DUBAI - RIHAB ROTANA HOTEL

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What a pleasure to report on a good hotel in Dubai.... My last post on the Renaissance Dubai was hardly complimentary - pretentious and over-priced.

By contrast the small Rihab Rotana is just what it claims to be, well located, good value and with pleasant staff, mainly from the Philippines instead of the grumpy Russians at the more "high class" hotels.

I was able to book easily and change my reservation when I arrived. The room was all I expected. They couldn't find me a non-smoker with a double bed, but the twin bedded room was fine. Clean, modern furniture, comfortable bed that was enough even for my 6 foot four inches and a TV that worked. There are 134 rooms, a pool, a fitness room and the usual amenities.

I particularly enjoyed the restaurant/coffee shop. I was offered a cappuccino with the breakfast buffet (all included in the price) that was everything one wanted and more. I was so impressed I ate lunch there too, a freshly prepared salmon bagel. Perfect. The hotel doesn't have a bar, but that's not a great disadvantage because one is in the city and there are all kinds of great places around.

And the location is ideal. About 10 minutes from the airport and a short walk to the Deira City Centre Shopping Mall, where there is a huge Carrefour and all the usual "Gucci" designer shops. Go out the rear of the hotel, turn left to the main street and then you'll see Carrefour to the right. Easy and convenient.

By the way, I just sat for an hour in the mall drinking in normal people (including females!) going about their business. You have to experience Kandahar City in Afghanistan (where I arrived from after a 2 month stint) to appreciate what a wonderful thing normality is. After all, Dubai, for all its liberality, is an Islamic country. It goes to show what a range of behaviour Islam encompasses and that for the most part Muslims are like the rest of us, they enjoy shopping, restaurants and having fun. Kandahar with its burqa'd women and grim, bearded be-turbanned men is NOT representative. And being away from AK47s, MRAPS, Apache helicopters and donkey-born bombs was so wonderful it brought tears to my eyes.

Rihab Rotana - Dubai
Al Garhoud Road
P.O. Box 33871, Dubai, U.A.E.
T: +971 (0)4 294 0300
F: +971 (0)4 294 0400
rihab.hotel@rotana.com
http://www.rotana.com/ Rihab Rotana [/url

I paid 500 AED ($138) for an excellent room including breakfast. Well worth it.

Q's World Rating: Excellent value for a short stay

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