Our Accommodation
We chose to stay at a luxury resort on The Palm as we bagged a good 'out of season' deal through booking with Emirates Holidays. After looking at the reviews for several resorts, we decided on the Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort (a Thai inspired hotel). As soon as we arrived at the Anantara we knew we had booked the perfect hotel for us - a huge room overlooking the lagoon pool, just a few steps away from the beach, a clear view of the Burj Al Arab and a gorgeous food buffet every night!
The Anantara Resort has 2 huge lagoon pools and 1 main pool, with plenty of comfy sun loungers. If you decide to use the main pool as your base, then you have access to the Mai Bar (serving food, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and snacks) and have the option of calling a waiter over using the snazzy all bells next to the sun loungers and then having your drinks delivered to you! As we were staying in a lagoon view room, we decided to use the lagoon pool as our base. The downside to this being that there isn't a pool bar and you can't order drinks to be delivered to your lounger. However, from around 1pm you do have the Lagoon pool boat which serves drinks (soft & alcoholic) to those people in the pool. The boat also operates at night as....(wait for it....)....the lagoon pools are open for swimming in for 24 hours! This was seriously cool!
The other bar and restaurant that we used whilst staying at the Anantara was the Beach House, which as you can imagine, was located on right on the beach with stunning views across the Palm. I suggest ordering the fantastic 'Pineapple Pot' from the Beach House Bar whilst relaxing on the beach - it's so refreshing and filling! What is good about the Anantara is that each of the hotel's bars each had a different 'Happy Hour' with a 2 for 1 offer on selected alcoholic drinks. This meant that we could go to the Lotus Lounge after our meal and enjoy a cocktail each at 9pm Happy Hour, then head over to the Beach House at 11pm Happy Hour for another cocktail - saving us money!
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| 'Pineapple Pot' from The Beach House Bar |
We ate out each evening at the Anantara's Crescendo Buffet Restaurant as we were staying on a half board basis. Crescendo has themed nights (eg. British, Asian Spice Night, Butchers Night etc) and the best of these was Friday Brunch; with entertainment, complimentary alcoholic drinks and a vast array of food from around the world! Dubai does brunch in a totally unique way and you have to experience this for yourself to appreciate it.
I cannot fault the service we received at the Anantara Resort and the staff even went out of their way to make complimentary gluten and dairy free cake slices for my friend during their Anniversary Party as they didn't want her to feel left out! She was so touched by this gesture and took a few photos to remember the occasion....
The hotel has a children's club, boat trips, water sports, a Spa (the massages are amazing!) and a complimentary shuttle bus to the Mall of the Emirates. With a wide range of activities and restaurants, the Anantara was the perfect place for a 10 night stay in Dubai.
Getting around
By choosing to stay in a more luxurious hotel on the Palm, we compromised with being in short distances of the main Dubai attractions, but we knew that getting around in Dubai is reasonably easy and value for money, compared to the UK. If we had planned to go out for the day then we would tend to take the Anantara Shuttle Bus to the Mall of the Emirates (which is located more centrally) and then catch a taxi from the Mall to our destination. This would make our journey cost a little less, which meant we could spend what we saved on souvenirs! The most we paid for a taxi was around 40AED (UAE Dirhams), which is approximately £8. Bargain!
Dubai also has a useful Metro system and a Monorail from the Atlantis hotel, which we didn't use during this trip.
When visiting Deira or Bur Dubai (known as 'Old Dubai'), I would recommend that you head to the Dubai Creek and take an Abra across the creek. The trip is short but well worth it, especially as it only costs 1AED (around 20p) per person!
Activities
As you may already know, there is plenty to do in Dubai; from exploring elaborate shopping malls to climbing 125 floors to the top of the Burj Khalifa. Before we left the UK, we decided to pre-book 3 excursions through Expedia - the Burj Khalifa, a Dhow Cruise and the Dubai Mall Aquarium.
The Burj Khalifa is currently the world's tallest building (standing at 828 metres tall) and a stunning piece of modern architecture at the heart of Dubai. The lift up to the top observation deck takes seconds, despite climbing 125 floors. Once at the top, you can take your time to admire the stunning views, take selfies, pose with the iconic Angel Wings and control your jelly legs as you peer down at the fountain pools below! If this is your first visit to Dubai, then visiting the Khalifa is an absolute must and if you can blag tickets to go up at sunset then you are in for a spectacular treat.
