Dubai the new tourist capital of the world (Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (Dubai, United Arab Emirates))

Member Name: Absy_Baby

Product:	Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Date:	20/04/09 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The hotel is 5* plus

Disadvantages: A bit snobby for the likes of simple me

The 5 star Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, marketed as the only true 'resort' in Dubai. This hotel and complex boasts an amazing 128 acres of ground with its own private beach on the Arabian Gulf.

The Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa is 40 minutes outside of the City Centre, and about 45 minutes from the Airport.

On a visit to Dubai I stayed at the Jebel Ali Hotel, you can also stay in the Palm Tree Court & Spa, the hotel is 5 storeys and depending on which side of the hotel you stay you can have a sea view or golf view. We had a sea view but the room didn't offer a balcony or even large windows to enjoy this view, instead it was relatively small and didn't let in much light. Some rooms do have larger windows and offer balconies, we just booked it not realising there was a difference. I have just looked on the website for clarification and noticed they say all rooms have a balcony even if it's small. If we had a balcony then I must of been blind, it must have been so small it was not visible to the naked eye.

There are 260 rooms, they are very modern and clean, and very light in colour, which brightens the place up. In the room we got 'cable' channels on the television and towels, minibar, tea and coffee facilities. The room was spacious and airy, fitted with the all important Air Conditioning Unit. Dubai can get very hot, we went in August and it was over 50 degrees. HOT.

The hotels are both part of the chain known as 'The Leading Hotels of the World'. There is a list of them all next to reception, it was quite funny to notice the Grove hotel, in Watford is also part of this chain, and that is 5 minutes from where we live. Small world.

The hotel offers a variety of options when it comes to food, you can go to the beach bar or book for the evening at one of the fancy restaurants. The resort offers:
Signatures - based around a French theme. You must dress smart/elegant to get in, they will happily turn you away if you're not dressed sufficiently.

White Orchid - based on a far east theme, menu's include: Chinese, Japanese, you get the idea. Again, you must be dressed smart/elegant.

La Fontana - based on a Mediterranean theme, this restaurant is generally a buffet. The dress code is more relaxed and casual, although not too casual, like shorts.

La Traviata - based on an Italian theme. The dress code is smart/casual but you cannot wear smart flip flops if you are a man (I ended up getting seated whilst my other half was sent away to change his footwear)

Ibn Majed Restaurant - based on a different theme every evening. Dress code is smart/casual.

Shooters - based on an American steak house theme. Dress code casual. They offer a lovely steak.

Sports Café - on the golf course.

There are also 4 bars scattered throughout the resort, the Captains bar is the best, sitting out on the beach and listening to nothing but the sea is great.

There are currently some works being carried out at the resort, these consist of a 74 suite extension on the Palm Tree Court & Spa. Work is only carried out between 10am and 6pm, which is amazing in Dubai as they work all round the clock on most works.

The beach is lovely and over 1km in length, there are many trees surrounding the beach which is great, there is no fighting for an umbrella, although they are available, you can snooze under the trees or move your sun lounger on to the sands and wallow in the sun.

There are 3 pools, two fresh water and one salt water, they are of reasonable size and nearer the hotel. The sea was nicer when we went, as it was like going in to a hot tub, so warm. There are also platforms out in the sea for people to swim out to and sun bathe on. Be careful when jumping in off them though, I scrapped my leg. I am clumsy though.

The harbour is lovely, every evening we stayed at the resort we would walk round to the harbour and watch all the huge boats moored up and imagine who on earth owned them and where they were heading. It was lovely, there is so much ground that it's easy to go for walks and get lost on the edge of the golf course, or by the harbour or on the sea front.

I am not in to golf, so my apologies that I can't comment overly on the golfing facilities, but I'll give it a go. The golf course is a 9 hole, par 36 (not that I know what that means, it's what we were told). It is quite a large course, or so it looked, there was lots of ground, and gold buggy's are available so I assume it's quite big.

The hotel also offers horse riding and shooting as well as water sports. (at extra cost).

The staff are really friendly and mainly from the Far East, just working in Dubai for the money to send home. On one taxi trip we spent a while (40 minutes) with an Indian guy (he was the driver) and he told us all about his family at home and why people came to Dubai to work and how there is a lot of money there. It was interesting to see someone on the other side of the coin.

I really liked the hotel although it was a bit pretentious which my boyfriend and I aren't overly keen on. It wasn't as relaxed as we'd perhaps like, we're not your typical package holiday couple but we also don't like to feel too out of our depth and dressing up for dinner every night was a bit extreme, some days when you've been lounging around we love to grab a bite and not make a song and dance of getting ready etc.

We spent 10 days here, it was good but a bit too far away from everything else, we ended up getting taxi's out quite regularly and it ends up getting expensive. Although not as much as your probably thinking, a taxi ride was about £15.

Dubai is great for relaxation, if you are going solely for a beach holiday then it probably doesn't matter too much how far down then Jumeirah Beach you stay, but if you like to see the place you are staying in then access can be quite limited from this hotel.

We also did a lot while in Dubai, we went to the Wild Wadi Water Park, a day trip to Oman, City Walk and Tour as well as the famous sand safari (I was green the entire time) and Bedouin night .

Summary: Great hotel, location a bit awkward, but depends on what you want from Dubai