I can say with 100% conviction that Dubai is every Asian persons favourite place to go on holiday. From the halal food, stunning beaches, beautiful weather and ostentatious malls there is always something to do and eat.
I went to Dubai in January 2016 with Nadu and Minnie for a week. Our aunty and cousins live there so it was good to spend time with them and live like a local for a few days.
The deal
Travel agency: Flights and hotel booked separately
Dates: 31st Jan – 7th Feb
Price
Flights: Around £280pp
Hotel: £857 for 4 nights, 1 room
Airline: KLM
Hotel: Intercontinental Dubai Marina (booked through hotels.com)
I’ve written about Dubai in a previous blog and my thoughts pretty much remain the same. If you want good food and good weather then Dubai is the place to go but in all honesty if you’ve been a few times and done all the touristy things and seen the malls it can get quite repetitive.
Food
We spent most of our time, okay all of our time, EATING! We ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and then some but the food is all halal and delicious so who can say no?! Some of my top recommendations are:
- PF Changs
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Cinnabon (omg I love Cinnabon so much!)
- Five Guys – probably the best burger I’ve had in my life!
- iHop for breakfast
I’ve never been to Salt (next time for sure) but I’ve heard they do the best burgers too so definitely check that out.
Hotel
Our time was split between staying at my aunty’s house and at the Intercontinental Dubai Marina and I cannot recommend the hotel enough.
The hotel is less than 3 minutes on foot from JBR The Walk where Dubai comes to LIFE in the night-time. There’s a beach if you want an evening stroll, sheesha lounges (Smoky Beach is a must!), restaurants, shops, cafes, stalls you name it and you’ll probably find it at The Walk.
We honestly loved it and would venture out every night to see what we could find!
If you’re looking for somewhere to stay then definitely look into the Intercontinental. The staff were extremely polite and professional, the hotel is extremely well-kept and modern, rooms were spacious and well-equipped with a HUGE shower and the wifi is great!
Nadu made full use of the room and all amenities even finding time for a bath as Minnie and I were ready to leave for the night 😂
If I was to go back then I would most probably stay here again😍
What we did in Dubai
When we weren’t eating in Dubai we actually managed to do some fun things.
We went to my mums favourite place in the world… Global Village! This is a massive annual shopping festival in Dubai which runs for a few months and showcases food, clothing, homeware, jewellery and other ornaments from around the world. You have to check it out if you’re in Dubai from November – February.
Ahh we also went Aquaventure waterpark in Atlantis The Palm which was amazing! They have some of the biggest water slides in the world there alongside pools and lazy rivers so you can easily spend the whole day. We went in February so it was a little cold in the water but we still got a decent tan whilst having a siesta on the beach. I’ve been to Wild Wadi before and I think I preferred Atlantis because there’s just loads more to do.
As we were staying at my aunty’s house we tagged along to a party she was invited to and it was the fanciest affair I’ve ever been too – everything was so beautifully decorated and I felt fancy AF.
Apart from that we did the usual visits to Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, JBR and spent any other time relaxing on the beach. It was a great holiday.
My advice:
- download the Careem app and use that to get around the city in reasonably priced taxis. There are plenty of codes you can enter to get free or discounted trips plus you can pay in cash so it’s very easy to use
- book any excursions or theme parks in advance or online as you can get better deals that way
- make the most of your time in Dubai, there is a lot to do and you want to do it all so sacrifice those few extra hours of sleep to get that beach visit
- Dubai Mall has the aquarium which you definitely want to check out but apart from that all the malls are the same so spend your time seeing other attractions
Interesting read. Reminds me of rushing to get ready for the party and all the drama that goes with. ❤️
Haha that was a rush! Five girls try to get ready in one house!
Next time I take to for a real desert experince. BTW you forgot to mention the hidden gem…Shawarma cafateria Warrani in Rashdiya and their delicious hasan mattar and honey melon juice.