Jac747

Has anyone stayed at this hotel and have a review? I know it does not participate in spg but I've been able to get a decent rate on a 1bdrm suite whereas other hotels have been much higher for our time period. It's very popular over on tripadvisor but I've only read one review here. Thanks.

cbellero

A previous colleague of mine is a big fan. I think that the regular rooms are overpriced most of the time, so I have never gone for it.

I have been to the common areas of the hotel. The lobby is very spacious and architectually of interest. However, it is all a little bit too cool for me (from an atmospheric viewpoint).

The Buddha Bar and the Club 44 are both very interesting bars where people go to be seen.

I think you will certainly not be let down if you go there in any case, particularly if you have found a relatively good deal.

btw, I work right near there in Dubai Media City, if you want to have a drink together. (We can go to the Bar 44 and put one of the 12,000 AED bottles of bubbly onto your hotel bill! jk.) Just send me a PM.

cbellero

Unfortunately I have not seen the rooms at the Grosvenor House (GH) There is construction around it. However, since this hotel doesn't have many (any?) outdoor facilities I do not think you will notice it.

You WILL notice the construction traffic around 6 pm when most of the construction crews are bussed back to their labour camps. The Grosvenor is in New Dubai and New Dubai is chock full of construction. In the next couple of months the 23 towers of the Jumeirah Beach residences will be completed. This should help alleviate the overload of construction traffic near the GH. Even after that, there are still many other towers being built and a couple of overpasses.

Traffic - during the morning rush hour it can take perhaps one hour to get from the airport to the GH. At nighttime you should avoid heading to any of the dowtown districts - Bur Dubai, Karama, Deira, etc. between 5:30 and 8:30 pm. The commute can take between 1 and 2.5 hours. Traffic is the weakest point of this city.

Jac747

Thanks for your advice and I'm thinking we may just stay at the Park Hyatt close to the airport since we arrive late and leave early and really only have 48hrs to see any sights. I will try to time our cab rides with peak rush hours!

gr8bigc

(Little OT probably but)
Taking Sheikh Zayed road is the focal point of the traffic mess in Dubai.
The biggest problem is crossing the creek. From there you can take a highway that runs parallel to Sheik Zayed road that can get you to Emirates Mall (if you want to go skiing) or Burj al Arab (sail building) and Madinat Jumeriah (resort & shopping area complete with gondolas a la Venice for resort guests). Finally hop up to the bar in the Emirates Tower if you want a good view of the city.

Jac747

Thanks for the suggestions. I would like to see the Madinat's "faux" souks, the ski slope and whatever of "old" Dubai that is to see(dhow ride?) and if there's still time and it's not too touristy, the dunes tour.

cbellero

I think you have to decide exactly what you want to see. Skiing is in New Dubai. The Madinat is in New Dubai. The Burj al Arab is in New Dubai. The beach is in New Dubai. See a trend forming?

The airport, Gold souk, creek, Dubai museum and all portions of the Emirate where you can consider walking from A to B (as in a compact city like New York) are in Old Dubai.

If you stay within New Dubai the traffic is not bad. Therefore I highly recommend that you take a hotel there, since you seem interested in sights locate in that area.

The Hyatt that you mentioned is right in the middle of the traffic chaos. Do avoid it.

Within 48 hours on a tourist's schedule you should be able to see all of the mentioned sights easily.

Jac747

Thank you for being so informative! It sounds like it may be difficult to see both old and new Dubai in 48hrs no matter what hotel we stay in. Possibly one day seeing the ski Dubai and Madinat and another day seeing the creek area and gold souk?

cbellero

If you are not going to ski, then I suggest lunch at Ski Dubai. With a bit of a mall visit, that should take you no more than 2-3 hours. If you ski, add 2-3 hours to that. The Madinat should be visited at night - if you are a couple, it is a much more romantic experience.

I still feel that you can see all of the highlights in 48 hours without too much of a rush.

Jac747

I think I will owe you some bubbly after all this advice! Have got it narrowed down to either the Grosvenor House or Emirates Towers, esp. if they are going to give 3miles to every $1 spent. All the hotels recommended to me on the luxury hotel forum were over 2700AED a night for our time frame, other than the PH but these two hotels get good reviews. Don't plan to ski but definitely want to see the slope. Thanks again.

cbellero

Remember you can always PM me if you want to pass that bubbly on to me personally!

One another tip if you want to have a meet and greet service provided to you on arrival and/or departure. Check out http://www.marhabaservices.com/

I used this once with my father because he can't walk very well sometimes. However, it is also useful to get to the front of the immigration lines. Not sure how interesting it is for you though.

PurpleTravel

I recently stayed at this hotel and while there is still construction, it wasn't a huge issue in my stay. It impacted me 1) a bit of traffic to get in and out of the main driveway given construction required re-routing 2) some, light, on and off noise. If you do stay, I recommend a high floor on the 45 floor tower to reduce noise impact as most of the construction occurs at ground level

Rooms were overall nice and spacious- we had a terrace and enjoyed eating breakfast outside. Lighting, large flat screens with great satellite channels, complementary internet (wired in room, wifi throughout hotel), large modern bathrooms makes the experience easy and enjoyable

The spa was nice- complementary steam, sauna, jacuzzi for hotel guests, and I had a great massage. A small gym and nice outdoor pool with food and beverage service is adjacent to the spa, but the pool only gets sun until about 2 or 3pm due to the building placement. The hotel has an agreement with the nearby Meridien for a true resort feel (beach, multiple pools, etc) and runs a consistent shuttle (about every 10-20 min, depending on traffic) throughout the day.

I didn't hit Buddha Bar during my stay but loved the views from Bar 44, and enjoyed the calm and tranquil atmosphere at both Leaves (the tea house) and the Gallery Bar (standard hotel bar overlooking the main lobby)

I have some more thoughts and pictures here:
http://diary.thepurplepassport.com/2...use-dubai.html

Tak

I also stayed at this hotel recently.
This is a city hotel so do not expect resort feeling.
Traffic around the hotel is not good due to the construction so you do not feel to walk around the area
However, they have great service and amenities such as nice lounge(though a little bit small) on top.

I had low floor premier room, but I felt strange sound and vibration due to machine room a few floor down.
They immediately offered me 2 bedroom suite on apartment floor since they do not　have better room available on hotel side.

I really hope this hotel belong to SPG program in near future.

By the way, Buddha bar was too busy and crowded.
We went there and left in 10 minutes.

Bar on top floor was much better I think.

hillrider

This hotel has just been moved from the Le Méridien sub-brand to the Luxury Collection one.

Still no participation is SPG , so my sentiment is "who cares?".

Source: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....cle&ID=1393556

Starwood Lurker

Grovesnor House will be joining the Starwood Preferred Guest program as of May 1st, and will be available for earning and redemption of Free Weekends. The site T & C's on SPG.com will be updated to reflect that as of May 1st.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]