Holidays in Palm Beach Bur Dubai 3*

Written: 21 march 2012
Travel time: 8 — 18 march 2012
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For recreation with friends, for young people
Your rating of this hotel:
5.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 6.0
Service: 3.0
Cleanliness: 4.0
Food: 4.0
Amenities: 6.0
Rested in the composition of 4 people (me and 3 girls) from 8 to 17 March 2012. We flew there on a Transaero flight, back Nordstar ...We didn’t buy alcohol on the direct route at Domodedovo, but upon arrival at Dutik in Dubai. The prices were pleasantly pleasing - a liter bottle of average good alcohol (such as Sauza, Sheridan's, any whiskey) cost about $20!! ! So I advise you to buy everything there, if you are not going to sour on the plane)

About the hotel:
Reading a few reviews about Palm Beach (most from foreign resources), I got some idea about it ...not very pleasant ...But with my own eyes everything feels different, and here are the results I summed up for myself:
Location.

Palm Beach is located in an area inhabited by Indians and Pakistanis ...They live there like guest workers, so do not expect to see a bunch of boutiques and large stores opposite the hotel - there are small shops, everything is tailored for this local population ...Even at the travel agency we were told that the hotel is closer to the sea than the rest of the treshki ...Do not believe it! That is, it really is closer ...to the port! And it takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the nearest beach by taxi, as well as from other hotels of the same price category ...Nearby are the Carrefur hypermarket and the central bus station of Dubai, and the Al Ghubaiba metro station is also located there. To find it, exit the hotel, continue to the right, cross the footbridge to the other side of the street, turn left into the first lane and cut straight ahead!
At the end of the alley, exit to the square - on the right hand is the station, a little further and the metro (it is not like other stations here - it is made in the style of historical buildings, when stations throughout the city look like shells). On the left hand is the Western Union exchange office, and right across the road is Carrefur. To get to another metro station (Al Fahidi), you need to exit the hotel and go right down the street without turning. At the big crossroads there will be shells trimmed with golden panels - these are the station pavilions.
Actually, the hotel. It was originally positioned as a hotel for Indians ...There is no digging here - there are Indians at the reception, Indians in the service staff, breakfast and entertainment for Indians ...For breakfast - crappy sausages, spicy scrambled eggs, or other egg dishes, vegetables, melons, and more something spicy and Indian that I didn't try...But there are pluses - corn flakes and milk!
This is something that was stable on our tables every day) Breakfast is the same from day to day (with slight changes - which dish is made from eggs, and whether the toaster works or not) ...In general, boring and not tasty ...Rooms! We had two doubles - generally the same, but problems arose only in ours) Firstly, the hose from the shower constantly broke ...not even constantly, but regularly!

They called the staff, he came and changed our hose for a new one, and a day later the story repeated again ...We didn’t do anything supernatural with him, so this phenomenon is still a secret for me ...It started on the third day, and then with an interval of a day we a familiar person again visited with a new hose ...Although, according to the place of the break and the nature of the damage, it seemed to me that the plumber took away our old hose, sealed it, packed it in cellophane, and again brought it and put it in its place ...And for the last time (for a day, or two before departure) generally left and did not return ...Mysticism! Now for the cleaning. Cleaned every day ...but sucks! During our check-in, a piece of pistachio shell was found under the table, apparently left over from previous guests, in the end, this same piece outlived us and will now meet the next guests) Conclusions suggest themselves ...But I'm glad that beds are cleaned every day and towels are changed!
The rooms also have a whole one (!!!!! ) free socket, if you do not turn off the floor lamp, TV, or refrigerator, which are also equipped in the room. The TV catches 3.5 channels, so it makes no sense to turn it on at all. There is an Internet! At the reception you can take a piece of paper with the network code (10 AED per hour) and sit through the hotel’s Wi-Fi network ...But it doesn’t catch everywhere ...My room was the last one, so there was almost no network visible ...We sat from another room. The fridge freezes like crazy! Leave a bottle of juice overnight - in the morning you will eat fruit ice! And to be honest, I didn’t want to bother with the settings of the TV set and the refrigerator myself, so without changing anything, I write as it was originally ...There is little light in the rooms - only from the aforementioned floor lamp and a couple of bedside lamps - there were no lamps or chandeliers in the rooms. The plumbing (with the exception of our beloved shower) is not bad!
The whole bathroom is hung with mirrors ...For those who like to look at themselves while sitting on the toilet, maybe it's good, but for me it was strange ...Oh yes! Conditioning!! ! In most rooms, air conditioning is central, but there are selected rooms with a really working air conditioner, from which there is even a remote control) In our rooms, this is how the indoor unit of the air conditioning system hangs, an outdoor unit is installed under the window outside ...but they are of no use - there is no remote control from the air conditioner and the process is regulated only by closing the nozzles on the exhaust valve ...and they don’t close everywhere ...we lived in the cold ...True, at the end of our stay, the air conditioning broke down ...Entertainment: We didn’t go to local cafes ...once we went to the Mehfil club - there are only Indians, which was expected ...in short, there is nothing to catch ...And as a result: comrades, if there is an option for another hotel, agree! Ideally (we were offered them at a travel agency) these are Regal Plaza, Seashell Inn (it is located next to ours) and Citymax.
But I judge them only by reviews ...The difference in price is insignificant ...


Beaches:
The nearest beach to us is Jumeira Open Beach. In general, not bad ...There are rentals, toilets, showers, equipped with bicycle and treadmills, there is security. We hung out there most often) A little further along the coast is Jumeira Park Beach - a paid beach with a green recreation area (this is captivating) and cafes on the territory. The entrance to the territory is 5 dirhams, but otherwise everything is the same as on Open Beach, except for the paths ...There is another beach on the side that the taxi driver took us to, I don’t know the name ...It is free, located in close proximity to Burj al Arab, but there are no rentals, no cabins with toilets, in short, nothing! We were idiots for agreeing to go there (extra taxi money and no rest). The only plus is beautiful pictures against the backdrop of a majestic sail! Once again we went to the beach, which is located on the opposite coast of Creek - Mamzar Park.
This is a whole park and beach complex! The entrance is also paid, but there is a large territory, a lot of greenery, trees, an amphitheater and 3-4 beaches. It is very popular with Russian-speaking tourists! So I also recommend visiting

Tours and attractions:
Excursions were offered to us by representatives of the meeting company (we had Royal Park) at a slightly higher price than can be found on the side. But we took a trip to 6 emirates from them. Everyone's experience is different, but personally I was satisfied! We visited 6 out of 7 emirates (except Abu Dhabi), learned about the life, features and structure of each of them, etc. Then they brought us to Oman, to the northern border of the UAE, fed lunch at the Golden Tulip Resort Dibba, and swam there in the Indian Ocean, and went back ...on the way they brought carpets and fruits to the market (apparently, the guides and sellers have partnerships). Our next tour was a sightseeing tour of Dubai.

We ordered it from a person named Alex (about him later), it was possible to adjust the number of places visited and the program - that's what we did. During the tour, we visited different districts of Dubai (Deira, Jumeira, Dubai Marina), the Dubai Historical Museum and the Heritage Village, heard stories about buildings, events in the history of the UAE, the Arabs themselves and much more ...To get information, do not be afraid to communicate with the guides! We asked a lot of things that were not included in the excursion programs, and as a result, we left with a huge amount of knowledge about the emirates! But this is a digression ...At the end of the evening, we climbed to the observation deck of Burj Khalifa (tickets were asked to pre-order Alex, because the rise on the day of purchase would have cost 400 AED, instead of 100 on pre-order) Before the ascent, we said goodbye to the guide and went to the highest at the moment building in the world. The elevators are really fast! Impressive! Covers the ears, like when an airplane takes off.
The observation deck itself was not impressive...The view there is not 360 degrees, and the evening time makes itself felt - only lights were visible below...Obviously, they lost something, taking the ascent for the evening...So, if you want to see Palm Jumeira from this height , and Burj al Arab, and other grandiose places and buildings in all their glory, climb the tower during the day! And for this, get confused about tickets in advance - at least 3-4 days in advance. Having descended from the tower, we got to the show of the Dancing Fountains (it goes on every half an hour) - there are different programs for different music, so I advise everyone to watch this too! Then we arranged a tour for ourselves in Abu Dhabi (by bus, and then around the city on our own with a guidebook) We visited the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque (aka the Great Mosque - Great Mosque) - an amazing building! Marble decoration, the largest Persian carpet in the world, expensive chandeliers ...all this must be seen with your own eyes!
Girls are obligatory dressed up in abayas, men (if not in trousers) wear kandurrs. We also had the historical village of Abu Dhabi (Heritage Village) on the breakwater and the old market in the city center ...but it makes no sense to talk about this - after the Mosque, the impressions are not the same). Our last excursion is a desert safari. We went on this adventure with a man named Abdullah, we did not regret it! On the Land Cruiser through the sands, like on a roller coaster! From adrenaline, of course, they didn’t pee in their pants, but the girls screamed))) In the final stage - a trip to the camp with an entertainment program. Camel riding, Egyptian dances, hookah, henna painting, dinner… Just in case, they told me to take warm clothes with me to the desert, but it was not cold, so the evening was great! The dances are interesting, the food is delicious) I advise you to definitely go on a safari!

Where to eat:

During the rest, the question of getting food often arose, since they were not fed on all excursions, and the hotel only had breakfast. And here's what we found:
Not far from the Al Fahidi metro station (turn right from the hotel to the station) is a Spinneys supermarket, and behind it is a restaurant called Lebanese Vilage (Lebanese Village). Perfect place!! ! There is a small court outside and 2 floors inside the building (no smoking). The food is tasty and cheap, the portions are big! Some meat dishes (such as Lamb Meat) are served with a plate of rice, and even an adult man can eat a plate of barbecue (Shish Kebab) ...So evaluate your strength)) Another excellent institution is located at the exit from Jumeira Open Beach towards Jumeira 2 (then is closer to the city center). It's called Jaam E Jam - the price is higher than in the Lebanese village, but the portions are also large - You can eat one soup, or one second course ...At the exit from Jumeira Open Beach towards Bur Dubai (the edge closest to us) there is a restaurant Bu TaFish - fish restaurant.
I can’t say anything bad about it… It seems to be quite good… But the price/quality is a bit lower than in the establishments listed above… Another good impression was left by a place located right behind the Heritage Village, on the banks of the Creek (I don’t remember the name). Very tasty and inexpensive! Hookah for 30-40 AED, could not help but try! There were a few more establishments that we went to, but they are clearly not worthy of mentioning them in a review ...And I advise you to go to the named ones - you won’t regret it! The total bill for 4 people was no more than 200 AED, in Moscow it would have been much more expensive ...I just don’t advise you to go to “restaurants” in shopping centers, they are located in food courts, but they are fenced and with their own interior ...Most likely, there will be relatively expensive and tasteless food, which is simply reheated and not cooked, since they usually do not have their own kitchen ...It’s easier to eat in sweatshirts at the food court - so at least there will be nothing to be disappointed with ...


General information:
In the UAE, the currency is Dirhams (AED). Their exchange rate against the dollar has not changed for many years and is approximately 3.65 AED per $1. So I advise you to exchange rubles for dollars back in your homeland, but by no means at the airport - there is a predatory rate !! ! And in Dubai - in any branch of any bank at a stable rate already for dirhams. If you arrived late, then at any hotel at the reception they can exchange some money (in Palm Beach the rate is 3.5 AED per dollar, so change as much as is enough for the evening). Also, when buying in a dutik, you can ask for change from dollars to be given out in dirhams. But do not rush to change all the money - on excursions prices are in dollars and they also accept dollars ...So leave the green currency as well).
It is easier for four people to travel around the city by taxi. Brand new Toyota Camry and Nissans (like our Teana) go there. Payment goes to the counter installed in each car. Upon landing, 3 dirhams are charged at the daily rate and 3.
5 at night, and then comes the mileage counter. If the car gets stuck in a traffic jam, the meter switches to standby mode and charges money according to the idle time. But in the end it’s still not so expensive - from the hotel to Jumeira Open Beach - about 12-16 AED, to Jumeira Park Beach, Dubai Mall and Mamzar Park about the same - 20-25 AED each. Once we decided to take a ride in the local subway, for the sake of interest we drove to Dubai Mall - from Al Fahidi station to Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall station it cost 7 dirhams per person (in the first carriage). The ticket price depends on the travel distance and on the car: the first is a type of VIP car with a viewing glass in front (there is no driver on the trains), the rest are ordinary, the last one is only for girls (although I did not see strict compliance with this rule). But not everywhere it makes sense to take a ticket to the first carriage.

Some of the stations are underground - these are transfer stations and a few next to them ...But the main part of the red line is on the surface, so you are lucky enough to see and appreciate the whole flavor of the center of Dubai, its business center - the Jumeira district. Now a little about the guides. We had 3 different guides, we found two of them on the internet and chose them because of the lower price. Didn't regret it at all! With each excursion, they spoke Russian worse and worse, but they knew more and more about the Arabs and the Emirates in general. So, before our eyes, the initially received information was distorted and acquired an increasingly truthful form) I advise you to choose the source yourself ...The representative of the meeting company gave us a brochure with a large number of different excursions for review, and on this occasion we contacted him personally. About the rest: We were taken on a tour of Dubai by a man named Alex.
He is an Uzbek, has been living and working in the Emirates for more than 10 years, knows a lot about this country, about the customs of the Arabs, about Dubai, about local cereal establishments ...In general, an interesting excursion and a useful conversation) His phone: +97 (150.929- 17-17 - Alex. We went on a safari with a real Arab (bingo!!! ) named Abdullah. He speaks Russian normally, of course with an accent, but understandable! On the way, he talked about life, families, traditions and foundations of his people ...in general, it was also useful and interesting! His phone number is +97(150)656-46-48 - Abdul. If interested, call and ask! Both have a choice of several excursions at prices lower than our company.

And for sweets:
Debunking the myths!! ! I’ll make a reservation right away that this paragraph does not apply to all Emirates. That is, in Sharjah there is definitely no such thing! I don’t know about the rest… but I think it’s like in Dubai… First of all, you can smoke outside!!!
Not in the halls of hotels, not in shops and shopping centers, but on the street you can ...Just throw your cigarette butt in the trash (there are a lot of trash cans with an ashtray on the street), otherwise the police can catch you for F and solder a fine! With the purchase of cigarettes, too, there is no problem! They are sold in the departments of some supermarkets and in almost all small shops. With alcohol, too, it’s not stressful - they saw that there were bottles on the shelves, but they didn’t buy it themselves, because there was no need (thanks to the Dyutik). But you can’t drink on the street ...and hang around drunk too ...Well, that is, if you are not a Muslim and a policeman stops you in this state, then he will simply have an educational conversation. And if a Muslim, then there will be a punishment! And the Arabs smoke! They saw with their own eyes on the beach how a woman in an abaya and a hijab lit a cigarette ...maybe not a local, but definitely an Arab.

The number of cigarette butts found in the sand on the beaches also speaks about the permission to smoke ...(Digression: If you decide to smoke, please do not litter! . . believe me, there is enough of this good even without you ...And being in the desert, do not throw bottles on the sand ...Do not the desert, which looks like a landfill, gives pleasure ... ) Another myth! Arabs don't do shit, they sit and spit at the ceiling. And everyone with whom you start a conversation on a similar topic will convince you of this. Don't believe! Abdullah (100% Arab), for example, takes people on excursions, works in a travel agency, and maybe somewhere else ...And he told us that the Arabs have not only a business (as a rule, this is a profitable partnership with foreigners), but also work in the state . institutions, or other sources of income ...In general, they do not sit idle)

I hope my review will be useful not only for tourists staying at Palm Beach Bur Dubai, but also for everyone who wants to visit Dubai. Have a good rest!
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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