We usually stay at a Marriott so this was no exception! We opted for the JW Deira. i prefer smaller hotels and the JW was priced well. We had a car rental so we weren't overly bothered about location.

Arrival: We checked in at the exec lounge. We had booked two doubles and were 'upgraded' to an exec king. We checked out the room, just out of interest (we needed the two doubles) and it was identical. Got to love these upgrades!

Facilities: I liked the hotel. The room was spacious and nicely equipped. The leisure faiclities were good - 2 separate gym areas and a rooftop swimming pool. There were lots of restaurants and a weekend buffet. Our favourite was the Hofbrauhaus, it was really good fun and the food and drinks were excellent.

Exec lounge: I thought the exec lounge was good. This wasn't the consensus on the Marriott forum but I've been in a good few Marriott lounges in Asia/Middle East and, while it wasn't exceptional (as in JW Bangkok exceptional), it held its own in terms of the offerings.

There was a good selection at breakfast and in the evenings and a nice afternoon tea with sandwiches and cakes. The full bar was excellent and there was a wide variety of drinks. Any lounge that serves bubbly and sushi even once is a winner with me! That said, i t is dark and gets overcrowded in the middle of the evening food/drinks.

Some pics: