Le Meridien Fairways

We recently stayed in the Meridien Fairway Hotel for three nights. The hotel is easy to reach by metro; just take the train to GIGICO Station. Exit on the right hand side, walk past Starters Kindergarten and you should see the hotel sign. The main entrance is on the other side of the building on the main road. As with every visit we ever make to Dubai, we arrived at some unearthly hour of the morning. Check in was not until 2pm, but we decided to go to the hotel and see if they would let us in, or at least take our bags. I have read some reviews where people got annoyed at not being let in, but if the hotel's check in is 2pm it is a bit cheeky to turn up at 9am which is what we did. The receptionist pointed out we were very early; we just smiled and asked if they could store our bags. They agreed to this immediately and told us to come back at 12 which we accepted. We talked more re something else and were told we could get our room at 11am; a bit more chat and it was 10am. I was extremely pleased with that, it was only an hour away. We walked to the Irish Village, which was closed at that time in the morning, and sat at one of their tables with some friendly felines before returning to our hotel for some much needed sleep. The moral of this story is - if you demand an early check in, they will get angry; if you are pleasant you just might get one. I noticed when we visited the Sherlock Holmes Bar in the Arabian Courtyard Hotel later that they do special arrangements for people who turn up early: early check in for a fee, massage package, day at the beach on their transport. This is a good idea as so many people do turn up early and exhausted due to flight times.

Anyway our room was very clean and very nice. It was long and narrow. The bed was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in. It was quiet at night, except for the occasional late home or early leaving guest. There was a coffee machine in the room, so you could enjoy real coffee. The machine also provided hot water. Two bottles of cold water were provided free daily. The hotel had a lovely pool - not so large but we were the only people using it during our stay. I think it was open until 9.30pm.

We did not have breakfast at the hotel. We ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Service was pleasant and the food was good.

As we were leaving very early on our last day before the metro even started running we paid 25 AED to use the hotel's transfer service. I thought that was reasonable and the transfer arrived in good time.

There was a room safe in our room. We had a fridge, minibar, TV. Toiletries provided included shampoo, conditioner, soap, razors, toothbrush, cotton wool, cotton buds. All staff at the hotel were very pleasant. The convenience of being so close to the metro was great. There were many restaurants, some convenience stores and a supermarket near the hotel. I would happily stay here again.

I arrived in the hotel around 11 p.m. and I just needed a good night sleep as my flight the next day was at noon. The receptionist not only greeted me warmly but gave me a pleasant surprise. I got an upgrade. The suite was made of two rooms - one is good for a business meeting and serves as a dining room and opposite the hallway is the nice bedroom. I got a complimentary bottle of red wine and a basket of fruits. That was really nice.

The entire hotel staff was so hospitable and kind.

Unique Quality: The breakfast room is very presentable - not huge but spacious enough.

The level of service at the Le Meridien Fairways was excellent. The staff could not have been more helpful, and were very well informed about places to visit in a city that seems to be changing by the day. This was an ideal hotel for a short stay as it is very close to the airport in the direction of the old town. It must be admitted that one is somewhat taxi-dependent there. The hotel is located opposite the Dubai Creek Golf Club, and close to one of the bridges that facilkates travel west towards Jumeirah. On the negative side, the laundry costs were pretty steep, and what one might have mistaken for complimentary fruit, nuts and chocolate that were left out on the table/sideboard in the room were not in fact so.

Unique Quality: There is a swimming pool and gym, as well as whats described as a business centre. There are a number of restaurants in the hotel and its direct environs, although I ate elsewhere during my stay so I can't say howw good or bad they are.

Directions: Opposite Dubai Creek Golf Club, not far from the airport.