Dubai February 2016

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Seven years ago, we traveled to Dubai at Easter for 10 days for the first time - a long anticipated trip that saw us fall in love with the diverse, modern City. In the years since then we have visited at least once, but usually twice a year, always as a family of 5. Even transiting through Dubai to fly further afield makes my heart jump and I feel a strong pull towards it, an undescribable feeling of longing.

We have stayed in a few hotels across the City. The children's favourite would be Atlantis The Palm, an amazing playground where kids and adults of all ages are treated to everything from swimming with Dolphins or Rays to a world class Waterpark on site, a Mall and wonderful restaurants. As they mature they enjoyed our stay at Al Qasr within the Madinat Jumeirah complex last Easter, a stunning hotel with a lovely stretch of private beach under the shadow of the iconic Burj Al Arab. We hope to take them there again. Our first trip saw us stay within that complex too, in the Mina A'Salam. The entry level hotel within the Madinat Complex, but absolutely stunning and well positioned. We also stole a long weekend in May a few years ago and stayed in The One & Only on Mina Seyahi beach. The only downside to this was the exceedingly busy stretch of water their private beach is on.

However, we recently made a trip without the kids. A little window of opportunity appeared when the Husband announced he was required to travel to Bangkok for a few days business. The most direct way to fly there from home is to transit through Dubai. We decided that it would be an ideal opportunity for me to fly out and meet him as he travelled homewards, so we arranged for the children to stay with their Grandparents during a few days holiday from school (much more simple when there is no routine!). Although we have been to Dubai countless times, it's a very different beast if you're travelling as a couple, so we set to work dreaming up hotels and activities that we've longed to do.

The husband was adamant that a stay in the Burj Khalifa was the order of the day - we'd never stay in it with the kids in tow. Housed within it's 160 floors, the tallest building in the world is home to the Armani Hotel which has rooms on a variety of floors. Our only stipulation was that we had a view of the Dubai Fountains; a stunning centrepiece in Downtown Dubai, set on the Burj Lake. The fountain features water that jets as high as 450ft, equivalent to a 45 storey building! It's simply stunning. The husband arrived early in the day, from Bangkok. Earlier than agreed check-in time meant that our room wasn't ready, so they offered him an upgrade (at a reduced rate) to a better room which he snapped up! He found himself on the 38th Floor (Armani has up to floor 39) in a stunning suite with panoramic views of Downtown Dubai, the Dubai Mall, Souk Al Bahar and the Dubai Fountains. Perfect! I arrived in the early hours of the morning, and was blown away by the stunning skyline glittering away below me.

The first morning saw us sleep late...jet lag from the east for the husband and from the west for me! We enjoyed a simple breakfast in the room and headed downstairs and out into the perfect February Dubai weather. No humidity at this time means that being outside is a bit like being outside on a sunny July day in the UK. It enables comfortable moving around and we decided to really make the most of that. We are usually there in April or October when although the humidity isn't unbearable, the temperatures are certainly soaring. We wandered along the waterside of the Burj Lake and headed in to the Dubai Mall; it is the world's second largest mall, home to 1200 shops and restaurants, an aquarium, an ice rink, cinemas, a Souk! We shopped, dined al fresco, had a lovely day to ourselves before heading back in to the Hotel (access through the mall) to get ready for dinner, which I had pre-booked at Armani Amal, an Indian Restaurant within the Hotel. We were greeted at the entrance to the restaurant by 2 Indian musicians, playing traditional instruments and were given a complimentary cocktail while we soaked up the music and ambience. Our table, as I'd requested, was indoors but beside the window which offered us another view of the Fountains. The menu is comprehensive, but we decided on one of the three tasting menus - Saffron. It was beautiful, a good mix of fish, meat and vegetables all served traditionally. The only thing I would comment on, is that it was huge! After dinner we decided to use our guest status in the building, to travel up to At.Mosphere. A trendy cocktail bar and restaurant, situated on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa. It offers a breathtaking view of the city and desert below...and in fact is so high, that you can't actually comprehend that there are skyscrapers galore down below. The whole place looks flat! Day one was over and already a few boxes were ticked on our Dubai wish-list.

