Dubai 1st time hotel advice – 10 & 6 year old

[ed_fly]

Hi, been looking into a holiday to Dubai, family of four. Including a 10 & 6 year old. Room with two queen beds will be fine for us, sofa beds not so much. Been looking at the zabeel saray and Westin mina Seyahi. I’m not worried too much about the location of zabeel as the plan will mainly be a fly and flop. And a perhaps a visit to aquaventure. I think the westin has the advantage of the on site water park. Wondering if anyone has any recent experience of either? Other suggestions welcome, the madinat properties are currently out of our price range. Many thanks in advance.

[The real Swiss Tony]

Of those two I’d say the Westin, because the Zabeel is just so remote.

However if it’s just a fly and flop, why not look at another Emirate? RAK is way, way, way better value for money and will take you only slightly longer to to get to from DXB airport.

[Rob]

Zabeel is good and, frankly, an astounding bargain vs the Madinat properties, albeit they remain the gold standard for families.

Zabeel guests get Wild Wadi access for free which, given its about £200 for a family of 4 if you pay cash, is a great deal – albeit you need to get an Uber from Zabeel to Madinat which is a bit of a drag at peak times.

As Tony says, whilst the gap has narrowed a bit, for a ‘flop’ holiday you really should go down to Ras. The Waldorf Astoria is great and even the really high end places like the twi Ritz Carltons are probably cheap compared to Zabeel. We’ve reviewed all 3 of these (WA + 2 RCs) albeit pre covid and indeed pre the WA refurbishment.

[ed_fly]

Thanks both, will take a look.

[dreamflyer1]

I can’t comment based on the two properties you have listed however I would recommend grand Hyatt in dubai. I personally had a great stay and if I recall they had multiple pools for different age groups. its more downtown dubai so again might not be what you want. I still remember the concierge guys, wow they were some lovely people.

Nontheless, hope you and family have a nice stay, wherever you chose. Ps just remember the weather does impact what you might have planned for the day as it can get too hot to be outside for an extended period

[Olly]

We stayed at the Zabeel Saray 5 years ago (just pre-Covid) and had a great time. It’s a pain if you want to go to anywhere else in the city (c.30 min drive to get back off) but as we’d been at another hotel downtown beforehand this wasn’t an issue for us. The mall on the palm has some kid friendly places if you do want a nearer change of scene but the food at the hotel was decent IIRC. The rooms are of a good size and the water on the beach is really calm as you’re facing the inside of the palm

[ben1]

ed_fly wrote:

Hi, been looking into a holiday to Dubai, family of four. Including a 10 & 6 year old. Room with two queen beds will be fine for us, sofa beds not so much. Been looking at the zabeel saray and Westin mina Seyahi. I’m not worried too much about the location of zabeel as the plan will mainly be a fly and flop. And a perhaps a visit to aquaventure. I think the westin has the advantage of the on site water park. Wondering if anyone has any recent experience of either? Other suggestions welcome, the madinat properties are currently out of our price range. Many thanks in advance.

Westin mina seyahi is great. Stayed there twice. Great kids club, water park, pools etc as well as plenty of food options. Marina within walking distance… JBR a short cab ride away too so entertainment and restaurants very close by