pazza2000

Le Meridien Mina Seyahi has standard rooms with a King + Single bed, perfect for a small family. The Club Lounge, as lounges go, is child friendly. Downside is there is construction work going on right next door, unless it has recently finished up?

EuropeanPete

Based on that description, I'd agree the Meridien by the beach is the most obvious candidate, especially if money is no object in the Marriott family.

jimmygottfredson

Mrs. Gottfredson and I stayed at the Grosvenor House at end of January. The Grosvenor house is in the Dubai Marina area and our room rate was ~300 night for a one bedroom apartment. As a Marriott Plat they upgraded us to a two bedroom apartment, FWIW, it was our first time visiting Dubai, as well as the middle east. We both felt the hotel was great, and enjoyed the location. The rooms that are apartment sized at this hotel would be nice if staying with a child. We look forward to visiting Dubai again when the whole COVID thing is over; until then this is the one property I'm familiar with.

Steve_19

Thanks for the recommendation! I will check it out. I was also looking at the The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi but there were numerous comments about loud construction nearby as well. Maybe by end of 2020 it will be finished.

Steve_19

Thanks! I will check it out.

pazza2000

If the construction is still going on then it will be be closer to the Le Meridien than the Westin, if not then both are great options, the Le Meridien particularly if using points

Muerz

Has anyone been to Dubai since they reopened last month? I might take a trip there for a quick vacation in a few weeks but I‘m totally undecided on what property I should be looking at... I have been to Dubai only once, almost 20 years ago, it sure has changed a lot since... Beach access is nice to have but not required, a nice pool area will do as well. A great breakfast and a good lounge offering (are they even allowed to serve free booze in the lounge?) are rather important to me and I also don‘t care about the location at all since the entire town will be new to me. As most properties have good rates, I try to find the best available overall deal. Thanks in advance for all your help guys!

Wozza2404

The Westin is the better hotel in every aspect, with the possible exception of the lounge if travelling with children, when the LM just edges it for being a touch more child friendly.

That being said, if using points or if cash rates are significantly cheaper, LM makes a lot of sense as you still use all the facilities of the Westin (pools, bars, restaurants, etc. can all be charged to your room at LM).

The big downside currently is the construction right next door to LM which won't be done anytime soon, and so currently I only use the Westin.

It's also worth mentioning that my upgrades have always been better at the Westin - including an amazing upgrade from a basic room on a 4 for 3 Mastercard offer into a penthouse suite when on holiday with my wife and 2 kids last year. Of course, this is never guaranteed.

pazza2000

Wholly agree, the Westin is the superior, I even think the Lounge there slightly has the edge over LM’s. LM is just better value on points, 2 categories of a difference.

kaizen7

Westin's lounge is on the small side.

And for upgrades, I didn't get any on my stay in the middle of summer

Wozza2404

Wow - I'm surprised by that. I've always had at least a junior suite here (with the one exception of me arriving at 8am and having the choice of an exec room there and then, or waiting until 3pm for a suite - and for my short stay I chose the former). The presidential suite was insane - bigger than my first house.

That said, I find in Dubai that the better perks tend to come when you are a repeat guest. With Hilton I find the JBR properties didn't do a huge amount for me as Diamond (aside from what they're obliged to do) at first, but from my 3rd stay in a period of a few months things improved greatly. I wonder if the Westin does something similar - certainly I stay there quite a few times each year.

ajtuk

Got a 7 night trip in September 2020 to Dubai. Solo traveler, mostly there for business. What properties have a good view and a spacious room, will be spending a lot of time in the room working, so looking for a suite / apartment style. Paying cash, will struggle to go over $200 USD a night.

Titanium Elite and I do have some SNA's that I could use if it's worth it?

Wozza2404

First thing's first, welcome to FT!

Dubai is a big place so it depends where you need to be for work. Recommendations if you're working in JAFZA are going to be very different than if you're working in Sharjah.

If it were me and I was there Sun-Sun then I'd do the Sun-Thurs working week in the JW Marriott Marquis and then move down to the Westin or Le Royal Meridien for the weekend - probably the Westin. $200 a night ordinarily wouldn't cover the Westin or Le Royal Meridien but Sept 20 with current occupancy rates you'll see change from that at both properties. The rooms at the Marquis work well for me setting up to work all day - and the exec lounge has child free buisiness zones where you can work and/or hold meetings. The Westin and LRM are on the beach and have a great feel at the weekend.

Just be aware that at all these properties outside of happy hour you're paying full Dubai prices for drinks - $15+USD for a beer. So be prepared to jump in an Uber and head to Souk Madinat, JBR, JLT, etc. if you're in need or more reasonably priced F&B.

flockavelliFT

I switched to Hilton and therefore downgraded to Gold with Marriott. Looking to spend remaining ~370k Bonvoy points for a birthday trip over NYE.
As I have been to Grov House before (as a Titanium): will I still get acceptable upgrades as I'm now only Gold? No lounge access this time?
Any recommendations which Marriott property to book over NYE as a Gold? I care about nice rooms, great breakfast, pool + beach (which was meh with GH shuttle to LRM)

pazza2000

Any data points re. the current lounge situation at Marriott properties in Dubai?