April 23rd to 26th I transited in Dubai en route to Kabul. My client booked the hotel, the Renaissance Dubai in Deira, about 15 minutes from the airport, so dutifully I pitched up. The hotel, part of the Marriott Group apparently, claims to be a 5-Star (I asked the - inevitably - Russian girl at reception what class it was and she looked at me as if I was mad). Over-priced (650 AED/night - US$177) and pretentious, I think it qualifies as a 3-star, and therein lies the rub. I don't mind staying in a hotel that says it's a 3-star because I know what I'm getting. Indeed, I don't mind staying in a Hmong village in Laos and having my toes suckled by a pig during the night - I've done that too in the
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