... Abu Dhabi is the largest Emirate, and the remainder (Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Qaiwain) are known collectively as the Northern States.
The land is mountainous and mostly desert.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE but many people think that Dubai is the ... Read review
the Millennium Dubai Airport Hotel is a conveniently placed 4-star property.The Millennium Dubai features a total of 115 guest rooms. Rooms are well-designed, neatly decorated and sound-proofed, ensuring a relaxed and comfortable stay.Guests at the Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai can make the most of the hotel’s 4 food and beverage outlets. These include speciality restaurants serving Italian, Mediterranean and Tex-Mex fare. There is also the famed Biggles English pub – popular by both visitors and locals alike.The location makes the Millennium an ideal choice for guests on a stopover between flights. Guests are free to make use of the shuttle service that operates frequently between the hotel and the airport.The hotel is also situated within easy reach of one of the key routes into the city centre, 1.5km away, meaning that the Millennium can also be used as an ideal base for exploring Dubai and the surroundings.
greenery. Just two minutes away from Dubai International Airport, on Al Garhoud Road, the Millennium Hotel Dubai is right at the crossroads of the key routes to the city centre, the banking and business districts and Dubai's numerous parks and beaches.
A review by chocolate26 on Dubai, Airport April 29th, 2005
Author's product rating:
Prices
Is it worth visiting?
Transport links
Family Friendly
Advantages:
So much to do without costing a fortune .
Disadvantages:
Too hot to visit between June and September .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Where is Dubai? Dubai is an Emirate located in the ‘United Arab Emirates’. The Emirates are bordered to the north by the Gulf and the Musandam Peninsula, to the east by Oman, to the south and west by Saudi Arabia and to the northwest by Qatar. They comprise a federation of seven small former sheikhdoms (Emirates). Abu Dhabi is the largest Emirate, and the remainder (Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Qaiwain) are known collectively as the Northern States. The land is mountainous and mostly desert. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE but many people think that Dubai is the capital or in fact a country. Dubai is in fact the business capitol of the UAE and Abu Dhabi has been kept as a cultural capital.
Who lives there? The UAE nationals are mainly Arab Muslims but Dubai’s inhabitants are now 80% British. This is due to tax-free living, hot weather all year round and cost of living, which is very cheap. Surprisingly, Dubai maintains its culture so you will never see a drunken brit in a pub as alcohol is only sold in hotel bars and restaurants. The Muslim people do not drink alcohol, or eat pork although you can eat pork in most hotels. Most of the women will be covered up in long black robes. It covers up most of their body so you can only see their eyes. Westerners will be required to cover up a little as a sign of respect but Dubai is very used to westerners so you can get away with shorts and t-shirts. If you visit cultural cities like Abu Dhabi then you will be required to wear long trousers and long t-shirts with a round neck style (for women). The Arab men wear long white robes. These do not cover their heads unlike the women.
What’s the currency, language, and health requirement? The currency is called Dirhams and at present 100 Dirhams is worth approx £15. The language is Arabic but English is widely spoken. All signs will be written in both languages so there is no barrier. You will be advised to have a polio jab especially if you are entering rural areas. You will not need to have malaria tablets although it is best to make sure you have had all your hepatitis Jabs. If you are up to date with all your jabs then you may get away without having any medication for the trip.
My visit Last month I visited Dubai for the first time. My partner and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity due to the fact that his brother ‘Rob’ has lived near Dubai for nine years. He moved out of the UK for a number of personal reasons and found a job as an aircraft engineer. He is ex RAF so finding work was easy for him. Rob lives about 1 hr 30 minutes from Dubai in a town called Al Ain but works in Dubai 5 days a week. Al Ain is a very quiet area, which acted as a nice retreat away from the busy streets of Dubai. I visited Dubai many times and stayed in the Dubai Intercontinental Hotel, which is the first hotel to open in Dubai. This is a five star hotel with pool activities, health and beauty spa and over 10 restaurants and bars inside. It is situated in the city centre opposite the creek. The restaurants inside are some of the best restaurants in Dubai and can be visited by guests not staying in the hotel. I would recommend the Fish Market because you can chose your fish from a market like setting. You can also choose your vegetables and have it cooked the way you like in whatever sauces you want. I had red snapper is sweat and sour sauce. This meal was one of the most expensive meals we had and it only came to £60 for the both of us. For the standard I received I thought this was an absolute bargain. The other restaurants serve Chinese (fantastic meal), Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, Indian, English, Steak and many more different kinds of food. Check out the Intercontinental hotels website for more details.
If it’s a hot day and you don’t fancy walking then taxis are unbelievable cheap. A 15 minute journey will cost approx £3. Be a little careful when tipping as tipping can mount up to a large cost. The customer service is so good that you actually want to tip people. Trouble is, is that it gets expensive. Try to stick to a tipping budget. Make sure you understand the currently before you negotiate price.
The weather will be unbearably hot during our summer so it is best to avoid going to Dubai in our summer holiday time. It is too hot to go out in the afternoon so you will only get half a holiday. Don’t be fooled by the low priced flights and accommodation during this time. They do it for a reason. Visit from October to May.
The weather wasn’t too hot for my holiday in March so I decided to walk 30 minutes to the Gold Souk (Gold Shop). I have never seen so much gold in my life and its all 18 carrot. If you do want to buy something make sure you do not take the first price they give you. If you tell them that you live in Dubai then they will usually slash the price. The Gold Souk is a great place to go if you want to propose as buying rings here guarantee great quality and fantastic price.
I also went to the Wild Wadi water park. It costs approx £15 for an all day pass and will be discounted between 16:00 –19:00 hrs. Opening times vary so please visit the Internet site for more information. This is the best water park I have been to. It has surf machines; log flumes that carry you up the shoot (yes, I did say up) in rubber rings and a very high slide, which will only appeal to people with a death wish. I would very much recommend a visit on a hot day as it gets a little cold walking around in wet clothes or swimsuits. The park is situated next to the Burj Al Arab, which is the hotel shaped like a sail and happens to be a 7 star hotel (very expensive).
If all this talk of water parks brings you out in a sweat then try one of the many shopping malls. The Wafi shopping mall is the most expensive in Dubai so I went to the central shopping mall, which was 5 minutes drive from the Intercontinental hotel (the hotel is very much smack bang in the centre of Dubai). Do not underestimate the shopping malls, as they are huge and very easy to get lost in. They are all under one roof and open from 10am to 8pm. The shopping malls in Dubai are very very clean and you can find shops like the ones we have here. Clothes tend to be the same prices as the UK if you go for universally know shops. Smaller shops are worth looking at as they carry the bargains. If you like chocolate, which I love (hence the name chocolate26) go to Rocky Mountain. It’s dead cheap and tastes fantastic.
Dubai has a creek which runs through it, a bit like the Thames but smaller. If you want to get to the other side then it is worth taking an Abra. This costs half a Dirham each, which is virtually nothing in conversion to UK sterling. It’s worth a ride just for the experience.
The flight time to Dubai airport is 7 hrs and is currently 3 hrs in front of the UK. I flew with British airways and had a direct flight. The flight cost approx £700 each (return). I flew with BA because they were cheaper than Emirates, which is the UAE’s own airways service. I didn’t enjoy the flight because the food was of poor standard. My partner’s parents also joined us halfway through the holiday but they flew with Emirates. They really enjoyed their flight as they had more space, better quality of food e.g. a cooked breakfast (BA gave us an egg mayonnaise roll) and games to plan on their screens. This cost them a little more but they flew economy class just like we did.
The duty free is definately worth checking out so keep some money for this. I bought an MP3 player £20 cheaper than the shops here. Bargain. The airport is really nice in Dubai. Its just like a shopping mall with marbel floor.
I would definitely go back again and I recommend a visit if you haven’t been before already. Personally I would love to live there so it would be interesting to know if any of you reading this agrees that it would be a good place to live (if you have already visited).
Advantages: Plenty of Shopping Disadvantages: Never enough time
Dubai Airport is one of my favourites - providing there is plenty of time to appreciate all it has to offer.
Travelling into Dubai - Be prepared for a lot of walking - the exit seems miles away from the plane! There are moving walkways to help make the distance shorter, and if you are elderly, there is a buggy which drives along the walkways to save your feet. There are not many signs to direct you, but generally go with the flow of people and you ... ...especially if your flight arrives at the same time as one from the Far East, so, unless you travel business class, be prepared to wait in long queues.
TIP - choose a queue with more Europeans in it as they take less time to process
TIP - If It is possible, I recommend you to book the Marhaba. This does not cost very much (I think about £10) and consists of a canary yellow coated lady who greets you as you arrive, puts you on the buggy to save your ...
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Advantages: More of a shopping centre than airport Disadvantages: Navigation can be confusing
...its airport. If you're in Dubai, then 'Dubai International Airport' is a great place to buy early presents or personal gifts. And if you are just transiting, you will never get bored with wandering through the many stores.
