Originally Posted by
stargold
HR Dubai Creek was quite nice when it first opened, but very quickly went downhill and stayed down. They've never been able to command anything near the room rates that they presumably planned for, and together with Covid, I can only imagine the pressure to cut costs by this point. Hence, no alternative lounge arrangements.
HR Dubai felt very old when I last stayed a couple years back, and it's even further out than the HR Creek, so I can't see myself staying there anytime soon either. The traffic to/from the HR to the rest of Dubai is often terrible during busier hours.
The PH and GH are probably the only two that I actually find to be decent in Dubai (although I haven't tried Andaz yet). For the AED 200s mark, I would prefer a different chain.
I ate at the HR Dubai Creek Heights property a few times in December 2019 and found the food to be quite good, but the interior design of the lobby both architecturally and decoratively struck me as a hodgepodge of knick-knacks thrown together by an amateur. Weird layout and tacky decor. I've also heard reviews of the hotel starting off strong [it was supposed to open as a Jumeirah] but then quickly sliding.
HR Dubai will no doubt be old - I'm more wary of the highways they're throwing up right outside the hotel and I know traffic in the area is a nightmare, but the Gold Souq exit of the Palm Deira Metro is a four hundred meter walk outside the front doors so I'll be using that. 200-odd for a full-service Hyatt with club lounge puts it right up there with the Hyatt Places in the city. This might very well be a case of "you get what you pay for" - we shall see.
I stayed at the Andaz last October and found it quite nice but I will say this - I feel like it was still very much intended to be a Centric. The design was quirky and energetic, but it just felt like being a notch or two below "luxury." I've seen the architectural designs for the upcoming Hyatt Centric at La Mer, which was originally conceived as an Andaz but switched to a Centric when the owners swapped the brands with their Palm property, and it looks like it will be the nicest Centric in the world. Design-wise, definitely steps up from the one on the Palm. I'd like to check that one out when it opens in September.
khabah