What Club Carlson hotel to book in Dubai?
 

We are three including a 4 year old child and planning to visit for a week near the end of December. I do see award availability on several Radisson Blu. The most expensive being Waterfront and Dubai Marina, and then on Diera and the apartment Oasis. Do any of these offer breakfast for gold members? The one that says apartment oasis sounds good with kitchen but reviews are bad.

What is your recommendation?

Thanks

I assume this is a leisure visit. Waterfornt is a pure business-oriented hotel which is modern and quite expensive. Dubai Marina is an aparthotel (which might be best for a family) but it got a bit dated. Make sure you request quiet room not facing the highway. Deira is my favourite - its older, but they recently completed renovations and its very close to the metro. Also good for families as there are pools and children's menus in their cafes/restaurants. Oasis is quite far from the major transport links, might take you hours or a few taxi fares to get in and out. Can't comment on breakfasts for gold as I am currently a platinum member. You might also consider an Ajman hotel, it is far from Dubai but its new and they have a daily morning and evening shuttle to Dubai Mall.

If I choose the Radisson in Diera, then there are plenty of affordable Indian and Nepalese food options nearby right? Is this hotel walking distance to Bur Dubai area? I would like to know any upgrade or benefit for Gold members. Thanks

As a Platinum did you get lounge access at the deira property?

This is the old Dubai where you get tons of Indian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian dining options and you'd wish to stay longer. My favorite is Persian barbecue, usually very expensive but Diera has soltani plate for around $10.

I may consider this if they give you the ROYAL CLUB lounge access for gold members. Hate to wake up to to search for breakfast outside. Any mcdonalds very close to this? Otherwise I will look at hilton properties.

yes, i did. It was a stated benefit on a welcome letter which was a nice surprise. Lounge is nothing special though.

What about food options in the evening? Like a Marriott exec lounge?

What is CC platinum? I thought it was silver, gold and Concierge. Mine is Gold. Any upgrade to lounge for Gold members at any radisson in Dubai?

Thanks

Concierge does not exist anymore so does Club Carlson. Its called Radisson Rewards now.

Stayed there in November 2018. Food options for breakfast included a decent buffet, some hots, turkey sausages/bacon, potatoes, fruit, pastries etc, but eggs/omelette etc can be had to order. We found it plentiful and more than enough to get you to mid afternoon.
The "Afternoon Tea" 3-5 I think was just a few pastries and some fruit.
Evenings consisted of mostly finger food, Chicken Wings, skewers and the like, pastries/fruit again.
Alcohol was in plentiful supply, but waiter service. However the odd 5 or 10 dirhams now and again seems to keep you well supplied.
Lounge is nicely presented, some soft lounge furniture and private tables, with maybe 4 - 6 private tables for 2 overlooking the creek.

I am Radisson Gold however, so wouldn't have been entitled to free breakfast, you do get an upgrade if available, but most likely not to an Exec room for Lounge access. But some Radissons DO allow you to book an Exec room for extra points, a "Premium Room Reward".
I was able to book a Premium Room Reward in Deira Creek for 4 nights (66,000) per night, which gave me an Exec Room, breakfast, and lounge access.
However THAT was in November. I'm back in Dubai in a few weeks and given Radisson had a points re-shuffle last month (some hotels went up a category, some went down), I looked for the same deal again. I was initially delighted to see that Radisson Deira Creek had dropped a category, and a Premium Room Reward had reduced to 57,000 points!

BUT, on closer inspection, although a Premium Room Reward reduced in points, it now gets you a SUPERIOR room, not an EXEC room!! All you will get now is a bigger room, no breakfast, and NO lounge access!

Aside that, the hotel is actually part of a larger complex, and on the ground floor there are a large number of restaurants to choose from, Thai, Indian, Arab, European, Japanese, you name it! We had a few meals at the Thai and it was excellent, and very reasonable!

However, given the reduction in the Premium Reward we have moved our stay this time about 200 metres up the creek to Hilton... and we'll just walk to the Thai :-)

As a frequent visitor to Dubai on stopovers, I almost always chose the Radisson Blu Deira. The renovated rooms are great, and I love the Japanese restaurant. After a long period, the pool is now renovated and open. It is a short walk from the Union station on the Dubai Metro, meaning you can get most places in Dubai reasonably quickly.