Sadaf Hotel

Budget hotel in Rigga

I stayed at the 3* Sadaf Hotel for 6 nights in December 2006.

Budget accommodation is scarce in Dubai and, after plenty of searching online, this hotel was the best value option that I could find.

At the time of my booking, this hotel was available on www.bookings.org at 250 AED (approx 35 GBP) per night for a single room with private facilities and breakfast. According to the prices displayed on the hotel's reception desk, a single room usually costs 500 AED per night.

If you are not familiar with Dubai, be warned that this hotel is located in the Rigga district of the city. While this is a central location, with lots of shops and restaurants close by and the creek just a 5-10 minute walk away, it does mean that the beach is a lengthy taxi ride away. Having visited Dubai several times before, I have always made the decision to stay in downtown and to "commute" to the beach. However, if the primary purpose of your visit is to lie on a beach, then you probably won't appreciate the 30+ minute journey through the traffic each day.

The hotel is located on a seemingly un-named street just off Al Maktoum Road. It is just a few minutes walk from the Al Ghurair shopping centre and the restaurants of Al Rigga Road.

It is just a short taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, although heavy traffic and the closure of many roads in the area (due to construction work) turned a 5 minute journey into a 20+ minute journey. The taxi ride cost me 29 AED (which included a pick-up charge of 20 AED from the airport).

Hotel facilities

The ground floor contains a 24 hour reception desk, a TV area and three cafes and restaurants; The Vanak Restaurant (offering an international menu and open between noon - 16:00 and 19:00 - 23:00), Marwareed Cafe (open 06:00 - midnight) and Feruza Restaurant (Iranian/international buffet, open 07:00 - 10:00 for breakfast, noon - 15:00 for lunch and 19:00 - 22:00 for dinner). I never ate in the hotel, so I cannot comment on the food.

Unique Quality: .

The hotel offers free transport (by minibus) to the beach and to a shopping mall. Departure for the beach is 09:00 daily, with pick-up at noon. Departure for the mall is 17:00 daily, with pick-up at 21:00.

Printing, copying and fax services are available in reception, and there is a solitary computer terminal offering Internet access.

There is an extensive menu in the bedroom should you wish to have food delivered to your room. The prices are very reasonable and the choices include: breakfasts (continental, English, American, Oriental), croissants, toast, various styles of eggs, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, seafood, chicken dishes, kebabs, pasta, desserts.

Bedroom

My single room was fairly small, but was generally clean and well furnished. It contained a medium sized bed, satellite TV (ca. 30 English/Arabic channels), a mini fridge, a large wardrobe, a telephone, a bedside cabinet, a dressing table, an armchair, air conditioning and a safe deposit box.

I asked for a non-smoking room, but there was a slight smell of stale smoke in my room....as well as an ashtray!

Maid service was carried out daily.

Bathroom

The average sized bathroom had a few faults:

- dirty marks in the bathtub;
- low water pressure in the shower;
- broken plug in the basin;
- a leaking tap;

These minor faults didn't bother me a great deal, but might be enough to deter some people.

Clean towels were provided each day, as well as complimentary toiletries.

Overall, this is a decent value budget option in a city that currently lacks cheap accommodation. In my opinion, the hotel was a little below the standard of the nearby Orchid Hotel that I have previously stayed in, but it was also significantly cheaper at the time I booked.

Good value, no-frills hotel in the Rigga area of Dubai.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average

Sadaf Hotel Photo: Sadaf Hotel, Dubai

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