Day two dawned, with the iPad operated curtains opening to beautiful blue skies and the busy city below waiting for us to explore further. We managed to get to the Hotel restaurant on time for breakfast, and after suitably filling ourselves with the delicacies on offer we took a car from the Hotel to JBR. A 20 minute drive along the busy, crazy wide Sheikh Zayed Road, in off peak time, gets you to JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence), a waterfront community located against the Persian Gulf in Dubai Marina. We enjoyed exploring the new open air mall on the beach, and then walking the length of JBR and it's shops and restaurants. It's a lovely area with a real community feel, that gives tourists and residents a large area of al fresco space to meet, shop and exercise - not to mention the beautiful stretch of beach that it runs along and all it's activities. From here we took a taxi - only a short hop, but tricky to negotiate on foot from where we were - to the Marina area. This is an artificial canal city, within the city, built along a two mile stretch of the Persian Gulf. Again, it is home to many towering residences and Hotels as well as a stunning Marina, Mall and waterfront walkways. We meandered along a large stretch of the walkway, enjoyed stopping for lunch and later coffees. Although Dubai is a very diverse and modern city, they are strict in a lot of their rules and morals. There is no alcohol available outwith hotel buildings, which means all these outdoor areas and restaurants are 'dry'. I find this admirable and enjoyable - and safe! A quick drive in a taxi with a very friendly driver, took us to The Mall of the Emirates. Another super-mall, with over 630 retail outlets and 100 restaurants and cafes. It is also home to Ski Dubai, the Middle East's first indoor ski resort and snow park. Personally, I prefer the shops in the Mall of the Emirates, there are smaller boutiques and an interesting selection of flagship stores. We headed back to Downtown during rush hour - a big mistake and always best avoided if possible! This left us rushing to get ready for our dinner booking - the much anticipated meal in Al Muntaha, the restaurant in the Sky View platform atop the Burj Al Arab. The world's only 7 Star hotel. We have previously been inside the Burj, as Jumeirah guests years ago you were allowed to enter and visit during off peak times, so we knew what we were going to! It's stunning, a feast for the senses from the moment you walk in. From the dancing, leaping water feature in the lobby to the bright rainbow of colours in the towering cavernous internal structure. Scented with Jasmine and Rose, like lots of hotels in Dubai, they diffuse these scents through the Air Conditioning systems. All topped off with copious amounts of gold-leaf. We shot up on the outdoor lift to the 27th Floor and were shown to our window table - offering us a view of Palm Jumeirah to the left and the World Islands to the right, all reclaimed land from the Gulf. Dinner was delicious, although in hindsight we should have ordered seafood rather than steak. The dessert was one of the best I've ever had - which adds further to my feeling that Dubai cuisine's flagship really is their desserts, pastries and cakes. After dinner we decided against a drink in the Sky View Bar, instead opting to head back down to the first floor bar area to enjoy the interior view of the tower again. We were whisked back to the Armani Hotel in our pre-arranged Bentley (a treat to ourselves, and a bucket list item ticked...if you're going to do it, do it to and from one Burj to another!). I think the beautifully packaged chocolates I was given by our waiter will be used as ornamental rather than eaten! They also gave us our wine cork, encased in a little bubble to take home. It is a night that I will treasure as one of the most special and exciting, for the rest of my life.

