anyone out there been to Mauritius or Dubai? Or both.....

[Debs Hill]

I would love to hear from anyone who has been to Mauritius or Dubai! Where did you stay? Who did you fly with? What were the good and bad points? We are hoping to go to Maurtitius with a possible stop over in Dubai, how long would you recommend staying there?

Thanks, look forward to hearing from you

 

[vernon]

I'll play my joker on Dubai ( although it's been a while). There are a number of good hotels in Dubai and if you want some SPECIAL luxury the Burj Al Arab hotel is one of the finest in the world. Other good ones are the Jumeiriah Beach hotel and Le Royal Meridien. A little out of Dubai town is the Jebel Ali hotel which has a spectacular setting. Something really out of the ordinary would be the Al Maha desert resort

Here's a link to a dubai specialist company so you can see some of their bumpf on Dubai. http://www.bestatdubaiholidays.co.uk/holidays/dubai/dubai_main.htm

I was living in Bahrain at the time and I flew a lot with Gulf air, who were a decent airline. Emirates air have won many awards for their service and cuisine. I would say for Dubai you need a minimum of 3 days and there is enough to do to keep most people amused for 6 or 7, but if you wanted to do a couple of nights to break the journey and get a feel for a possible return, that would be a workable plan . Some things that are fun and interesting are taking a 4 wheel drive and go "dune bashing" , there are many watersports, it's an interesting culture and the gold suq ( market) is a must.

 

[foxyfee]

We went to Dubai last year for our silver wedding anniversary. We flew gulf air to Abu Dhabi (got upgarded from business to first class ) and limo was there to collect and take us to Jebel Ali (about 50 min drive). We stayed in the Jasmine Court, absolutely wonderful, champagne breakfast, free cocktails etc. Had a lovely suite overlooking the sea. There is a 9 hole golf course there and my husband played every morning. Ate twice at 2 separate restaurants in other hotels, did the shopping trip to buy fake luis vuitton bags (excellent quality btw) and of course the diamond eternity ring. The hotel puts on a bus twice daily to and from a couple of malls but we caught taxis from there - which are very cheap.

We stayed 7 nights and personally I could easily have taken another week - hardest decision each day was where to eat. We would like to do the Mauritius - Dubai holiday, 3 days is fine for the shopping, but if you go when it is very hot I would allow a bit longer.

Do remember you are in a Muslim country and make sure you dress accordingly. Despite telling our teenage daughters this - with 18 and 15yr olds who are redheaded and blond they attracted alot of attention, never mind their idea of suitable cover up dressing!

 

[bluecdr]

I visit Dubai annually. The Jumairah Beach Hotel is great, right beside Wild Wadi which is better then a WDW Water Park.
Also stayed at Royal Mirage Hotel which is very romantic, and the Emirates Towers Hotel which is great for business.
My preference for a holiday would be to stay at Jumairah Beach Hotel and have at least one dinner at Royal Mirage.
Choice of restaurants in the hotels is great. the Jumairah Beach has 14.
There are also a lot of new good hotels being built which I have yet to stay at. Trying a new one this March.

I fly with Emirates and book through American Express Gold Service. They currently have a deal with Emirates that you pay full economy and get Business Class. Emirates Business Class not IMHO as good as BA but for the money great value. Plus the upgrade to First last year on the overnight flight home was really appreciated.

 

[ALBA]

Hi,

I visited Dubai in Dec 2002. We flew with BA and stayed at Le Meridien which was great. There are two Le Meridien hotels in the Jumeriah Beach area, one is the Mina Seyahi and the other is the Beach Club and Spa, both are nice.

We visited the Jumeriah Beach Hotel for dinner and a few drinks and I think if I were to return to Dubai I would definitely stay there. Great location, restaurants, bars and right next to Wild Wadi water park.

One thing to bear in mind is that the hotels on Jumeriah Beach are around 30 mins (traffic permitting) outside of the centre of Dubai, but the big shopping centres run shuttle buses to take you to the town and taxis are cheap.

A few recommendations for food and drink & tours:-
1. Boardwalk in Dubai Creek Golf Club - Nice decking area overlooking dubai creek with good food.
2. The Pyramids at Wafi City - Great bars and restaurants. One of the bars does a cocktail night where all cocktails are around £1.50
3. Vu's Bar in Emirates - On the 51st floor so worth a trip for the view but drinks expensive
4. Full Day Desert Safari - Amazing what they can do with those 4x4's and an excellent meal and some belly dancing to finish it off

I've never visited Mauritius but would love to. Hope you enjoy whatever choice you make.

Andrea

 

[Debs Hill]

Thanks for your help! We have booked to go to Mauritius in July staying at the Shandrani hotel( Beachcomber) and are planning a separate trip to Dubai where we will stay at Jumeriah Beach! Thanks again!

 

[Muppet]

After reading that I wanna go now.