always happy to help with info for visitors to Dubai however, I’m not sure this is the right place to do so.  I’ll request this post be moved over to the Ports of Call section of CC, there is an Africa & Middle East board with a lots of Dubai questions there....

 

Anne...

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8 hours ago, lido1 said:

Hi Anne . . .  We will be on the Symphony in May . . .  Dubai - Rome.  Was hoping you could give advice for hotels.

Berj al Arab was on my "bucket list" but I don't care for the location (or prices)  Would like an upscale hotel in a

central location. (Special occasion)   Thank you for any help . . .

 

OK, now we have you in the right location, could you give me a few more details please.  You mention not caring for the location of the Burj Al Arab, which kind of rules out Jumeirah Beach properties however, I'm not sure what you mean by 'central' as Dubai is now a city spread over quite a large area, each with fairly distinct features.  We have what is commonly referred to as Old Dubai which is the parts of the city close to the Creek, both Deira Side and Bur Dubai side, then the Dubai Financial Centre/Sheikh Zayed Road section, the next section is the area around Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa which is now referred to as Downtown, then slightly further beyond that is the Business Bay and Mall of the Emirates section.  Still further out is Dubai Marina... Beachfront properties stretch all the way from Dubai Marina, Dubai Palm and all along Jumeirah Beach... I can give you recommendation in all areas if you can give me an idea of which area, or near which landmark/must see or do site you would like to be during your stay...

 

Anne...

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Hi Anne . . .  Maybe something  downtown or old Dubai.   I am going to ask a dumb question . . .

What area would be your choice / what would be your favorite hotel ?   Thanks again . . . Appreciate your help . . .

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11 hours ago, lido1 said:

Hi Anne . . .  Maybe something  downtown or old Dubai.   I am going to ask a dumb question . . .

What area would be your choice / what would be your favorite hotel ?   Thanks again . . . Appreciate your help . . .


I’ll start with your original request for recommendations for an ‘upscale’ hotel for a special occasion.  In the Downtown area I would say to look at any of the Address Hotels (there are several now) or the Palace Downtown, all of which are operated by the hospitality arm of the Downtown developers Emaar.  You could also look at the Armani Hotel which occupies the lower floors of the Burj Khalifa, but it has room rates that reflect its premium location!!  Alternatively not quite as upscale but still a 5* recommendation would be the Sofitel Downtown.  Any, or all of those give you easy access to Dubai Mall, Dubai Fountains, Dubai Opera and it’s all walkable.... Old Dubai, is a little less glitzy so not so many really upscale properties.  Not beside the Creek but away from the ‘all new’ Dubai is the upscale Raffles Hotel which is part of the Wafi Centre a quite upscale mall with The attached Pyramids Spa complex.  Beside the Creek, and within the Dubai Golf & Yacht Club complex is the Park Hyatt Hotel - a really peaceful location with great views of the Creek and New Dubai beyond.   Again, close to those two is the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which again is still a 5* recommendation which faces both ways, either towards the Creek, or towards New Dubai...Have a look at all of those and if you need any more suggestions, or information, let me know... 

 

What would be my choice??  That’s a difficult one as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with hotels having worked in them in my early career, and opened several of the original 5* properties in the region!!   The novelty of modern ‘cookie cutter’ luxury hotels wore off a long time ago and when I’m travelling I tend to look at smaller boutique hotels, that I find more personal than the ‘big name’ brands.  Unfortunately, we haven’t got any of those here, yet!!!  Personally, I still have a soft spot for one of the original 5* hotels - the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers.  It may not be considered upscale these days but the location is priceless to me, right on the Creek, great views and even though the original French restaurant that we used to drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai just to eat in back in the day is no longer, the others are all still there....I’d be happy with a Creek View Club Floor room so I had the Lounge for daytime tea/coffee and evening cocktails, etc. rather than pay double that rate for the newer big name ‘luxury’ options.... However, that’s me and Old Dubai is the real Dubai to me so I’m a bit biased in my choices (and it wasn’t Sheraton Hotels that I used to work for)!!!! 😀
 

Enjoy your cruise, I know you’ll love that one for sure - I did it on the Symphony too back in May 2010...

 

Anne...

Edited by Jayayeff
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Anne!! 

Another hotel question. We r considering Conrad Dubai or Sheraton Dubai Creek Towers. I am leaning towards Sheraton because of location, close to airport, cruise port,  and Ho Ho bus had a stop there. We r in Dubai for 2 days before cruise. 

What r your thoughts?

 

TIA

 

Sue

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Looks like you're the expert on Dubai hotels, Anne!

 

We're planning a trip to Dubai in November/20 to take a cruise as well as visit the World's Fair for a few days beforehand. Would like any recommendations on hotels that would easily access the Expo site as well as being well positioned to serve as a base to explore Dubai as well. Also your thoughts on what the prices will be like about a year from now. Price is important but shouldn't be an obstacle to picking a great property. Accessibility to good transportation options also important.

 

Appreciate any and all info you can provide.

 

Steve

 

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6 hours ago, josumello said:

Hi Anne!! 

Another hotel question. We r considering Conrad Dubai or Sheraton Dubai Creek Towers. I am leaning towards Sheraton because of location, close to airport, cruise port,  and Ho Ho bus had a stop there. We r in Dubai for 2 days before cruise. 

What r your thoughts?

 

TIA

 

Sue

 

As you can see from the previous response I personally, and frequently recommend, visitors here for just a short time stay in the area of Dubai Creek.  I have no problems recommending the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers - the location is perfect for a short stay, and the views, if you request a Creek View room can't be beaten.  You are correct in so much as it is a short drive from the airport, a short drive to the cruise terminal and it's on the HoHo bus route.    The Conrad is a lovely hotel and much newer than the Sheraton Dubai Creek, but it is located on the very busy Sheikh Zayed Road.  It is convenient to the Metro - there is a station immediately outside the hotel front entrance so it's very easy to get to Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall etc.. if you wanted to base yourself over that side of the city and get the HoHo bus from the terminus at Dubai Mall...

 

Anne..

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3 hours ago, cancruisers said:

Looks like you're the expert on Dubai hotels, Anne!

 

We're planning a trip to Dubai in November/20 to take a cruise as well as visit the World's Fair for a few days beforehand. Would like any recommendations on hotels that would easily access the Expo site as well as being well positioned to serve as a base to explore Dubai as well. Also your thoughts on what the prices will be like about a year from now. Price is important but shouldn't be an obstacle to picking a great property. Accessibility to good transportation options also important.

 

Appreciate any and all info you can provide.

 

Steve

 

 

Steve,

 

This is not such an easy one as all the infrastructure for Expor2020 is not in place yet so it's difficult so say how good the transportation links, etc. to the site will be.  The site itself is on the very outskirts of the city - very close to the second airport (Dubai World Central) and the Metro link out to those areas is still a work in progress.  If you wanted to look at hotels as a guide, the closest areas with Metro access would be Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers or any location working backwards towards the city from there along the Metro Red Line Route - I believe the Expo Metro line will be a link from the Red Line from somewhere out towards Jebel Ali.   As I said the Expo site is a long way out of town so you would need to dedicate a day or two to explore that rather than Dubai itself as time and distance would make combining both a challenge.   As an example, I live quite close to the airport (DXB) and to drive from my house to the Expo site would take me over an hour, via a direct highway and without traffic.  If you wanted to combine Expo2020 with New and/or Old Dubai sites I'd recommend staying at least 3 or 4 nights and selecting a location midway between the two - anywhere along the Red Line route between Dubai World Trade Centre and Emirates Golf Club (Nakheel station) as I believe the Metro will be the preferred transportation route out to the site... 

 

Anne...

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6 hours ago, Jayayeff said:

 

As you can see from the previous response I personally, and frequently recommend, visitors here for just a short time stay in the area of Dubai Creek.  I have no problems recommending the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers - the location is perfect for a short stay, and the views, if you request a Creek View room can't be beaten.  You are correct in so much as it is a short drive from the airport, a short drive to the cruise terminal and it's on the HoHo bus route.    The Conrad is a lovely hotel and much newer than the Sheraton Dubai Creek, but it is located on the very busy Sheikh Zayed Road.  It is convenient to the Metro - there is a station immediately outside the hotel front entrance so it's very easy to get to Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall etc.. if you wanted to base yourself over that side of the city and get the HoHo bus from the terminus at Dubai Mall...

