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My wife & I are headed back to Dubai in November.
The last trip was to Al Maha as a couple, but this time our 20-month-old will be tagging along, so no Al Maha for us… 😢 This will be a trip involving some serious man-marking and trying to grab any moments of relaxation that we can!
The question is where to stay this time and I’m keen to see what suggestions you guys have. Particularly if you”ve travelled with a young kid/kids.
The wife’s preference is to be in one place for the 10 nights, but whilst we’ll need to be in Dubai itself for a couple of nights, I’m not averse to splitting the trip between a couple of hotels (i.e. somewhere outside of Dubai and then back in the city, if worthwhile).
I’d considered some time at Atlantis and then a hotel by somewhere like Legoland, but I think it’ll all be wasted on a kid of his age and we can do that another time. He’ll also be too young (I think) for kid’s clubs etc, so he’ll be with us all the time.
I have a healthy points haul with IHG and can also move plenty of points into Hilton/Marriott for a redemption, but a cash stay isn’t an issue.
I noticed that NH Hotels have a pretty good offer for their new hotel on the palm – we’re looking at c£200 per night for our dates and that includes half board, lounge access, cocktails each day with lunch/dinner, early check-in/late check-out etc. Hotel has direct beach access/rooftop pool etc and reviews would suggest there are some things to do around the hotel if we want to go into a mall/go elsewhere. Not sure if anyone has stayed there?
If you are leaving DXB on a night flight, consider what departure facilities a hotel may have.
We did Dubai last year with a (then) 2.5 year old and a 3mo baby and it worked very well. I would agree that you can deprioritise parks/kids clubs etc. at this age.
We stayed at Intercontinental Dubai Festival City. It’s well-run and well-maintained. Book a room with club access – in lieu of being able to go to the evening cocktail hour (no children allowed) you get to go to the (good) buffet restaurant, drinks included. Effectively half board. It’s a quick and easy taxi from the airport, which is valuable after a long flight. There’s a pleasant pool with significant shallow/kids areas and it stays shady in the shadow of one of the towers until about 11am – so you can get out for a decent morning swim without having to worry about suncream. There is a large shopping mall and hypermarket connected to the hotel if you want more dining options or need to pick up child supplies. There are lightshows outside the mall every evening that you can watch from the hotel (and will go down well with a toddler). You can get a little shuttle boat over to the metro station across the river (this is a fun adventure for a two year old in of itself). The only thing you’re missing is the beach but you save a fortune by not going beachfront, I don’t think the kid will miss it too much and you can always cab it to the beach if you want.
IC RAK and RC RAK Beach one are both worth a look
If you are leaving DXB on a night flight, consider what departure facilities a hotel may have.
Flight back is at c1.30pm, so we should be covered for this. Arriving flight is actually more of an issue, in that an early check in is likely to be useful – think it lands at c8.30am.
We did Dubai last year with a (then) 2.5 year old and a 3mo baby and it worked very well. I would agree that you can deprioritise parks/kids clubs etc. at this age.
We stayed at Intercontinental Dubai Festival City. It’s well-run and well-maintained. Book a room with club access – in lieu of being able to go to the evening cocktail hour (no children allowed) you get to go to the (good) buffet restaurant, drinks included. Effectively half board. It’s a quick and easy taxi from the airport, which is valuable after a long flight. There’s a pleasant pool with significant shallow/kids areas and it stays shady in the shadow of one of the towers until about 11am – so you can get out for a decent morning swim without having to worry about suncream. There is a large shopping mall and hypermarket connected to the hotel if you want more dining options or need to pick up child supplies. There are lightshows outside the mall every evening that you can watch from the hotel (and will go down well with a toddler). You can get a little shuttle boat over to the metro station across the river (this is a fun adventure for a two year old in of itself). The only thing you’re missing is the beach but you save a fortune by not going beachfront, I don’t think the kid will miss it too much and you can always cab it to the beach if you want.
Good to know that we’re not completely mental…!
IC Festival City has a few things going for it based on what you’ve said. Thanks for the suggestion.
Ritz Carlton JBR – Great hotel, lounge, beach, kids pool etc. We’ve had several great stays there with the kids.
And you can walk out of it to the promenade bit called The Walk in the evening. Full of more casual restaurants, little rides, fairground etc. Won’t need any taxis.
Planning similar ourselves for April next year with what will be. 3.5 and 1.5 year old. My issue is room type as my wife insists on having the kids in their own space, prices for even 1 bed suites are high. Any suggestions anyone where it’s standard?
There’s a Hilton Doubletree at the far end of JMB which has 1 and 2 bedroom suites, it often has quite reasonable cash and points rates by DXB standards.
There’s a Hilton Doubletree at the far end of JMB which has 1 and 2 bedroom suites, it often has quite reasonable cash and points rates by DXB standards.
Thanks yeah that’s one I’ve had a look at but seems to have random blackout availability.
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