Dubai downtown vs the Palm
Discussion
The family wants to go to Dubai. I am happy to take them but am not enthused.
A friend who knows Dubai recommends staying on the Palm. Family says downtown. My friend says downtown would be a mistake.
The family are all adults by the way.
Anyone here with experience? Advice appreciated.
A friend who knows Dubai recommends staying on the Palm. Family says downtown. My friend says downtown would be a mistake.
The family are all adults by the way.
Anyone here with experience? Advice appreciated.
It's been a while since I have been but I reckon as long as you pick a hotel you like it makes f
k all difference.
It's so hot you can't walk anywhere so you end up either in a cab or one of the hotel cars.
I never understood the love for walking round shops but there are some magnificent hotel and food options.
k all difference.It's so hot you can't walk anywhere so you end up either in a cab or one of the hotel cars.
I never understood the love for walking round shops but there are some magnificent hotel and food options.
Depends what they want. If it's lounging at a beach then the Palm, if it's being close to the malls and they want to be out and about then probably downtown. As mentioned earlier you'll just go from place to place in a cab, it's easy enough.
We normally stay in JBR which is more touristy and has more places that you can walk to than staying in a bigger place in the Palm. Traffic can be bad getting there, but as long as you avoid the peak times then it's all good. We stay in the Hilton on the beach which has pool, private beach etc and loads of good places to eat within a short walk.
We normally stay in JBR which is more touristy and has more places that you can walk to than staying in a bigger place in the Palm. Traffic can be bad getting there, but as long as you avoid the peak times then it's all good. We stay in the Hilton on the beach which has pool, private beach etc and loads of good places to eat within a short walk.
I suppose it depends on what you want to do while you’re there.
We stayed on the Palm - Anantara, which was nice as it’s not a high rise - it’s kind of villa style with all the rooms surrounded by lagoons/pools which you can access directly from the ground floor rooms. They also had a big pool and their beach. They also have three very distinct restaurants for some variety.
We went into town a few times which didn’t take too long but longer than it should as traffic was shocking!
We stayed on the Palm - Anantara, which was nice as it’s not a high rise - it’s kind of villa style with all the rooms surrounded by lagoons/pools which you can access directly from the ground floor rooms. They also had a big pool and their beach. They also have three very distinct restaurants for some variety.
We went into town a few times which didn’t take too long but longer than it should as traffic was shocking!
Downtown is nice hotels with pools/mall access and The Palm is beach resorts. You can easily travel from The Palm to downtown and all of the hotels will have some kind of shuttle to Dubai Mall (if you were downtown and you wanted to go to the beach you'd be limited to the public ones or paying for day access to somewhere on The Palm). The evening traffic can be a bit annoying but that's the same wherver you are in the part of the city.
For a holiday I'd say The Palm unless you're agressively enthusiastic about shopping.
For a holiday I'd say The Palm unless you're agressively enthusiastic about shopping.
Definitely Palm for a holiday v Downtown.
If you want to avid traffic going to a Mall, stay at Atlantis and then get the monorail off the Palm, connect with Dubai Tram and then the Metro to get to Mall of the Emirates or Dubai Mall. I was last in Dubai early Jan and traffic was pretty horrendous.
If you want to avid traffic going to a Mall, stay at Atlantis and then get the monorail off the Palm, connect with Dubai Tram and then the Metro to get to Mall of the Emirates or Dubai Mall. I was last in Dubai early Jan and traffic was pretty horrendous.
Louis Balfour said:
The family wants to go to Dubai. I am happy to take them but am not enthused.
Don't go then, let them crack on without you..... Unless of course you do really want to go and you are just prefacing this to remain cool and within the comfort of the wider group. Do you know what Orthodoxy means? The word orthodoxy comes from the Greek root words orthos, which means right, true or straight, and doxa, opinion. So orthodoxy describes the one true opinion.You could have just said....'we've decided to book a trip to Dubai and give it a go, does anyone have any recommendations on whether....'?
;-)
Louis Balfour said:
The family wants to go to Dubai. I am happy to take them but am not enthused.
A friend who knows Dubai recommends staying on the Palm. Family says downtown. My friend says downtown would be a mistake.
The family are all adults by the way.
Anyone here with experience? Advice appreciated.
Marina area was good, grosvenor house, gold souk and Karama via boat are an interesting walk about, A friend who knows Dubai recommends staying on the Palm. Family says downtown. My friend says downtown would be a mistake.
The family are all adults by the way.
Anyone here with experience? Advice appreciated.
Once you need to go as far as the crescent and half way round, the whole Palm thing becomes very tiresome. If you can find somewhere on the trunk, then go for that....west palm beach, The Fairmont etc.
Downtown has a touch of the 'business trip' about it I reckon.
Check to see if you can get a deal at any of the Jumeirah hotels around the Madinat, that's the best place to stay in Dubai and if you are only going once, then see if you can stretch to that and make it work. I like Mina a 'Salaam, because it used to be the cheapest, then you can go and use the pool at Al Naseem.
Downtown has a touch of the 'business trip' about it I reckon.
Check to see if you can get a deal at any of the Jumeirah hotels around the Madinat, that's the best place to stay in Dubai and if you are only going once, then see if you can stretch to that and make it work. I like Mina a 'Salaam, because it used to be the cheapest, then you can go and use the pool at Al Naseem.
b14 said:
Don't go to Dubai, instead go to Abu Dhabi - Saadiyat Island hotels are good, lots to do nearby on Yas Island for children. Much quieter than Dubai (we've done both and wouldn't go back to Dubai again after AD last Oct).
You can still fly into Dubai, transfer is an hr longer.
Or following that logic Muscat in Oman.You can still fly into Dubai, transfer is an hr longer.
The G Kid said:
Definitely Palm for a holiday v Downtown.
If you want to avid traffic going to a Mall, stay at Atlantis and then get the monorail off the Palm, connect with Dubai Tram and then the Metro to get to Mall of the Emirates or Dubai Mall. I was last in Dubai early Jan and traffic was pretty horrendous.
The metro takes ages though. I’d rather fight with Dubai traffic. I’d definetly avoid 4-6pm though If you want to avid traffic going to a Mall, stay at Atlantis and then get the monorail off the Palm, connect with Dubai Tram and then the Metro to get to Mall of the Emirates or Dubai Mall. I was last in Dubai early Jan and traffic was pretty horrendous.
For a holiday, definitely Marina/JBR/Palm.
Downtown will not feel like a holiday - and it’s easy enough to get to. Palm Crescent is a journey, so while the hotels are excellent along there, the trunk would be much easier for getting around. I’d recommend the hotels from Jumeirah Al Naseem down to Westin Mina Seyahi. They’re all excellent and well located.
Personally, as MuscatDXB said, I’d go for the Westin and be closer to the Marina/JBR. Plenty of hotels in JBR, too. Trade-off is going to be the traffic.
Downtown will not feel like a holiday - and it’s easy enough to get to. Palm Crescent is a journey, so while the hotels are excellent along there, the trunk would be much easier for getting around. I’d recommend the hotels from Jumeirah Al Naseem down to Westin Mina Seyahi. They’re all excellent and well located.
Personally, as MuscatDXB said, I’d go for the Westin and be closer to the Marina/JBR. Plenty of hotels in JBR, too. Trade-off is going to be the traffic.
I’d say it depends whether you want a beach holiday, in which case the mind boggles why you would choose Dubai. Sir bani yas island south of Abu Dhabi is the choice for that.
If you are looking for sun, a busy city and nightlife then ok.
In which case I’d probably recommend getting an Airbnb at Emaar Beachfront.
Close enough to everything, can be out to szr in 5mins and isn’t too bad to get back to on an evening.
Transport wise download the ekar app. It’s a pay per mile / per day rental, like Boris bikes but for cars. App shows you where they’re parked, you reserve, walk up to it, scan the QR code and off you go.
Works for tourists (you upload your drivers licence) and has a strange mix of cars. Mainly crap but also random stuff like mustangs, fortuners, abarth 695.
If you are looking for sun, a busy city and nightlife then ok.
In which case I’d probably recommend getting an Airbnb at Emaar Beachfront.
Close enough to everything, can be out to szr in 5mins and isn’t too bad to get back to on an evening.
Transport wise download the ekar app. It’s a pay per mile / per day rental, like Boris bikes but for cars. App shows you where they’re parked, you reserve, walk up to it, scan the QR code and off you go.
Works for tourists (you upload your drivers licence) and has a strange mix of cars. Mainly crap but also random stuff like mustangs, fortuners, abarth 695.
Last time I was there I stayed on the palm Kaminski I think right at the top of the palm, previous times I have stayed at the One&Only on the mainland beach looking out to the palm.
The palm for me felt too remote and although everywhere is easy and cheap to get to via taxi, tram/monorail etc it just felt too far out for me, the hotel/resort was great though and I was literally there a few days before heading off to Mauritius. It takes at least 10 mins in a taxi from the mainland to the top end of the palm so it just feels a long way out.
One&Only on the other hand which was literally on the beach (they do have one on the Palm also) felt more accessible even though everywhere is still a taxi etc, plus it's way too hot outdoors to walk anywhere for too long and it's not somewhere that has anything to look at when walking, but you save time getting off the palm to malls/attractions.
Another consideration is I guess if you have kids Atlantis is the obvious choice as you can literally walk out into a water park, I assume this is included, but there are more attractions that just a water park worth visiting.
The palm for me felt too remote and although everywhere is easy and cheap to get to via taxi, tram/monorail etc it just felt too far out for me, the hotel/resort was great though and I was literally there a few days before heading off to Mauritius. It takes at least 10 mins in a taxi from the mainland to the top end of the palm so it just feels a long way out.
One&Only on the other hand which was literally on the beach (they do have one on the Palm also) felt more accessible even though everywhere is still a taxi etc, plus it's way too hot outdoors to walk anywhere for too long and it's not somewhere that has anything to look at when walking, but you save time getting off the palm to malls/attractions.
Another consideration is I guess if you have kids Atlantis is the obvious choice as you can literally walk out into a water park, I assume this is included, but there are more attractions that just a water park worth visiting.
Beach holiday = Palm
City holiday = Downtown
Most holiday people going to Dubai just want the beach, however Downtown is really nice on a city level, just wandering around in the afternoon or evening, it's a nice place to be, fairly vibrant and not as frantic as JBR. It's only super hot in the summer in the day time, in Dec it can be 10 degrees in the morning! Downtown is not just 'shopping', the boulevard is nice to wander around, get the toy tram, and there's often things to do and visit. It's also a far better location for getting to other things in Dubai versus the Palm.
As others have mentioned better beach holidays can be had elsewhere in terms of quality and price. The Palm is just for people who want to tell other people they stayed on the Palm. The northern Emirates (RAK) or the east coast or Oman are far nicer and better value.
City holiday = Downtown
Most holiday people going to Dubai just want the beach, however Downtown is really nice on a city level, just wandering around in the afternoon or evening, it's a nice place to be, fairly vibrant and not as frantic as JBR. It's only super hot in the summer in the day time, in Dec it can be 10 degrees in the morning! Downtown is not just 'shopping', the boulevard is nice to wander around, get the toy tram, and there's often things to do and visit. It's also a far better location for getting to other things in Dubai versus the Palm.
As others have mentioned better beach holidays can be had elsewhere in terms of quality and price. The Palm is just for people who want to tell other people they stayed on the Palm. The northern Emirates (RAK) or the east coast or Oman are far nicer and better value.
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