hi poohhead
further to my last post above yours we did return to the oasis beach at xmas for 9 days and apat from the weather which was poor for the time of year - about 22 degs we had a great time
there is still building work gong on around the hotel but the 30+ tower cranes that were at the back of the hotel have all but dissapeared and the building exteriors are now more or less complete and they are working on the road finishing
we upgraded to a club room this time which gave us access tothe 10th floor club suite - freeinternet access,free drinks during the day together with little eats,daily newspapers inc english ones and free alcoholic drinks between 6 and 8 at night
good in the restaurants is superb and would reccomend taking the half board voucher offer- you can use the vouchers on a lunchtime up to a cash value of 78 dirhams at the ouside bar restaurant for a snack
breakfast is typcal buffet style with plenty o choice ,fresh fruit egg dishes cooked to order and pork bacon and sausages aroud the corner from the main hot dishes (muslim reigious laws)
For a good meal away from the hotel a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe is a must about 5 minutes away in a taxi gets very busy after 8 oclock but a great place
If you buy any alcohol at he airport o the way in make sure you take a corkscrew with you because all wine bottles in hotel are screwtop and you will struggle to find a corkscrew anywhere - it took me 2 days to trackdown a waiter with one
A city tour with Arabian Adventures is a good trip to take especially the abra water taxi ride and the visit to the souks also the desert safari ride
We also went to the races at xmas but this will be finished in june, a good night out even though there is no gambling allowed
if you want to splash out afternoon tea at the Burj is well worth it about £40 each but they keep replenishing the food all the time book for the sky bar for the best views
Vist the mall of the Emirates and you can watch the locals sking and sledging on the indoor ski slope and the do some serious shopping
Enjoy Dubai it is an interesting plce to visit with all the massive out of this world building projects going on ( i work in the construction business )
Richard