UAE, Dubai, Jumeirah 1
UAE, Dubai, Regent Beach Resort Hotel. 03.22. 2014-02.04. 2014
Table of contents
1. Introduction
3. Dubai International Airport (Terminal 2)
4. Hotel Regent Beach Resort 3*
5. Beach and sea.
6. Transport and roads.
7. Tourists
8. Excursions.
9. Dubai, sightseeing tour.
10. Abu Dhabi, sightseeing tour.
11. Visit the Burj Khalifa
12. Al Ain sightseeing tour
National Museum.
Radon source
Hotel Mercury.
Al Ain Zoo.
13. Internet
15. Nutrition
16. Communication
17. Medical insurance
18. Conclusion
1. Introduction
The purpose of this review is to show a comprehensive picture - what is the UAE in the eyes of a simple tourist from the Russian Federation. The report is not so much about the hotel, but about the trip as a whole. I recommend it to those who are going to the UAE for the first time. The report is not intended for people who know a lot more about the UAE than me and value their time. Therefore, please do not flood in the comments.
Before traveling to any country, I install an offline GPS navigation program on my smartphone.
This allows you to confidently move through unfamiliar territory, without burdening yourself with questions of the language barrier. Yes, and nimble taxi drivers are easy to check. In the case in the UAE, I was a little puzzled. Navitel was useless. Only old 3rd version format cards were included with it. IGo is difficult to install, you need a file for a specific screen resolution. As a result, I settled on an unfamiliar Sygic program. She has proven herself from the very best side. For those who are not very versed in phones and torrents, I recommend installing the official trial version for 7 days and downloading offline maps.
If meals during the flight are included in the cost of the flight, then the flight attendants usually quickly deliver and distribute hot drinks and drinks in the rows. In our case, food is not included in the price. What is the inconvenience for passengers - that most of the flight aisle is occupied by flight attendants. They slowly walk along the salon.
Those who wish look at the list of available goods on the screens located in each back of the seat in front. They choose their own food and pay for $ or dirhams. Both times the procedure for delivering meals + financial transactions took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. We add here takeoff (~ 20 min) + landing (~ 30 min) + bumpiness. This is the time when toilets are not available. Some were very nervous about this.
The entire flight process can be observed on the screen. The following information is available: altitude, temperature overboard, speed, flight time, time to landing and the position of the aircraft relative to the world map.
3. Dubai International Airport (Terminal 2)
Arrival. I won't say much about this. We flew in, passed the control, the local border guards "removed" the eyes and faces of adults. The child was just photographed. Our luggage was already stacked in the airport building. Immediately I changed the bucks. For $200 I got 722 dirhams. I'm going to the exit. We see the guy TezTour.
He hands us an envelope without checking our documents and vouchers. He calls the Hindu driver and we follow him to the parking lot near the airport. There we sit in an 8-seater Lexus and drive to the hotel. All this is almost silent. Just in case, I controlled it through the navigation program.
Departure. The shuttle (minivan) came for us at 5 am, the departure was scheduled for 9-20. On the way, we stopped at another hotel and 3 hours before departure we were dropped off in front of the entrance to the second terminal. By local standards, this is a small terminal and you won’t get lost here. But, compared to Ufa, it is very large. There is a duty free zone. For the same positions for alcohol, the price in Dubai is lower than in Ufa. For example, Martini Bianco costs 36 dirhams there. Cameras (entry-level DSLRs) cost about the same as in Ufa (24-26 thousand rubles), ultrasounds - 9-16 thousand rubles. Fast food like SubWay is widely represented. I ate before the flight on budget airlines and 4-5 hours there are no problems with food.
A plane takes off every 2 minutes. Basically - "FlyDubai" and "Emirates Airline". From the windows of terminal number 2 you can clearly see the planes taking off.
First, a preliminary check of luggage and people. Then the Z-shaped divider of the queue. A special + person shows which counter to go to. All our luggage is weighed at the same time. Seats on the plane are assigned here. We got "thieves" places of the 17th row.
Some nations fly home wrapped only in white terry towels. One towel is wrapped around the hips, the other is thrown over the shoulders. All males take off all outer clothing (including boys of 10 years old). Leave only slates. The dressing process takes place in the men's rooms. Because of this, there are long queues. The airport building is quite cool, especially in the center. We had to put on autumn jackets so as not to catch a cold.
Our flight FZ 939 was moved 30 minutes.
4. Hotel Regent Beach Resort 3*
Hotel Regent Beach Resort (Regent Beach Resort) is a small three-star. As far as I know, this is the only treshka in Dubai on the 1st coastline. The location of the hotel is very good - close to the beach and shops. In fact, the hotel consists of two buildings. Although it is believed that there are three buildings. The reception is located in the main building. Exit from the building directly to the street. The building has 2 floors. 4 rooms per floor. Entrance to the rooms by a programmable electronic key (which often "flew"). We were given one key, I immediately asked for a second one. All this is free. When choosing a room, I requested separate beds. The room was tidy. We arrived at the hotel at 12 midnight local time. We were asked to see the room. It was dark outside the window, they could not see anything and agreed. The room has a safe, wardrobe, table, TV, mini bar. The safe was opened with a mechanical key. The man at the reception did not understand Russian.
