DUBAI: Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Meridien [Master Thread].
 

This hotel on award points is 3,000-4,000/night. (However noticed that other Le Meridiens in Dubai are not.) Is that a bargain, or is it not very nice? Anywhere near, or how far from the Convention Center?

This property is about 2 1/2 miles north of the convention center. Check this and all of the other Dubai properties out in my Google Earth maps.

I don't know much else about the property other than what is stated on the hotel's website.

The location is great but there's tons of construction going on in front of it. Its in Deira, which is NOT new Dubai. check to see where your work/play will be. Its right across the street from city center.

If you're looking for a pretty good hotel the sheraton deira is ok. nice suite upgrades. Be careful of the internet rates though, sending this message (yup I'm there now) is costing me $25 a day in internet charges.

Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Méridien
 

Has anyone out here stayed in this property in Dubai, UAE? How's the location?

I am intending to redeem my SPG points on this property. At SPG Category 2 (3,000 SPG points) it appears to be a good deal.

Thanks in advance for your response and comments.

I stayed here for one night last year during the summer. The hotel seems to be in an older area of Dubai -- there's a few small restaurants around, IIRC. As for the property itself, the facilities were mostly low-key. However, the rooms were clean and well-appointed -- and had similar features (washing machine, etc.) to the higher-category Al Sondos Suites in Deira.

Overall, I found it a good value -- but if location is important, there are some better Starwood options.

It is in Bur Dubai--walking distance to the Al Gubaiba bus station. Bur Dubai may be a bit better than Deira as the traffic in Deira with the construction of the new Metro can be horrific during business hours. If you use a few extra points to upgrade to one of the executive floors they have breakfast in the lounge and snacks/drinks throughout the day. There are also two computers with free internet and a printer in the lounge.

It is good if you like eating in as Spinneys and Carrefour (two grocery stores) are a few blocks away and the rooms have a stove, microwave, etc..

It is not a luxury property by any means but the rooms are quite comfortable and you can walk to a few things and the bus can get you around from Al Gubaiba if you want to go down to Jumeirah beach or anywhere else.

If you call them in advance, they have a shuttle which can pick you up at the airport. They charge 40 dirhams and the driver will meet you as soon as you exit customs and take you right to the hotel.

It is a great value in the winter when rates at other hotels can be very high. Less so in the summer or during Ramadan when the rates at other nicer hotels are much lower.

The shuttle is now 50 dirhams. However, I'm not sure if the rate is per person or per family.

I just stayed there three times in March. I got charged 40 dirhams for three one ways and they didn't charge me at all for two trips to the airport...so perhaps the fee is negotiable:)

It does seem to be a good deal, did you end up staying at Le Meridien Al Sondos ?

--

Unfortunately, no. :p I ended up at Holiday Inn Express Safa Park for a paid stay. Great new property. ^

The airport shuttle is now AED 55 one-way per room. First time stay. Friendly and accommodating staff, clean and large suite-room, good location (close to my client's office), not far from the Old Souk and other local color shops and restaurants, rather than the big modern shopping malls that you find in many parts of Dubai and from Bangkok to Vancouver. Nice apartment hotel with very reasonable rate.

Does anybody else have any experiences with plat treatment here?

Also how much would a taxi cost to/from the airport? Just wondering if the 55 AED is much more than what a taxi would charge.

Hi GVA, if you want to stay in the Bur Dubai area stay at the 4 points by sheraton downtown Dubai, much better hotel. 55 AED sounds a little steep like 10-20 AED north of what a taxi charges.

Thanks for the advice. Thing is I'm only seeking to use this place on my first night when I arrive in DXB around midnight. For 225AED+ I really don't think you can go wrong with this place - especially seeing that every other SPG property is around 500AED the same night. I'm moving to the Sheraton Deira the following day anyways.

My colleague and I also found it steep. We used to stay in the Deira area, and taxi fare was always about AED30. Don't know the actual fare between the airport and Bur Dubai. The 4Points should be better but because of the lower rate, and the suite-room and location, we opted for the Dar Al Sondos Apartment this time. Our yearly client visit always coincides with the Shopping Festival during which the hotel rates are unreasonaly high.