Slightly jaded after a busy few days we decided to be more leisurely about our daytime activities on day 3. We left the Hotel through the front entrance and walked the long way round Burj Lake, taking in incredible views of the Burj Khalifa and its surrounding buildings, as well as the gardens and bridges ending up in the Souk Al Bahar. This is a lovely little souk, made up of shops and restaurants - some affording waterfront views. We opted to have lunch in The Mango Tree, a Thai restaurant we long wanted to try. We had a seat on their pretty balcony area, overlooking the lake and with a superb view of the Burj and ate very authentic Thai food washed down with a couple of Thai beers. The Souk falls under the footprint of The Palace Hotel, hence a few of it's restaurants have been furnished with a licence to serve alcohol. After our rather large lunch, we headed back round the lake to the Hotel, where the husband went to the pool for an hour, and I had a lie on our supremely comfortable bed, watching the busy city below and the motorways sprawling out into the desert. That night's activities we had left in the capable hands of our lovely friends who live in Dubai. We met up with them at Dubai Marina and hopped onto a little yacht which we sat atop and sailed up the length of the interior marina, out into the Gulf past the newly developing Bluewater Island and back under the bridge, past the towering buildings and into the marina where we moored and hopped off. A short walk got us to the Marriott Hotel tower, which is home to the famous Observatory Bar and Restaurant on the 57th floor. The clue is in the name, and this trendy place affords panoramic view right round the marina. It happened to be Ladies night, which is a Dubai luxury for women, mid week a lot of establishments offer a happy hour or two where ladies eat and drink for free! Often the drinks list is limited to a choice of 4 or 5 cocktails, but in true Dubai style nothing is done by half and we enjoyed a couple of different, delicious cocktails - whilst the boys paid their way! We went downstairs for our meal, to The Marriott's 'The Croft' restaurant, where we sat on their outdoor deck, above the marina and had dinner al-fresco under the heat of their huge patio warmers. A fantastic night was had by all and Dubai once again didn't disappoint.

Our last morning was spent lazing around, in our beautiful room where we enjoyed an in-room breakfast and batted around ideas on how to spend our last afternoon. We were still of the opinion we should only do things that we wouldn't do had the kids been with us, so I suggested hitting one of the many beach clubs. With too many to choose from, and deciding we didn't want to travel too far, we opted for a short taxi ride to Kite Beach, along the Jumeirah Beach stretch. We'd heard a lot about this area, which is tucked down at the beachfront amongst a huge residential area. There is a running track (soft floor!) and decked boardwalk the length of the beaches area, so we enjoyed watching the kite surfers on Kite Beach, before walking to the right to find some of the food trucks we'd heard about. Salt Cafe is fast becoming a Dubai beachfront institution, it offers a small, simple menu of sliders - either chicken or beef, of which a portion constitutes 2 sliders. We had a shake, a juice and some fries and were impressed at the speed upon which it was served and the quality of the food from of a glorified truck! A lovely little find, which I imagine becomes very busy at the weekend. We then walked the length of the walkway back towards the Burj Al Arab, soaking up the sunshine and the breezy manageable temperatures. We ended at Umm Suqeim Park, a little green oasis right beside the beach. A juice from the juice bar...some sort of Kale based affair, was consumed and we headed to find our driver (often a good idea when going to quieter areas, or busy for that matter, to pay a relatively nominal fee for your driver to wait for you) and returned to the hotel to prepare for our last evening. Having dined in a different area of Dubai each night previously, I'd decided upon a restaurant in the Financial District of Dubai - hailed as one of Dubai's finest restaurants, and in an area we'd never actually visited before. La Petit Maison is housed within the Gate Village and is a small restaurant in what feels like an office block. It is a little diamond, beautifully Parisian inside with a European staff - mainly French - and a menu of plates that are served as and when they are ready, which enables a sharing type meal. The husband regards this as one of his favourite meals in Dubai, ever. It really was of excellent standard and had a real local, Dubai-life feel to it. It's so popular, that you're only given a 2 hour slot, which was done very sleekly. We opted to head back to our Hotel for a drink as the Bar area of the restaurant was very busy.

And so it was home-time. A leisurely breakfast was stopped short on the realisation that we actually didn't have enough space in our cases to bring home the goodies we'd bought everyone! The husband reaped the benefit of having a super-mall at the foot of the stairs, and bolted to a luggage store to buy an extra bag! A last look at the magnificent view from our incredible room and we were off, headed for Dubai Airport and our awaiting Emirates flight back to our lovely family.

Home a few days, and I can't help thinking 'this time last week'. Our 'adult only' trip to Dubai was one of my favourite trips we've ever made. We were both tired, working hard and not spending much time together. It really afforded us some quality time together and nourished our love of a city that we felt had more to offer than we'd already witnessed.

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Photos

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Burj Khalifa

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Dubai Marina

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JBR

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Burj Al Arab

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Souk Al Bahar

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Dubai Marina from Observatory on 57th

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Kite Beach

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Salt Cafe

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Beach walk

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room

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room

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room