UK Residents. ITV tonight.Hilton Dubai.Hols from Hell
 

Hi folks.

I was watching a trailer for ITV1's program Holidays from Hell (or something like that). Well it's on tonight at 8.00pm and one of the featured hotels looks like the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. Just to let you know about it as i know a few of the UK HH FT'ers have been there.!!

Cheers

Alan

Damn i just missed this... How bad was it? I have some friends staying there at the moment and they haven't said anything bad about it yet.

Primarily complaints about noise and dust from huge construction project - 14+ skyscrapers, all around the hotel.

To be fair, there was no noise in the rooms (double glazing), but very noisy and dusty on the balcony.

Major annoyance seemed to be Virgin Holidays not telling people before they take their money. The hotel did change the reporter to another room on the 2nd day after she complained to the Virgin rep, so the Hilton came off pretty well in terms of service IMHO.

I saw it too. As Markie said, complaints were primarily about the building site behind the 5 hotels between Sheraton and Ritz Carlton, and about the dust and noise. When the doors to the balcony in the room were closed, there was no noise, but imagine lying on the beach?! People who requested a "marina" view got a view to the building site.

Construction was 24/7 and is due to finish in March 2006...but I would give it a bit longer!

I've heard about the extent of the construction in UAE, particulary Dubai, but I've never seen anything quite like it before!

Yep, it was sometimes noisy, but overall it was unbelievable. I actually extended for a second week as I loved the hotel in general. Nicest deal is a room closest to the water. I am a light sleeper but had nil problems sleeping. The beach lounge area was fine during the day except for the occasional water-pipe horrible wretchid smoke.

MisterNice

Anyone know whether they still do free transfers from the Hilton Jumeirah Beach to the airport? We're on a paid stay and have booked Executive Plus room to ensure we get lounge access and breakfast.

Just back from stay from the excellent the Jumeirah Beach Hilton, don't think they do the airport transfer anymore, or at least it was not offered. Taxi costs about 65 Dirham's from the airport.

On a separate note, for the 6-8pm happy hour, go to the Skyview bar instead of the exec lounge..... much nicer and nobody else seems to use it while the exec lounge was jammed full!!

Thanks for the info. Is the Skyview lounge part of or seperate from the Executive lounge? What was the construction work like around the hotel? Was it very noisy/dusty? I have read mixed reports so we decided to have 3 days at Hilton Dubai Creek and 3 days at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah.

The skyview lounge is separate to the exec lounge, but for the evening happy hour you have a choice of either. Skyview is a very impressive bar, it has less nibbles but is a lot nicer if having a few pre-dinner drinks and has very attentive service. (I even saw Stelios Haji-Ioannou the easyjet billionaire in Skyview on Monday)

The construction around the hotel is unbelievable, on the approach road it seemed like driving through a mile of construction sites. That said, when in and around the hotel, pool and beach I barely noticed any noise and no dustiness at all. I was lucky enough to be upgraded to a superb pool facing suite and was very impressed by the hotel overall.

Very interesting heggers ^

I have been to the JB many times, and only used the Skyview Bar for the General MAnagers receptions on Wednesdays (?). Never know that you could go there for the happy hour also ... Must be a well-kept secret ... ;)

John P

The happy hour in the sky bar is 7 days, has far less nibbles but more/better booze. It actually can get lonely there while the exec lounge gets overflowing at times. I paid 70 dirhans for the airport-hotel taxi. Quite a nice bargain I thought.

MisterNice

Thanks for the info on using the Skyview lounge during happy hour. It was great - wonderful to sit outside on the balcony during the cool (relatively) 80 degree evening. Exec lounge each evening was very crowded and upon asking at the desk, it was confirmed we could get our free drinks up at the Skyview lounge. ^ We were also given the chioce of having breakfast in the Executive lounge or the full buffet in the Oceana restaurant downstairs. Went for the restaurant each morning but it was extremely busy.

Although I booked an Executive room, we were given a large 4th floor corner room overlooking the beach with a complimentary bottle of wine and fruit. I think they treat these corner rooms as Executive rooms.

Although there was an amazing amount of construction work around the hotel, it did not cause us any problems and the pool and private beach are very nice. Plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas are available. We were even told that Hilton is taking over one of the new towers to create an Aparthotel to be connected by a bridge to the existing hotel. That should be interesting!

As we had a very late flight out of Dubai, I enquired about a late check-out and was offered a 4pm time. I then offered to pay extra for a 6pm check-out and after a few clicks on the computer was given a 6pm complimentary check-out as we were diamond members. ^

I also enquired about the airport transportation and was offered complimentary transportation to the airport. Overall, a very pleasant 3-day stay with very friendly and helpful staff. We had previously had 3 wonderful days at the Hilton Dubai Creek and I thought this stay was not going to come up to the same standard. Completely different to the Dubai Creek but still very enjoyable and I would certainly go back, probably when it's a bit cooler.

Room types at Hilton Jumierah Beach (Dubai)
 

My family are looking at staying in Dubai for 4-5 nights. Using Diamond Gaurantee managed to use points and upgrade to Exec floor upon availability at checkin - fine.

But also have option of paying a small amount (of $) extra for an Exec Alcove room or a larger amount for a Suite.

We are travelling with a 16 month old so larger room is a must so the upgrade from deluxe to exec does not increase room size. Free breakfast and drinks are nice though.

What are people's experience of alcove room or a suite at this hotel. Mainly how large is an alcove room?

What would people recommend in terms of size for enough room for a toddler to run around and also room for a cot?

Thanks,

Mark

Cannot belive, nobody has experience of an Alcove room vs a suite at this property??? @:-)

Mark

I have had several recent stays at this property as a Diamond, and so far I have never once been upgraded. Apparently the hotel is frequently full (it is close to the Mall of the Emirates) and they even have a standard letter apologising for the lack of upgrade and offering a selection of amenities as "compensation".

If an upgrade is important to you, then I suggest that you book the type of room that you would like.