mldukie

My husband and I will be in Dubai in May and want to use our Starwood points for our hotel. Which property is best? It looked like the Le Meridians are better, but it seems that from the SPG website that these are not available using points. Is that true? How can some properties be excluded from the program? Thanks for any help!

parioli

Metacolo and others: recently I noticed that SPG lists:
Residence Deira by Le Meridian????????????
Is this next to or part of Meridian, or? Is it in that lively area?

GK

i stay at the grosvenor house every time i go to dubai.. never mind the points, this is just a great hotel.

3timesalady

search is turning up relatively old threads. wondering if anyone has more recent experience than this.

i'm looking for a hotel close to internet city, and i can't tell which *wood property fits the bill. based on other threads, looks like sheraton beach jumeriah? there seem to be more properties than before, so is there something else that is closer?

also, anyone know much about Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Méridien? search did not yield anything informative, other than it is in Deira. Is it nice, otherwise (i.e., is it worth staying there to save 6k pts per night?). I really like the fact that there is a microwave/ fridge/ etc in the rooms... but I will be in Internet City almost every day -- how inconvenient a commute is that?

thanks in advance for your opinions...

boazs

Note that the following Starwood properties in the U.A.E. do not participate in SPG:

Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Grosvenor House
Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa
Le Méridien Residence Deira
Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
Le Méridien Fairway
Le Méridien Baniyas Square
Le Méridien Dubai

derpelikan

because some meridians are available for redemption .
so i though that the one where you can redeem awards will now earn you spg points??

dp

Kagehitokiri

FYI, room breakdown for grosvenor house >

DLX (123)
club (32)
premier (18)
1BR apt (88)
DLX suite (36)
premier suite (7)
2BR apt (74)
3BR apt (40)
2BR duplex apt (1)
3BR duplex apt (2)
grosvenor suite (1)

chrisinacton

Has anyone recently taken a trip to Dubai? There are several Starwood hotels there, however the nice ones do not participate in the SPG program. It looks like my options are either Sheraton or 4 points. Any recommendations?

Thanks

mstrg325

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have a reservation at the Sheraton Beach Resort there, but I don't know if I want to be that far out....

I also have a reservation at the brand new Intercontinental Festival City, which I have read great reviews on.

Thoughts?

osutraveler

I'm going to bump this thread one more time in an attempt to get a bite.

I will be spending one night Dubai due to an Emirates Air layover (fortunately!) and would like to find the best Starwood on points that is close to it all. I've never been to Dubai so have no idea where to even start. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

DCGuy

I just stayed at the Four Points Sheik Zayed. It's a 50 floor hotel right in the heart of Dubai's business district. Except for getting caught in traffic in "old" Dubai, everything was a short cab ride. It's about 15-20 minutes from the airport (and cabs are cheap in Dubai).

The hotel is new in 2008. Your basic high-end 4 Pts, with three restaurants and two bars, including a pool bar on the 50th floor where there is a rooftop pool and health club. It appears there a lot of suites (the building was originally supposed to be an apartment building). I had a corner "preferred" room, which was huge. Balcony on two sides of the room, big bathroom.

I found the service fine. I had a 10pm checkout as part of an "Endless Weekend" package, but they seemed willing to accommodate late checkouts since a lot of flights to Europe/US don't leave until late in the evening.

PropClear

I also just stayed at the Four Points Sheik Zayed. Hotel is actually 40 stories. Overall, many of the same comments as DCGuy. I used Cash&Points and was able to get a 5pm checkout. Balconies cannot be accessed unfortunately.
Overall, the location is pretty much in the middle of everything to do and see in Dubai. Hotel itself is in the business district, great modern architecture all around. To the south/west is the newer part of the city, including the Burj al Arab (just gorgeous), Mall of the Emirates (indoor skiing), and Burj Dubai (crazy tall). To the north/east is old Dubai, with lots of cool souks (shopping areas) and interesting sites.
If I had to go back, I'd have no problem staying here again, but I might consider staying in Jumeira since I didn't get to see everything over there.
Also, cabs are cheap but it also seemed very easy to get around by car as well. And you HAVE to take a desert safari!

DCGuy

I was able to walk out onto my balcony. I took great pictures from it. Maybe it depends on the room.

It is definitely a business hotel and not a "vacation" kind of place, especially given the location. But as 4Pts go, it is top rate.

HOTguy

grosvenor house is top rated on tripadvisor.

sorry just noticed its not currently spg. may change soon though.

hillrider

Thanks to all who suggested the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towersl (and creek view room) amongst SPG-participating ones for a 3-day visit to Dubai; the location is perfect, and am very glad *NOT* to have selected one of the beach ones instead.

Incidentally, I got a bit confused upon arrival about finding the check-in for towers and platinums described in this thread: there was no signage whatsoever. Look for a glassed-in room to the immediate right of the reception desks with nothing more than the lettering "LOUNGE" on the glass: that's where you need to go. Once inside you will see two reception desks on the immediate right where they can process you.

Also an alert to everyone who views having internet access a necessity on par with having running water to add a staggering AED120/USD32.67 per 24 hours to the room rate for Ethernet connectivity (no in-room Wi-Fi). Unfortunately the 3G carriers in the UAE (etilasat and DU) haven't woken up to the opportunity of selling broadband access to the non-resident (you can only get pay-as-you-go at a staggering AED20.48/USD5.58 per MB (in KB increments) which translates to USD56 per day at my typical usage pattern [in retrospective not a whole lot more than the hotel])

Finally, the hotel staff must be receiving bribes from the car services, as they pretty much refused to call a city taxi for me. The regular Dubai taxis are well-maintained Camrys but the front man insisted that I took a low-end Lexus at about 3 times the price, which he stated was a "taxi" but was an unmarked metered car service that does not bear the name taxi anywhere.

IMHO it's quite shameful for Starwood and the local management to allow this scam to take place; I had no problems getting a regular taxi from Al Qasr, the Emirates Towers hotel and certainly not the Hilton, where a bunch of taxis are parked in front of it. Unless they discontinue the practice, if you can't get a taxi from the hotel simply walk in front of it (across from the entrance) and flag one right there, or walk 100 meters upcreek (right as you exit) and there's usually a few hanging by the bus stop.