Dubai 1-day stopover.... any hotel withing walking distance to DXB terminal?
Aug 6, 2019, 5:15 am
#31
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: In transit
Programs: AF/KL BA GF EK EY LH QR
Posts: 587
Stay away from the Holiday Inn Express by the airport. Terrible staff. Rude management. My credit card details ended up being stolen here. The rooms walls are thin as crackers so you can easily hear your neighbor and if you don’t get a room by the elevator you don’t get internet.
Aug 6, 2019, 8:07 am
#32
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: AU
Programs: EK platinum, ET, SAS
Posts: 542
I have just noticed how old the original post is. Any advice 4 years later is a tad late!!
Aug 6, 2019, 10:24 pm
#33
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,215
Anyway, the reason I KNOW the credit card was stolen there somehow was because that was the ONLY card I used on the entire international trip was at THEIR property to get some UAE cash. I did not use that card anywhere else in any other country the entire trip. Lo and behold I come home to find a bunch of flights within the Philippines booked using THAT card.
Just really disgusting way to respond to a customer who had a horrible stay at their property.
Aug 7, 2019, 12:38 pm
#34
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 237
Very interesting to read about the misuse of a credit card at the Holiday Inn near Dubai airport. The same thing happened to me in July 2018.
I checked in at 1 am and paid by credit card. At 6:45 am I received two text messages from my bank informing me that my credit card had been used at two places in Saudi Arabia. One place was the Emirates office in Riyadh and the amount was SR14,500. I have not been to Saudi since 2007. I immediately phoned my bank and they blocked the card and hopefully managed to stop the transactions.
It was the first time I had used this credit card in a month. I had never let it out of my sight and no-one else knew the pin code. It could only have happened at the hotel. I reported this to the hotel management and told my bank that it was likely committed by a hotel employee.
I would never stay at the Holiday Inn again. I use the nearby Premier Inn.
I checked in at 1 am and paid by credit card. At 6:45 am I received two text messages from my bank informing me that my credit card had been used at two places in Saudi Arabia. One place was the Emirates office in Riyadh and the amount was SR14,500. I have not been to Saudi since 2007. I immediately phoned my bank and they blocked the card and hopefully managed to stop the transactions.
It was the first time I had used this credit card in a month. I had never let it out of my sight and no-one else knew the pin code. It could only have happened at the hotel. I reported this to the hotel management and told my bank that it was likely committed by a hotel employee.
I would never stay at the Holiday Inn again. I use the nearby Premier Inn.
Last edited by Longton; Aug 7, 2019 at 12:41 pm Reason: Forgotten something
Aug 7, 2019, 8:30 pm
#35
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,215
Very interesting to read about the misuse of a credit card at the Holiday Inn near Dubai airport. The same thing happened to me in July 2018.
I checked in at 1 am and paid by credit card. At 6:45 am I received two text messages from my bank informing me that my credit card had been used at two places in Saudi Arabia. One place was the Emirates office in Riyadh and the amount was SR14,500. I have not been to Saudi since 2007. I immediately phoned my bank and they blocked the card and hopefully managed to stop the transactions.
It was the first time I had used this credit card in a month. I had never let it out of my sight and no-one else knew the pin code. It could only have happened at the hotel. I reported this to the hotel management and told my bank that it was likely committed by a hotel employee.
I would never stay at the Holiday Inn again. I use the nearby Premier Inn.
I checked in at 1 am and paid by credit card. At 6:45 am I received two text messages from my bank informing me that my credit card had been used at two places in Saudi Arabia. One place was the Emirates office in Riyadh and the amount was SR14,500. I have not been to Saudi since 2007. I immediately phoned my bank and they blocked the card and hopefully managed to stop the transactions.
It was the first time I had used this credit card in a month. I had never let it out of my sight and no-one else knew the pin code. It could only have happened at the hotel. I reported this to the hotel management and told my bank that it was likely committed by a hotel employee.
I would never stay at the Holiday Inn again. I use the nearby Premier Inn.
I had suspected someone in hotel security since my card was never physically in anyone’s hands for them to copy. My card could’ve been spotted from a surveillance camera. That’s bizarre and we should make a complaints about this to IHG management directly since obviously there is an employee thief who may still be on premises.