But, I explained to him somehow in English. The first thing any tourist will face is the problem of recharging their gadgets. Outlets in the UAE are different than in Europe and the Russian Federation. For some time I tried to explain to the staff what I needed. As a result, they perfectly understood the word adapter. And they brought it. Among other things, it had a USB port. Already in the morning I found in the room a simple adapter for European plugs 220 V. We were given a coupon for food. The restaurant is open from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. The restaurant is called AliBaba. The diet did not change much, but it was enough for us (how can we not remember the Turkish all inclusive). From meat dishes sausages were constantly. A couple of times they fell on beans with finely chopped meat. There were fried thin steaks of meat. There were always sliced fruits in the form of watermelon, papaya, mango, kiwi and apples. The wait staff kept an eye on the tables. In the event that unnecessary used dishes appeared, they were taken away.
Directly from Alibaba, you could go to the beach by crossing a one-way street. The hotel has a swimming pool. It is small - the depth is 1.15 meters. There is rarely anyone there. There is a gym near the pool. Beach towels are constantly laid out in this room. The used ones are put in the box here. No one controls the movement of towels. Came, took as much as needed.
As mentioned in other reviews, you should not take rooms on the first floor. People will constantly walk past you to the restaurant and to the beach. Plus, on the first floor stuffy, no air movement, poorly ventilated. When you go for a towel, be sure to pass by these rooms. I'm talking about numbers 307.308, 407.408. A window can be opened on the 2nd floor. We left the window open all day. At first, we used the advice of experienced tourists. Money and documents were kept not in a safe, but in a suitcase. Then they began to slowly shift everything into the safe. Nothing is missing.
Our room was constantly cleaned by the same person. He was a middle-aged Indian of about forty-three. Very meticulous and conscientious. Did quality work. Every day we changed towels and bed linen. We left every other day for 5 dirhams. The quality of cleaning this hotel pulls five stars. Mini bar was not used. Therefore, when leaving, nothing was withheld from us. The check-out procedure is simple - 15 minutes before the transfer arrives, we go down to the reception and hand over the electronic keys. The number is checked. If they didn’t use anything for a fee and nothing is broken, then they wave the pen.
I will add about the noise in the room. Yes, he is. Comes from air extractor compressors. They are located on the rooftop of an Indian restaurant. This noise is heard to varying degrees in many rooms. We were going to change our room for another one. But, there is also constant noise. He didn't bother us much. We slept well.
I read many times about the smiling girl Taya, who speaks Russian and helps to remove various problems. I didn't get to talk to her. Always had to speak English. language with a peasant at the reception (topics: failure of the electric key, calling a taxi, appending towels, etc. ). I don't know his name.
In the evenings, the voice of a local singer sometimes broke through from the Ali Baba restaurant, then from the Indian restaurant. We have visited both once. They feed well. It was interesting to taste the national cuisine. In the application, I posted a scan of the menu of an Indian restaurant. In fact, the prices were slightly higher than stated.
The area in which the hotel is located has a medical focus. There are a lot of eye and dental clinics.
5. Beach and sea.
The beaches in Dubai are urban, so they are free. There is no fence. Take any place. The beach is served by the SanTurs company.
A poster on the beach says that the operating hours of the attendants are from eight in the morning until sunset. Sun loungers and umbrellas - paid. A sunbed costs 15 dirhams, a small umbrella 5 dirhams, a large umbrella 10 dirhams, a towel 5. At first we swam in the middle of the lagoon and only then realized that closer to the breakwater there were fewer waves and wind. Yes, the water is warmer. Less people. Our part of the beach is quite extensive - 3 kilometers. The water is clean and light fine sand. Sand in the water immediately settles and turbidity is not created. The entrance is very gentle. Small fish swim along the shore. Hydroplanes and helicopters periodically fly over the beach. So rich tourists can see the coastal strip in Dubai from the air. They fly from Sail to Port Said. Above it, they turn around and fly the opposite direction. Visually watching planes take off from Dubai airport. According to my estimates, this happens every two minutes.
We took an umbrella and a bedding with us from Ufa.
After 12 noon, there are fewer people on the beach. Because they appear after three days.
The beach is good. Continuous smallest, almost white, sand. They clean the beach every night - we drive a tractor. It pulls a special trailer that lifts the top layer of sand, filters it, the dirt is thrown into the container, and the clean sand is returned to the beach. Such mechanized cleaning of large areas of the beach is very well thought out.
On April 1, the sea was a little stormy. We were rolled / thrown / tumbled on the waves. There are 2 paths along the beach - a jogging path and a bike path. Red running has a soft shock-absorbing covering. Runners and walkers cut through it at any daylight hours. On weekends (Thursday and Friday), 2A Street, which runs along the beach, turns into a continuous traffic jam. On weekdays it is deserted. There are several lifeguard towers on the beaches. Flags are hung on the towers. If it's red, you can't swim.
