Dubai & Maldives 2011

[MrGilmore]

Evening,

I'm starting to look into doing a multi-centre holiday for myself and my partner towards the end of next year.

We're hoping to do something such as:

Virgin Atlantic
LHR-DXB
Upper Class

3 Nights
The Atlantis or similiar.

Fly to the Maldives

7 Nights
No idea regarding hotels over there, the requirements are as follows:
Water Villa
H/B basis
Luxury
Spa
Any recommendations?

Then fly back to DXB and connect with VS to come back home again.

Can anybody point me in the right direction for the right people to organize this for us?

I work in travel myself, just not land based holidays.

Thanks.

[Puggit]

If you're doing this all yourself, I suspect it would be cheaper to fly Emirates as they fly both routes and you could do it all on one ticket.

[Zod]

Fly Emirates. Spend longer in the Maldives. Don't leave the airport in Dubai. The Maldives resort will be full of people from Dubai escaping the place for a week.

[Dav_s]

+1 for Emirates.

I used Best@Travel to organise a similar trip.

I'd recommend Island Hideaway in the Maldives - very luxurious, somewhat exclusive, beautful island, and an excellent spa.

[ukwill]

Try here: http://www.clubairtravel.co.uk/

We did Seychelles & Dubai last year through this firm - Emirates Business class for all flights. No issues. Recommended. In fact, I've phoned them again this morning enquiring about a deal at the Dar Al Masyaf (Dubai) next Month.

Bloody good deals!

(ps. I wouldn't recommend Atlantis. We went to have a look at the small fish tank they've got , but were glad we weren't staying there). We tend to always stay at one of the Jumeirah Group hotels.

[CraigW]

Huvafen fushi in the maldives was absolutely incredible. I'd been to some lovely places before but now nothing compares.

emirates business was superb too

[Nat_H]

I stayed in The Atlantis for a week back in June.

Its rather expensive, but not more than a 5* hotel in London for example, a beer was circa £10, and a bottle of Moet/Verve was £200.

We stayed in a Club level room, which allowed "free drinks" from 6-8 in the Club Lounge, and we also had a free upgrade to halfboard, which was really good, as you could easily spend £100 a night on food.

The distance from the Malls etc did get a bit annoying, as did the speed bumps on the road down the centre of the palm.

The hotel itself was very Vegas-like, but with no casino. I imagine there are better places to stay in Dubai, but I found it very relaxed.

btw, if you do like a drink, stop off in Dubai duty free when you land, and stock up, as its pretty cheap.

[Thankyou4calling]

Try Kalpesh who works for bestattravel. Very professional and on the ball.

I havent been to the Maldives but have done Dubai 6 times. The best hotel to stay at all things considered is the Royal Meridien, always rated in the top three Middle east hotels.

Go for a Tower room and if cars are your thing a stroll to the nearby "Walk" and sister hotel Grovesnor House will see the petrol in you alright, you see an awesome array on a Friday or Saturday evening.

[havoc]

Zod said:

Fly Emirates. Spend longer in the Maldives. Don't leave the airport in Dubai.

Agree with this.

Dubai has NOTHING to commend itself as a holiday destination, unless you like paying through the nose for everything, and an alleged 'service' culture that dries up quicker than a puddle in summer if they feel like it. Speaking Arabic doesn't tend to help either as 99% of those serving you aren't Dubai nationals...hence the mediocre service!

- It's dirty (not Indian sub-continent quality, but no better than an average Med resort)
- It's dusty (VERY! Esp. when the wind gets up - there's a desert right behind the beach!)
- The sea is filthy (we were warned against going in when we were there due to oil spills - two couples we spoke to said this was the 2nd time in two holidays they'd seen those notices and weren't sure about returning)
- The cheapest (and most Russian-infested) Jumeirah resort is ~£200 a night, without any view. The decent ones can be over twice that.


So unless you're desperate to go shopping in over-sized, over-bling, over-priced 'malls', then stay in paradise for an extra few days. Really, truly, genuinely. Or do a week only and then "do London" for a few days on your return.