Originally Posted by
CHCflyer
Hotels are expensive unless you go when it is 40 degrees. Everything is expensive in Dubai - taxis, eating, shopping (and that's all Dubai is). You don't go to Dubai for two weeks in a Travellodge in a suburb.
Sheltering in hotel lobbies avoiding the sun isn't my idea of a vacation. At least two more hours spent on a plane using up my valuable holiday time is not my idea of a vacation.
If it is an Arabian experience you want, then take Ryanair or Jizz Air to Amman. If you want cheap five star then go to Sharm or Antalya with the Russians.
There's no shortage of chain hotels in the range of 100-200 EUR per night in late October or mid November over a long weekend. A taxi from the old souk to the mall of emirates is under 20, if you take the metro, it's 2.
You need to update your idea of what a mainstream holiday costs. These are absolutely normal prices for a reasonably but not overly price conscious middle class holiday maker today.