Just returned last week form our second visit to this hotel and already cannot wait for our third!!
We were very lucky to get an upgrade to an high floor room on the top (19th floor) with fabulous views over the Creek and overlooking the Burj Khalifa. The room was just fabulous, very contemporary, quality furnishing, fittings and linens and stuning bathrooms. The unique features in this Hotel are the glass window between the bathroom and bedroom. Fine if you are an intimate couple however there is a blind if you were sharing the room with a friend!! In fact I cannot think of anywhere else where you could lie in the bath and have the most amazing view over Dubai!! Just hope they give you warning when cleaning the windows
There are an abundance of staff in all area of the hotel, to greet you when you get out of the taxi, in the lobby area, right the way through the Conference Centre that joins the Crowne Plaza with its sister hotel the InterContinental. The staff are a credit to the Company, very polite and always willing to help. We recognised faces from last year which says something.
We ate breakfast in the Hotel once and there was everything you could possibly think of. Breakfast rate is 110DHS so is quite pricey although probably standard for a 5 star hotel. We also had a wonderful meal in the evening in the Hotel Zaytoun restaurant. It was a buffet which cost 185DHS per person for 3 courses and I have to say the food was fantastic and you could have as much as you like. It was really nice to be able to try some of the Arabic dishes. Coupled with a cocktail, beer for hubby (£7.20 bottle Erdinger ) and a bottle of wine, it set us back over 600DHS. However you expect that in Dubai.
There is also the Belgian bar in the hotel which obviously serves Belgian Beer again around £7.00 per half litre and also serves bar meals. This seems to be a very popular place.
You can walk from the hotel, through the conference centre, into the Intercontinental lobby (stunning) and into the Festival City Mall which has an abundance of shops and eating places. Festival City also has the canal walk which is beautiful with restaurants and cafes situated all the way down. We were lucky to be there whilst the Dubai shopping Festival was on so took advantage of some great shopping!! Do check prices though as some things can be cheaper in the UK. We took our laptops as you can get free wifi in the public areas of the Hotel to check prices.
We visited some of the other malls and used the new Metro which was fantastic. If you use the Metro, do remember to keep your card as you can load it up to 10 times so saves you a couple of Dirhams. The metro runs every 10 minutes and we went to Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates on the Metro. We took a taxi from our Hotel to Burjaman Mall and walked to the Metro station near the Burjaman as the Metro will get you there quicker than a taxi.
Our flights were from Aberdeen via Paris with Air France and they were excellent, all on time, comfortable flights and very good food (and drink). Only thing I didn't like was Charles De Gaulle airport. Not alot of places to eat and the only place for hot food, we bought two quiches (nice home made) 2 glasses of wine,water, bread and a piece of pecan pie and it cost us 32 euros!!
To summarise we had a FANTASTIC time, excellent weather (more hazy sunshine though) and really cannot wait to go back.
Anyone thinking of Dubai I can strongly recommend teh Crowne Plaza Festival City.
I heard that the Burj Khalifa was closed- has it reopened? Did you go to the beach area at all? Shopping- in your opinion what are the "best buys"?
I'll bet the snow in Aberdeen was a bit of a shock on return!
Shopping...... welll where do you start? There is every designer shop you could think of there are an abundance of gold and jewellery shops - oh how I wish I was a millionaire!!! Handbags and shoes seem to be very popular as well. Especially the Arab ladies who love their designer bags!! Personally I like Guess products and there are a few of Guess shops in all the Malls. Every clothes shop you could possibly think of, including Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and Next!!!
I was pricing watches and they are not really any cheaper than the UK. Hubby bought a wide angled lens for the camera which was roughly around the same price as UK however after a bit of bartering and going in all the shops for the best price, he did get a good deal. If there is something you want definitely get a good idea of price before you go. Thing is as well the exchange rate is still not that good. We were getting around 5.69 with our Nationwide account. A couple of years ago we were getting around 7.50 so that makes things more expensive.
We also love bukhoor - you will smell it when you go in the Malls as the shops that sell it usually have it burning outside so we bought quite a few of those as well! Just to remind me of Dubai!!
We didn't go to the beach area this time as we have been before. We did our little bit of sunbathing at the Hotel which was lovely. In fact didn't come home (yes to very cold Aberdeen and even colder Paris) with much of a tan, due to spending too much time in the Malls!!
Not long until your trip now Fiona and I am sooo jealous and hope you have a fantastic time.
Have you ever tried afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab? We are swithering. The price is eyewatering but as its our silver wedding anniversary I wonder if its worth splashing out?
Food and drink prices- we are going to try not to wince I think we will make good use of the duty free at Dubai airport.
We did afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab last year in the Sky View bar (the bit that juts out over the sea) and although expensive it was worth it for the experience. Again, you need to book and if you do, request a window table. I remember reading that on Trip Adviser and fortunately whilst the request is not guaranteed we were lucky to get a window table and the views were just spectacular. We started off with a small beef wellington, then came the tea and cakes out on a cake stand that was a sail shape. You could ask for more of anything. You also get a free glass of Moet & Chandon. Nearly dropped dead when hubby ordered a bottle!!! In fact we slipped up, we should have had our free glass first, then ordered the bottle because as we ordered the bottle we didn't get the free glass!!
There were the most exquisite cakes and home made scones with clotted cream, fresh fruit, every tea and coffee you could possibly think of. Our booked time was 4pm and we arrived early and they let us in to have a wander round the Hotel so we took millions of photos! We left probably about 8pm so it was good they didn't hurry you out. I didn't think sandwiches and cakes would fill hubby up and he would want a meal later but glad to say he didn't!
As it is a special anniversary, I would go for it. You only live once and yes it is alot of money but it is a once in a lifetime thing to do and it will leave you with some fabulous memories.
Yes definitely pick up your duty free when you leave the airport it will save you a fortune on hotel drinks!
Thanks for all the great info.
At that thime the rate was 5.27 so calculated to £187.
Just checked back a post I made on TA and the cost for afternoon tea was 395dhs per person. Therefore the champagne was 200 dhs which calculated to £37 so not that bad considering a 7 star hotel!
One more query- what was the dress code? Smart/casual?
Well we got kinda dressed up. Hubby put a smart shirt and trousers on and I had trousers and a dressy top, however there were people more casual. I am sure I read though that jeans are not allowed although I am sure I saw people in jeans. In fact as we were arriving at the door (after being driven down the causeway in the little golf buggy) there were a crowd of people coming through the doors wearing their beachwear!!
I suppose if you actually stay there you might well enter the hotel in swimwear Must be nice to be able to afford to stay there.
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