отпуск был испорчен vacation was ruined

We were in the UAE from 07 to 20 July 2012 at the Radisson BLU Shardja hotel. We have already visited a lot of places, so I think I will give a fairly objective description. The hotel is very large, especially impressive is the huge 50 meters long hall with a garden, fountains and fish. Appearance is respectable and answers 5 stars. Upon check-in, they took a deposit of 300 dirhams (about $ 80) and I barely took back the change of 200 dirhams from 500 bills. The girl at the reception prepared the change, conjured with it, and it disappeared somewhere. She had to count the entire cash register to make sure that she did not give it to me. But this is not on purpose and could happen in any other hotel. The rooms are big enough. We had two rooms for 2 adults and a child and the second for one adult. Gave two rooms identical to 2 large double beds in each.
At once I will say one, in my opinion, a significant minus of the hotel - there are no balconies in the rooms and the windows do not open !! ! Psychologically, it can be very difficult for someone. But it seems that the air is renewed by the air conditioning system, it was not stuffy. But there was a slight musty smell in both rooms - carpets on the floors and in the corridors of the hotel too. Coatings have clear trampled dirt tracks and numerous stains. Very annoying, especially for cleaners. All the windows in both the hall and the rooms are dirty, even for my unpretentious taste. You can understand the service staff - washing them is very laborious and expensive, this is rather a flaw in the hotel project. But that doesn't make it any easier.
The rooms are cleaned every day. They try to keep it clean. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. Very pleasant and nice people. Merchants in small hotel boutiques also behave very correctly, without annoying guests.

We fooled around and went to the Emirates in the summer. The heat was +40-45. We went purely spontaneously not particularly thinking about the heat. Before that, remembering how in Egypt they quarreled with the hotel staff because they did not want to turn on the heating of the water in the pool (this is in June !!! ) it was so cold that even I, a Uralian, felt uncomfortable there. So +40-45 we rather considered a plus. The heat still persisted. The water temperature in the sea is +36!! ! It's like stepping into a hot bath. REALLY no one swam there because it was uncomfortable. We swam in the pool which was cooled to +29. In short, we ourselves had to think better, this does not apply to the hotel.
But the sea, in addition to the temperature, was very dirty and resembled a fresh smelly pond somewhere near Chelyabinsk. Although the sand on the shore is very pleasant and even in the heat it was possible to walk on it barefoot.
There was no animation at the hotel, probably due to non-seasonality.
The food is very mediocre and monotonous. You will not stay hungry, but I often observed people with downcast faces who, having bypassed the entire Swedish table with a plate, stood and scratched their turnips in order to still eat. Again, on our own foolishness, we took half board breakfast and dinner. And I came across this crazy system where drinks at dinner are paid separately. If you want to drink what you usually do (coca, tea, coffee, juices), then for a family of 3 put + $ 15 for every day for drinks !!!
There was one comical incident. The hotel on the ground level and the 3rd floor was being renovated. The children and I went to the zero level and, when the elevator opened, we stepped into the corridor together, and everyone stuck like flies on the freshly varnished floor. They tore off their legs, dirtied the entire elevator and all the corridors to the lobby. All this with a cheerful obscenity towards local guest workers.
There is nothing near the hotel. A bunch of eateries, most of which are hairdressers. There is one shop where you can buy drinks. At a distance of 500 meters, we saw many shops, but they could not be reached due to road repairs near the hotel and the heat.

I will also say a few words about the emirates themselves. There is dry law. I thought the locals didn't use anything. You won't even find beer anywhere, even in hotels! We were intimidated that if the police found you with a beer in your bag, you could be as responsible as we are for a ton of heroin. I don't talk about drugs at all. In my opinion, the shooting on the spot. It's a joke, but they put you in jail seriously and for a long time even for some forbidden pill. I think this is correct. On July 20, the glorious Ramadan holiday began (in Russia, our brother calls it Drabadan  ). So, NO ONE can drink, eat, chew gum, smoke, and so on in public during daylight hours. FINE $550. And this is really fined, and not some scarecrows. And if you are caught with beer in Ramadan, it would be better if you were not born at all... In relation to tourists, they could have been more tolerant. They have a criminal law that prohibits any close relationships for couples who are not officially registered. That is, for a kiss in public, they can really be put in jail for a criminal offense. The pipe is shorter. Tomorrow they will come up with the idea that shorts can only be worn in red and they will start putting everyone in a row... In short, the guys went too far for two circles.
But really, there is no crime at all. A lonely girl in a dark alley, some Hindu, who is longing for women, will be frightened like a shaitan - if she suddenly screams from an erroneous fright, then he will be kicked. There is no such thing as theft either. Sunglasses in my hotel, however, have disappeared somewhere...
Everything here is quite expensive. Equipment is 10 percent cheaper and I'm not sure. There are no taxes and money refund at the border does not work Climb up the Burj Khalifa on the 124th floor for 120 dollars (or 30 - if in three days on the site) for a forehead and make sure that you are very wasteful, I think it’s not worth it. There is nothing to see there.
I consider our vacation a failure. 50% due to heat. At 25% - because of the hotel, at 25% - there is nothing special to see in the Emirates. All these Burj Khalifas and Jumeirahs are just nonsense of Arabs who are crazy about free money. If I had known, I would have gone to Thailand or the Maldives for some. Vacation was ruined.