Dubai: The Land for those who got the BLING BLING!
by riad
budget hotels which are "nice" are actually quasi-non existent... unless you're willing to stay in these sketch places in "old Dubai".... I believe if you're on a budget, the only NIIIICE place is the french hotel, Ibis.. which is run by the Accor Group (Sofitel, Novotel etc.etc.).. and the Ibis is well situated. Rates are about 100$ a night.
Dubai's hotels mainly cater for the rich'n'famous, AhaHa... but the service is just OUTSTANDING ! Sometimes though, I find the service so "nice", its just a bit too much when every 2 seconds the employees keep on saying "sir..sir..sir.."/"madame..madame..." eurgh it gets to me and i find it pitiful!!
STILL i like to warn people that Dubai is still a very "WEIRD" place! seriously.. it is soooo in construction that you get out of your hotel complex, there's these huge construction sites, thousands of labourers, dust, heavy machinery, noise, this weird and freaky highway where you feel like you're in some american suburb... you just gotta see it to understand it. UNique Qualities:
BURJ AL ARAB HOTEL
MINA SALAM HOTEL
JUMEIRAH BEACH HOTEL
but then again, its not like you guys are learning anything new right here. These places cost between 400 and 2000$ a night... well they got rooms that go up to 10 000$ for those who like to live life to the fullest!
outstanding
by TripAdvisor Member nmcgrath83
Just returned from the Mina after spending 12 days there. All I can say is "fantastic". We booked quite late therefore we thought that we would not have a great room, however our room was great with a view of the Burj Al Arab and the sea. Everything about this hotel is brilliant, the staff are the best I have come across and the service is second to none. Dubai is a fantastic place and there is no where better to stay. Highly recommend it and cant wait to go back !!!
Absolutely Fantastic!!
by TripAdvisor Member Teejay66
My husband and I stayed here for 10 nights and we loved it!! Although the weather was very hot we spent most of our time in the pool. We went on an Abra (water ferry) to the pool at Al Qasr every day because it was much bigger. We had an executive club room which was gorgeous and the service we received in the Club lounge was impeccable. I have stayed in many first class hotels but this was amazing. Every night we went to a different restaurant, sometimes in the hotel and sometimes in the Souk. We went to Wild Wadi one day which was fun. All in all a great holiday. We will probably go back in January.
Highly recommended
by A TripAdvisor Member
Friendly service; Fantastic Rooms! Yes, its no doubt to say that its pricy, but worth spending it!
I stayed in Mina A' Salam with my wife in early July, surely enjoy the service in this hotel. You can have breakfast in Mina as well as Al Qsar. You will feel the coziness in Mina and the royal luxury in Al Qsar. I would say Mina is more fitted for young couples and its less expensive to stay in Mina than in Al Qsar. But you can also enjoy the facilities in Al Qsar. The swimming pool in Al Qsar is great and we spent most of our time there.
We definitely will return to Mina A' Salam...!!
Absolutely superb
by TripAdvisor Member mike&juliew
We stayed at the mina a salam for 6 nights after reading the reviews on trip advisor- We weren't disappointed !.
From the moment we walked in, the service was exceptional, we arrived at 9am and we were given our room straightaway. ive never seen so many staff, all extremely courteous and wanting to help.
The room itself - a deluxe balcony room, was spotless and was serviced 3-4 times a day.
We had booked a room only deal and found the breakfast in the al muna and wharf restaurants excellent.(cost £15stg/us$27 per person) If you want a less expensive or lighter breakfast there are alternatives such as japengo on the waterfront of the souk or various coffee shops such as brewsters, starbucks and juice bars in the madinat souk.
We ate at a variety of restaurants, I would highly recommend the Meat Co. which was excellent. We also ate at the noodle house (singapore), Pai Thai, Toscana(italian) all of which were excellent. We went to Trader Vics a few times, the food (french polynesian) was average but the surroundings and cocktail choice was very good. - This I think is a place where people like to be seen.!
We went to the beach and pool at the al qasr on a few occasions and were greeted by staff who insisted on laying out your towels on your chosen bed and making a pillow for you. They would regularly bring around ice cold scented face towels and evian spray to cool you down. They also brought complementary cold fresh fruit skewers and fruit sorbet which were very gratefully received in 43degrees C temperatures.
If you wanted a drink you could simply call a waiter who would happily arrange this.
The sea itself is like getting into a warm bath- warmer than the pool. There are lifeguards every 50 metres or so which makes things very safe. The waves were mixed some days at low tide it was great but later on the tide was quite strong.
