Originally Posted by
margarita girl
Funny. I did Venice in Sept and will do Al Maha in March.
There's a few more I am looking at that I will grab before the prices go up.
You know what Al Maha attracts me? it is not the setting, but the dinners look amazing and the services reportedly excellent. lol.
March is at the edge of the "cool" period. We were in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in mid to late Jan last year and the weather was still very hot under the sun, like in the 30's degree hot. If we return to Middle East again, it would be in Dec/Jan time frame. Since Al Maha is way outside of Dubai, if we go it would be a good excuse to get a rental car and do bit of self-drive sightseeing in neighboring areas. May even go all the way to Oman if my husband accepts that idea!
It is a bit more difficult this time due to the ongoing political spats between Qatar and UAE, could not go direct on QR but have to go thru Kuwait, Oman or Jordan. I am inclined to have a stopover at DOH (for the excellent Islamic museum) then go to AMM on RJ, and to DXB on RJ. Logistics are getting complicated.
We have given up on Venice the place long ago with the overcrowded situation. Our last visit was 2 years ago and it was so unpleasant on the main island that we spent most our time on Giudecca island? where the Hilton is. The water buses were so full that if you did not get on from the end station, you literally had to stand for most of the way. Just mere 5 years ago you could get on from almost any stop and still were able to find a seat...
That said, we may return for 2 nights if I could make the mini-RTW on Aeroplan happened in late Spring, though not hopeful.