tripweb

I plan to buy a round trip ticket from SFO or LAX or SMF to Dubai and hotel for a 5 night stay in Dubai mid December. I will be going by myself and this is the first time there.
I'm looking for a hotel that is a good value for something that is at least a nice as one of the nicer Holiday Inns or Best Westerns in the US. Clean, comfortable and modern, but does not need to be "luxury." Needs to be in a convenient location so I don't have a bad commute to see the sights.
I will look at Trip Advisor and Orbitz for flight/hotel packages over the weekend unless there is a better source recommended.

Beyond the hotel, I would like to average under $100 per day in expenses covering visiting must see sites, food, transportation, admission fees etc.
It may be nice to take a day trip to Abu Dhabi one of the days.

One more thing I would like to do is stop over somewhere else on the way there or the way back for a couple of days. I think many flights may have connections in places that might be interesting to visit (Hong Kong?). Is there any way to arrange the connections as 48 hour layovers rather than the typical layovers that don't give you time to leave the airport?

Any recommendations on the best things to do in Dubai next month that would stay within my budget?

Chgo2AD

The Four Points on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai is an excellent property. It's clean, modern and can often be found for a good price. Taxis are cheap and the metro system is great.

cab747

I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express Safa Park three weeks ago. Reasonable, 10 min walk from
Business Bay metro stop, free breakfast buffet and wifi, and I earned 50K IHG points with the current Accelerate promo. Have a great time, PM if you want more info on the IHG promo.

westmideast

"One more thing I would like to do is stop over somewhere else on the way there or the way back for a couple of days. I think many flights may have connections in places that might be interesting to visit (Hong Kong?). Is there any way to arrange the connections as 48 hour layovers rather than the typical layovers that don't give you time to leave the airport?"

Run the proposed flight plan as a multi city. Unfortunately, I don't think you could do it automatically, so you will have to play with the dates and points.

westmideast

"Any recommendations on the best things to do in Dubai next month that would stay within my budget?"

Plenty to do and enjoy. If you are going to partake in the attractions, the entertainer book is worth the investment even for a few days. For events, check out Dubai this month, Dubai Calendar, Time Out Dubai, etc