The hotel belongs to jumeirah international which also owns the burj, jumeirah beach hotel and also the wild wadi park, all of which you can use and the buggies will take you directly to them.
We were informed by one of the abra drivers that if we took our keycard we could get complimentary access to the wild wadi park.(saving £23stg/US$40 per person)- We took advantage of this on two occasions.
The park itself was again excellent, no real queues to speak of and the food and drink inside was inexpensive. This is the first water park that ive ever been in that has uphill slides !!
You are given a wristband at the gate and you can credit it with money - either cash or charged to your room. Any credit left is refunded as you leave the park. If you are staying in the hotel you dont need towels either- these are complementary, if however you require a locker this will set you back 15 dirhams.
The madinat souk itself was, compared to the city expensive. If you go to the gold souk in the city be prepared to haggle, look for at least 25% off the original price - they will come down to it. If you are way below the true value they will shake your hand and happily let you go without trying to haggle further.
There are a lot of people trying to sell you fake watches and handbags. If you agree they will take you down a number of alleys to a back door of a shop or office where everything is kept- again like everything there are varying qualities and after not buying anything from the first shop, we were taken to a "better quality one" and were told that" they were not copies from china but singapore !!! "?
There is a lot of building work in dubai at the moment and also for the next few years but there is nothing in sight or sound of the mina a salam.
To summarise, having stayed in many luxury hotels this was the best for quality and service - a little expensive in some of the restaurants - but only what you expect from a place of this quality. We would definitely return.
GORGEOUS!
by TripAdvisor Member marcuschap72
This was the last stop on a holiday also including the Seychelles and Mauritius. I'm glad we left this until last as the other hotels would have never lived up to the Mina (not that they were bad)!
We arrived very early in the morning and didn't expect a room straight away. we checked in and were given a voucher to take complimentary breakfast in the restaurant and a mobile phone that reception would call when our room was available. We'd just finished a leisurely breakfast (has to be leisurely, it takes a while to peruse the vast amount of food available from the buffet) and we were informed that our room was ready. When we got to our room it was only set for 2 (booked a room for 3) - this was the only problem we encountered and was soon rectified.
Our room (125) had a fabulous view of the Burj al Arab and was well furnished in a traditional arabic style. The bathroom is fantastic with a great range of toiletries and a shower that i never wanted to step out of!
Dining was fantastic. We were given a guide to all the Jumeirah restaurants and the hotel has it's own booking desk. We tried Jam Base, the indian restaurant in Souk Madinat (i forget the name) Pierchic and afternoon tea at the Burj al Arab. The Burj was a disappointment (i've had better, much cheaper in London) but all others exceded my expectations. Wine is very expensive but food prices seemed very reasonable for the standard of restaurant so it balances out really. We did venture a little further to visit Spectrum on One on Sheikh Zayed Road, without a doubt the best meal i had in Dubai and highly recommended. Of the bars we visited Bar Zar was good for live music but Bahri Bar at the Mina was our favourite watering hole.
We didn't bother going to the huge swimming pool at Al Qasr, the pool at Mina A Salam is fairly small but was never too busy and service was superb. We also visited Wild Wadi Waterpark and though our brochure and invoice stated discounted entry we were told by the hotel it was free - so that was a pleasant surprise!
Even housekeeping were fantastic. Turndown was not only that but they'd place a chocolate by each pillow, a glass and bottle of water by your bedside, ice in the ice bucket, check you had clean towels and light the candles in the bathroom, etc. It seems everyone in this hotel cannot do enough for you!
I could go on but i'd best get off and look at booking my next trip to the Mina A Salam!!
Forum Posts
which hotel?
by Maryjohn
Ready to book for next year, but can't decide which hotel to go for? Either Royal Mirage (palace or Arabian Court?) or Al Qasr at Mina Salam? Can anyone give their opinion on which we should go for? Any advice at all would be really appreciated. Thanks
Re: which hotel?
by 37SingleMaleInDubai1
Well they are both the very best hotels with magnificent view and second to none services. Any one would be a great experience and you wont regret why you havent chosen the other. I leave you two URL's which by going to the site can see the facility and services of each of them. They are as follows:
http://www.traveldubai.co.uk/hotels/mirage.htm
http://www.traveldubai.co.uk/hotels/asalam.htm
Take care.
Re: Re: which hotel?
by Cham
i haven't been to the others but i spent a little time in the royal mirage... and wow it's one of the best places i've seen in the world
Re: which hotel?
by Vally999
I'd have no hesitation in booking The Royal Mirage. It's where I intend staying next time I go to Dubai.
Val
Mina Al salam "Dubai"
Mina Al Salam
