Al-Habtoor Palace and Dubai
Uber had a great set up awaiting us at DXB. There were cars in a line and you got a pin in the app to give to the first driver who would then get your trip.

From the car we saw the skyline for the first time.

It was a quick trip to reach the beautiful lobby.


While waiting to check in we were given cold towels and a glass of pineapple juice,

The hallway to the rooms sure felt palatial!

Our room was massive, I will let the pictures do the talking.







As you can see, our room was massive and had a fun view of the metro and some construction.

As I was at the gym, they brought up a congratulatory cake which was a nice touch.

We decided to head to the Burj Khalifa to explore and catch the sunset.

We had a great dinner at Sinai (at 4:30pm). I found the restaurant since it was listed (no rating) in the Michelin guide.

Phenomenal chicken hidden under the bread.

And a tasty Briyani.

We enjoyed people watching as we ate and the sun sat. Our meal was about $100 including two mocktails. The Emirati salad was maybe the best salad I’ve ever had!

We headed back to the hotel at 7 and we’re exhausted so we’re asleep by 8pm local, 11pm Bangkok time.

Early to bed early to rise…. We woke up at 2am after 5ish hours of sleep. I went to the gym and my wife got $30 room service. Happy wife….

3am is a fun time to be at the gym in Dubai as you can see everyone come back from their night out!

At 5am we were in the lobby to check out and ensure we got 4 hours in the First Lounge at DXB!

As we headed out we noticed a massive traffic jam, fortunately it just took us 15 min to get to DXB


We had a fine stay at the Al-Habtoor and enjoyed our brief time in Dubai. We paid $300 booking through FHR which I did in 2024 to use that years Amex credit, so we paid $100 out of pocket and used our credit to pay for the room service. The hotel was nice, but Dubai has such an abundant hotel scene I doubt I would race back.

Up next, Emirates First!