All types of merchandise are available; electronics, clothing, jewellery, food, drink and more! And all at reasonable prices, especially when compared to Europe and the West.The authorities make no secret of mentioning that the ... ...the World Trade Centre of Dubai, which consists of two towers, built in a triangular fashion with tall spires on the top of each structure. Tower one is taller than the second by a few metres. In reality, only a few floors consist of 'World Trade', with all the other space being used up as a hotel, offices and expensive luxury apartments! Surrounding these towers are other hotels and business areas, including the six-star Fairmont.
Towards the coast ...
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Advantages: Clean, Great duty Free, easy to navigate Disadvantages: Large queues at passport control
...in.
Like the whole of Dubai, shopping is taken very seriously, and there are no shortage of bargains to be had.
200 cigarettes work out at about £7.
I also bought Cuban cigars cheaper in Dubai than I could buy them in Cuba! (About £30 for 25 Romeo & Juliet)
Even the simple things in the airport are cheap - a can of pepsi cost me 1 dirham - about 17p.
You can also buy some traditional gifts - cashmere scarves are a bargain, and the gold in the ... ...gold souks!
I looked at digital cameras as well - but found they were cheaper here in the UK (at least the ones I looked at) - and you also run the risk of being charged import duty and VAT when you land in the UK if you get pulled over at customs.
Security is very tight at the airport - make sure you have no metal on at all - they will strip you off until you go through the detector without setting it off!
If you are not flying business class ...
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...certainly make a stop at Dubai, and transit passengers are always allowed off the plane. The atmosphere on the tarmac is stifling in the summer, even in the middle of the night, with temperatures of around 40 degrees C, but when you get into the airport buildings it is light and airy and superbly cool. Don’t dally in the transit lounge, get on up to those duty free shops where you’ll find perfume, spirits, cigarettes, and absolutely tons ...
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Advantages: Amazing choice of Duty free, clean, tidy and loads to do Disadvantages: Too much choice on products, otherwise amazing
...and around the UK.
I have also been able to use the lunges due to my FF status, so even if im not flying Business or First i am able to receive a relaxing, and stylish end to every holiday in Dubai, by using its great facilities on Departure ...
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Advantages: An Airline that provides excellent service and (for economy) comfort levels. Without question the best airline I have flown on Disadvantages: None I can think of.
...If it was practical I would choose Emirates above any other airline. The two occassions I have flown with them the cabin crew have given the impression they positively care that you should enjoy your flight. In addition the food was excellent, there was enough space to be comfortable, water was brought to passengers regularly, extra food and drink was easily available and best of all everone has their own TV/radio/games console.
Additonal service was impressive too. On the first occassion I flew with them a transfer between Air France and Emirates caused my luggage to go astray, yet the airline (despite not being at fault) were courteous and quick to provide financial compensation.
Transfers at Dubaiairport are likely to be enjoyable as it is a very modern airport with all the facilities you would wish for. Icing on the cake...
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...I'm from Bangladesh and staying in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Every year I go to my country and each time I go with different airlines. I went with Saudi Arabian Airlines, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Pakistan Airways, Qatar Airlines and recently I went by Emirates Airlines.
I had a very pelasent experience with Emirates. With Emirates I went Jeddah to Dubai, and then to Dhaka. The flight leaving from Jeddah and landing in Dubai was on time, but it delayed an hour to take off from Dubaiairport.
The plane (Boeing 777) seems better for me then other planes. But the interior of the emirate was not seems very high quality. Seats ware also congested. The foods were delicious. Air hostess were very helpful and friendly. I felt great entertainment in the plane by watching so many channels, movies, songs coz Emirates provide seat...
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...hours at Dubai. It was also mentioned that we could ask the voucher at Kolkata Airport with Emirates staff on the date of travel.
When we enquired at Kolkata Airport with Emirates staff for hotel stay voucher we were told that the same had to be asked at Dubai and we will get necessary assistance by Emirates staff at DubaiAirport.
While waiting for the flight at Kolkata Airport, we were informed that the flight to Dubai EK573 was delayed by 50mins and will depart from Kolkata at 9.30pm (IST) But the flight took off by 10pm (IST), it means that the flight was delayed by 1 hour and 20 mins. We reached Dubai at 1.40am(Dubai Time) and by the time we reached the Transit counter after security check, it was 2am(Dubai Time)
2. On enquiry about the hotel stay voucher at the Transit Counter of Emirates we were denied the same stating...
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