Whilst navigating the biggest shopping mall in the world, take some time out to explore the Dubai Mall Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. I still can't quite believe that this Aquarium is huge and is situated in the heart of a shopping mall - only in Dubai! The staff who work in the Aquarium are so knowledgeable and if you time walking through the underwater tunnel right, then you may even see the divers feeding the sharks. Another must-do activity whilst you are in Dubai.
Next up we visited The Dubai Frame, which is another spectacular attraction that is underrated in my opinion. The concept is simple - the view from one side of the frame is 'Old Dubai' and the view from the other is 'New Dubai', with a transparent walkway at the top (which is terrifying!). Before you ascend the lift to the top, there is a museum where you get an idea of what life was like and what Dubai looked like before all of the modern developments. Once you have walked along the length of the Frame at the top, you descend in another lift and enter a 360 degree cinema room where you get a view of how Dubai will develop in the distant future - architecturally and technologically.
One activity we really wanted to do during our time in Dubai was a cruise of some kind. After researching which would be the best option for us, we finally decided on a Dhow Evening Cruise along Dubai Creek. As I mentioned earlier, we did pre-book this activity and had hotel transfers included in the price of the cruise. Now I have to be honest here - this was the only disappointing experience of the whole trip and if you are thinking of booking one of these trips then do your research beforehand. The most disappointing aspects of the trip were the music on board (a mix of traditional Arabic music and modern music which seemed a bit odd), the food (be aware - nothing was labelled in regards to allergens), the organisation of the trip (we were sat on the top deck in the heat without any drinks being offered for 45mins) and the hotel transfer (the driver drove like a complete lunatic and made us all feel sick!). The entertainment was funny, but brief and the views along the Creek were not as good as I thought they might be. As you can probably tell, I won't be repeating this again!
Also worth a mention: The Burj Khalifa Fountain shows (shows are at regular intervals daily) and the 'Imagine' Light & Fountain Show at Festival Bay (a must-do for travellers with children).
Shopping
As you can imagine, there are plenty of shopping malls to choose from in Dubai and whichever you choose, there is something for everyone.The Dubai Mall (in Downtown Dubai) is the world's largest mall (the size of 200 football pitches) and is home to an Aquarium, an Ice Rink, Cinema & Kid Zania. I am not joking when I say you could spend all day here and still not see every shop! As well as shopping and entertainment, there is also plenty of eateries and you're bound to find something to suit everyone. You'll find high street favourites, as well as those very high end shops such as Chanel, Gucci and YSL. After you've finished shopping, head outside to the fountain pools and find a comfy spot to sit and watch the fountain shows (every 30mins from 6pm to 11pm). If you want a bite to eat and a view of the fountain shows, then I'd recommend booking a table at Thiptara or Serafina, both of which are on the waters edge.
For a more traditional shopping experience, take a trip to one (or both, if you have time) of the Souks. My favourite Souk's are the Gold Souk at Deira and Souk Madinat (near Jumeriah; pronounced 'Madin-ah' if you jump in a taxi!). If you enjoy haggling, then the Souk's will be right up your alley! The Gold Souk is perfect if you are looking for a nice piece of jewellery (Gold or Silver), spices or perfumes. Souk Madinat is perfect if you want to pick up some traditional souvenirs or relax with a drink soaking up the views of the quaint area and the Burj Al Arab. I may be biased but.....Souk Madinat was my favourite area of Dubai by far.
What we missed out on
As we visited Dubai during September there were a few of the seasonal activities that we didn't get chance to see. For example, the Dubai Miracle Garden and Global Village - both of these places open from late October to early May. We also didn't get time to visit the Dubai museum in Old Dubai, which I hear is well worth a visit.
My top 5 highlights
1. Seeing the Burj Al Arab
2. Being 125 floors up the Burj Khalifa
3. Eating a fabulous meal at The Boardwalk
4. The relaxing massage treatment at our hotel
5 Relaxing with a drink and watching the fountain shows at the Burj Khalifa
Now, actually having visited Dubai, do I still hold these labels? Not at all. If visiting a place such as Dubai has taught me anything, it's that we should all be more willing to broaden our horizons and use every opportunity to prove our preconceptions wrong. And what about my 'one time only' trip, does this still stand? Of course not. Dubai 2020 - here we come!
Thanks for reading.
Big Love,
L x