 

Anne..

Again thank you so much. U answered my question in perfect detail. 

We really appreciate all that u do. 

 

Sue 

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On 11/13/2019 at 2:03 AM, Jayayeff said:

 

Steve,

 

This is not such an easy one as all the infrastructure for Expor2020 is not in place yet so it's difficult so say how good the transportation links, etc. to the site will be.  The site itself is on the very outskirts of the city - very close to the second airport (Dubai World Central) and the Metro link out to those areas is still a work in progress.  If you wanted to look at hotels as a guide, the closest areas with Metro access would be Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers or any location working backwards towards the city from there along the Metro Red Line Route - I believe the Expo Metro line will be a link from the Red Line from somewhere out towards Jebel Ali.   As I said the Expo site is a long way out of town so you would need to dedicate a day or two to explore that rather than Dubai itself as time and distance would make combining both a challenge.   As an example, I live quite close to the airport (DXB) and to drive from my house to the Expo site would take me over an hour, via a direct highway and without traffic.  If you wanted to combine Expo2020 with New and/or Old Dubai sites I'd recommend staying at least 3 or 4 nights and selecting a location midway between the two - anywhere along the Red Line route between Dubai World Trade Centre and Emirates Golf Club (Nakheel station) as I believe the Metro will be the preferred transportation route out to the site... 

 

Anne...

Thanks so much for the quick reply - I know it's a long way out time wise but we like to get things organized early! We are planning to spend 4 or 5 days in Dubai ahead of our cruise with 2 or 3 of those days dedicated to Expo. Would you recommend staying at a hotel near the expo site for a couple of days then moving to a more central location for the last 3 or 4 days, although I hate the thought of moving hotels in the middle of the stay. Perhaps a hotel near the Burj Khalifa as a centre of operations? Your thoughts are appreciated.

Steve

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16 hours ago, cancruisers said:

Thanks so much for the quick reply - I know it's a long way out time wise but we like to get things organized early! We are planning to spend 4 or 5 days in Dubai ahead of our cruise with 2 or 3 of those days dedicated to Expo. Would you recommend staying at a hotel near the expo site for a couple of days then moving to a more central location for the last 3 or 4 days, although I hate the thought of moving hotels in the middle of the stay. Perhaps a hotel near the Burj Khalifa as a centre of operations? Your thoughts are appreciated.

Steve


If it were me I think I would opt to stay in a location with easy access to the Metro red line somewhere midway between the city and the Expo site for the full length of the stay.  As I said in my earlier post I understand the Metro via the new link line will be the preferred transportation option to get out to the Expo site.   Any of the hotels along Sh. Zayed Road, within Downtown (Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall) and Business Bay all the way out to Mall of the Emirates have access to red line stations and would be good bases for a combined Expo/Dubai sites stay as they also have access to other RTA transport ( taxis, water taxis) and the HoHo buses....

 

Anne...

Edited by Jayayeff
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9 hours ago, Jayayeff said:


If it were me I think I would opt to stay in a location with easy access to the Metro red line somewhere midway between the city and the Expo site for the full length of the stay.  As I said in my earlier post I understand the Metro via the new link line will be the preferred transportation option to get out to the Expo site.   Any of the hotels along Sh. Zayed Road, within Downtown (Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall) and Business Bay all the way out to Mall of the Emirates have access to red line stations and would be good bases for a combined Expo/Dubai sites stay as they also have access to other RTA transport ( taxis, water taxis) and the HoHo buses....

 

Anne...

Fantastic - thanks so much for your help.

Steve

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Hello Anne,

 

First, thank you for giving so much of your time and knowledge to this board. I have two questions:

1. Where do we go in Dubai to buy distilled water for a CPAP machine?

2. We will be there during Ramadan. How much of the tourist activities are cancelled?

I'm guessing my walking food tour will be out. Any special evening events to attend or avoid?

Can we purchase bottled water during the day?

 

thanks,

Linda

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