Aug 8, 2019, 1:21 am
#36
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,618
I had suspected someone in hotel security since my card was never physically in anyone’s hands for them to copy. My card could’ve been spotted from a surveillance camera. That’s bizarre and we should make a complaints about this to IHG management directly since obviously there is an employee thief who may still be on premises.
Far more likely it was skimmed by a device on the ATM. Not sure how prevalent that is in the UAE, but it's common in the UK.
Aug 8, 2019, 3:06 am
#37
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 581
Wow. That’s crazy. I’m pretty sure my stay was around summer 2017 so definitely not uncommon. They claimed it was impossible.
I had suspected someone in hotel security since my card was never physically in anyone’s hands for them to copy. My card could’ve been spotted from a surveillance camera. That’s bizarre and we should make a complaints about this to IHG management directly since obviously there is an employee thief who may still be on premises.
Aug 8, 2019, 6:36 am
#38
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mexico City
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold, IHG Silver, Choice Platinum, Wyndham Gold
Posts: 3,849
However, many cards now are stolen via NFC on anybody's smartphone that has the app installed and remotely pull all the information from the card.
I ran across a couple of females from the Philippines doing that at the metro station. Approaching tourists (me) and giving advice on which way to go and asking nosey questions. The girl had two cellphones in her hand with the screens facing each other. She was standing very close to me and she kept peeking at the screens. I wear an rfid money belt, so none of my cards were picking up. When I noticed what she was doing I told her I'm fine and have a nice day.
But, if somebody working at the hotel reservation desk had that app activated on their smartphone with NFC, they can pull up any credit card embedded data emitted to them or within pickup range. I witnessed the same thing in Turkey a few years ago too.
I appreciate the merchants that provide you with the handheld card reader so you can remove your card from its rfid sleeve and insert it yourself in the machine and quickly remove it from the reader and return the card to its protective sleeve when the transaction is completed.
Aug 8, 2019, 6:43 am
#39
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mexico City
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold, IHG Silver, Choice Platinum, Wyndham Gold
Posts: 3,849
I have an refundable extended stay reserved at that holiday inn and I totally forgot about how rude those people were when I went last time until I read all these replies. I've been considering Premier Inn, and now I'm thinking of cancelling my reservation with holiday inn. Don't need any issues!
Aug 8, 2019, 7:20 am
#40
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: In transit
Programs: AF/KL BA GF EK EY LH QR
Posts: 587
I have an refundable extended stay reserved at that holiday inn and I totally forgot about how rude those people were when I went last time until I read all these replies. I've been considering Premier Inn, and now I'm thinking of cancelling my reservation with holiday inn. Don't need any issues!
Aug 8, 2019, 7:24 am
#41
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Mexico City
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold, IHG Silver, Choice Platinum, Wyndham Gold
Posts: 3,849
Aug 17, 2019, 12:07 pm
#43
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 2,334
I can recommend the Le Meridian next to the airport - they have sent me a driver last time without charge - 5min drive. Or the JW Marriott Marquis which is only a 20min drive outside of rush hour - from there you can easily Uber to Burj Khalifa or Jumeirah.
I would not consider walking as Dubai is generally not really designed for walking (and 30 degrees at night w/ 80% humidity easily can happen).
D
I would not consider walking as Dubai is generally not really designed for walking (and 30 degrees at night w/ 80% humidity easily can happen).
D
Aug 17, 2019, 2:15 pm
#44
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Manchester/London
Programs: Skywards Plat, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,226
I can recommend the Le Meridian next to the airport - they have sent me a driver last time without charge - 5min drive. Or the JW Marriott Marquis which is only a 20min drive outside of rush hour - from there you can easily Uber to Burj Khalifa or Jumeirah.
I would not consider walking as Dubai is generally not really designed for walking (and 30 degrees at night w/ 80% humidity easily can happen).
D
I would not consider walking as Dubai is generally not really designed for walking (and 30 degrees at night w/ 80% humidity easily can happen).
D
Aug 17, 2019, 11:39 pm
#45
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 78
I stay at the Le Meridian Fairway when in Dubai. It's about a mile and a half from the airport, a block away from the metro station, the first stop after the airport, across the road from the Deira City Mall. The rates are very good--much better than the Le Meridian at the airport.