Instead, dark-skinned young guys and peasants appear. These are guest workers who come to take a sea bath. As a rule, they all walk in groups, there are a lot of them. Someone immediately goes to the sea to swim, someone sits on the shore - contemplates around. At first you feel a little uncomfortable, then you get used to it. A distinctive feature of the United Arab Emirates is that the strip of water on the beach in the evening drops by 15-20 meters (daily low tide). The wind always blows on the beach. It has two directions: either by sea or from the sea. In the first case, it is the wind from the desert. We have a guaranteed light sand fog. Periodically, along the beach, policemen drive in jeeps along the sand. On 2A Street, which runs along the beach and the Regent Beach Resort, a global traffic jam forms on Friday. Both Arabs with their families and guest workers in the form of Indians and Pakistanis come here for the weekend. The beach is filling up. All the mushrooms located along the road are also busy.
The main age of Pakistani Hindus is 25-30 years old. On weekdays, 2A Street is almost empty.
Everyone was burned once by a jellyfish. It is almost invisible in the water. It is light green in color (not to be confused with blue). She has a tail in the form of a train. He is the one who regrets. Usually covers both legs. In this case, you do not need to get out of the water. Rub the redness with sand to wash off the irritating mucus. This is what causes the allergic reaction. it is impossible to wash off the mucus with running water - the reaction is even stronger.
6. Transport and roads.
The most popular type of car is a white / silver jeep / crossover. The most popular car model is the Toyota. Arabs sell oil products to Japan, and Japan sells cars through barter. Toyotas and Lexuses withstand the local heat. Almost all taxis are Camry. For 10 years, a car runs 50.000-70.000 km. The Pakistani driver said that he and his shift almost never turn off the engine. But the Germans often "boil". Therefore, there are very few Mercedes and Beh on the roads.
There are Fords and Hondas. Nissans are massively presented in the form of Patrol in a new body and PathFinder. X-Trail - very rare. Many Nissan Altimas are related to the Teana. Other models such as Renault, Suzuki, etc. are poorly represented. There are cars with forward flow. They roar all over the area. There are sports cars. They do not manage to drive strongly, because some pedestrian crossings are located on a wide (about 1.5 meters) speed bump. This is thought out for another reason as well. When it rains, water takes up half the road. And to cross it on a hill and not get your feet wet is buzzing.
Gasoline is cheap even by our standards - 15 rubles per 1 liter of 98 gasoline. Cars in different emirates cost differently. In the 2 richest Emirates - Dubai and Abu Dhabi - they are more expensive. Exactly the same models in Fujairah will be cheaper.
Women are allowed to tint their cars "under zero" - so that no one can see their face.
Most of the drivers are gastro workers from India and Pakistan. Drivers in the United Arab Emirates are not very polite.
Pedestrians are not allowed to pass here, even if they go to a pedestrian crossing. We had the following case. We walked along Jumeirah Road and came to a pedestrian crossing. As in Russia, we shook our heads many times before deciding to step onto the pedestrian crossing. Before we even took a step, a jeep flew out of the perpendicular street at high speed. He would have just blown us all off the zebra. Later, during the tour, the guide said the following. When determining the culprit, it will almost always be the one who does not have a local passport.
Advertising banners on Sheikh Zayed Road show prices for new cars. They are sold at the same prices as in Russia. For example, Renault Dastr is sold here for 49.9 thousand dirhams.
Bikers ride here in the evenings.
I noticed that broken or crumpled cars are not visible. There are slightly scratched bumpers or fenders. But there are no such that they go without bumpers or crumpled ones.
This is despite the fact that their driving style is more aggressive and shameless. They rarely miss when rebuilding. It is not customary for them to thank the emergency gang.
I will add a little about buses. They run on schedule. The screen of each bus stop shows how much time is left to wait for the next route. Stops are air conditioned. There are a lot of people on the buses in the evening. We didn't ride buses.
Once a ride on the subway from the Mall of the Emirates to the Dubai Mall. At the ticket office they told us the destination station and we were given a red card to travel on the subway. They got into the first car. As the hotel guide Natasha told us, on this stretch you don’t need to buy a gold card and you can safely sit in 1 carriage. It was raining. Didn't manage to capture much.
It should be noted the excellent quality of roads in the United Arab Emirates. During my stay, I did not meet a single defective section of the road.
Posters have been installed on many sections of the Dubai-Al Ain Highway. They say that the maximum speed for a car is 140 kilometers per hour, and for trucks - 80. There is no concept of a radar detector in the United Arab Emirates. Drivers must find all cameras themselves. Trucks strictly adhere to the right lane. Almost along the entire route we observe the desert. There are areas where the roadside part is planted with a local unpretentious tree variety. As the guide Katya said, teachers of a Russian university spend a year watering each tree in the United Arab Emirates. Anyone who was interested in the history of the United Arab Emirates knows that there was a time when Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan distributed money to the locals. Some of the residents bought British Land Rover all-terrain vehicles with this money. The resource of the car, designed for 20 years, was developed in a year of merciless operation.
All-terrain vehicles got stuck in the sand, overheated, sand clogged into rubbing mechanisms, and so on. Since then, the Arabs have learned to drive cars.