Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 106/w43

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 43, Edition 106

Here’s your latest edition of Dubai news, deals & tips, every Friday, in 10 mins or less.

🚌 HoHo bus tours for the win!

🔭 Observatory Lounge/Prime 52

🗺️ Dubai World Islands hotels

👻 Halloween in Dubai

🍹 MMI Cheers Club

✅ Creekside ➡️ MGallery Creekside (Accor)

🏩 UAE hotels with private pools

💸 Entertainer XL Offers (double your Buy One Get One Free vouchers)

📈 Yas and Saadiyat post record numbers

🚕 Dubai taxi prices to go up

PS. You can always email me here also.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Have a Haunting Halloween!

Halloween will soon be upon us, so it’s time to weigh up which brunch, party or event you’ll be off to (you don’t need to have an outfit as good as Heidi Klum, don’t worry!)

Will it be Zero Gravity?

• Halloween in Dubai 2025 (Time Out)

• Halloween parties and brunches (What’s On)

21 of the best beach restaurants in Dubai, according to CN Traveller ME.

Shimmers, Bungalo34, Sirene by Gaia, Twiggy by La Cantine and the amazing Pierchic would get my nod 🙂‍↕️

Tip - this article is part written by Courtney Brandt, who’s well worth a follow on her Substack.

I often mention J1 Beach, which used to be La Mer before it was redeveloped, purely because it’s a decent concentration of different outlets e.g. beach clubs and restaurants, and here’s a good article from Gulf News about them.

These could be great options if you’re based in the ‘top end’ of town, say SZR, Downtown or Business Bay and are a good alternative to schlepping it all the way down to Marina or Palm Jumeirah.

Dine and Drinks With a View: Observatory Lounge & Prime 52

If I’m ever asked for a good Marina rooftop or high vantage point to dine or drink at, Observatory at Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites is always one of my first mentions. It’s high enough up - 52 floors - and is split into two venues, each with unique views and vibes.

Strictly speaking, only half of it now is called The Observatory Lounge, with the other half now being Prime 52 Steakhouse, an offshoot of Prime 68, the excellent steakhouse at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.

Observatory Lounge views over the sea and Dubai Harbour, with Prime 52 looking over the back, i.e Marina Walk. Both venues also have a range of promotions, including Ladies Night (Observatory Lounge), along with Marriott-based offers such as More Cravings along with the usual My Emirates Pass (20% discount) and Entertainer (Buy One Get One Free).

HOTEL NEWS

Accor Confirm Creekside Hotel as MGallery Collection

It’s now been formally announced that Creekside Hotel Dubai, formerly Jumeirah Creekside, will operate under Accor via their MGallery Collection, after a “period of renovation”.

The Dubai Duty Free owned hotel will be operated under a “white label” franchise agreement by United Hospitality Management (UHM).

Rixos The Palm Dubai Hotel & Suites has had a revamp including renovated suites, new resort facilities and a schedule of activities for all - including a ‘Daycation’ offer.

If you’re ever looking for a UAE hotel with a private pool, be sure to check this list.

It’s a great list and covers all different price points, locations and vibes, from desert resort (the legendary Al Maha) to bling (Atlantis The Royal) via sedate luxury (BVLGARI Resort). FIVE are also a good bet, not overlooking FIVE Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) which is more of a cheaper, city hotel than its two more famous siblings, namely FIVE Palm Jumeirah and FIVE Luxe on JBR/The Walk.

ABU DHABI

Yas and Saadiyat Island Post Record Visitor Numbers

Miral, the developers behind Abu Dhabi’s biggest leisure destinations such as Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, reported a record-breaking summer. 

Visits to the parks increased 9% year-on-year with a 16% rise in August, their busiest month of record.

The article linked above is worth a read as it shows impressive growth, especially across the normally quiet summer months, and that Abu Dhabi is steadily increasing more inbound tourism.

To achieve 85% occupancy in Yas Island hotels during the summer is a big result, especially with Average Daily Rates (ADR) of 1,470 AED at WB Abu Dhabi.

DUBAI DEALS

Entertainer UAE 2026 XL Offer

If you’re considering purchasing Entertainer 2026, there’s a current targeted promotion for XL Offers, for an extra 100 AED.

Note - I’m not sure exactly how long the promotion will last, but I think it may be closing next Thursday or Friday - so best get on it quickly if it’s of interest!

What this will give is DOUBLE the amount of available offers for Entertainer 2025, so there will be SIX vouchers for Buy One Get One Free rather than the usual three.

So if you haven’t got Entertainer 2025, and are visiting in 2025 and would be considering purchasing Entertainer 2026, this may be of value to you.

Of course, if you’re not going to be visiting in 2025 and can wait until late January onwards, the 2026 Entertainer promo/discount codes hopefully will be available.

🔗 Entertainer UAE XL Offer

LOYALTY PROGRAMMES

MMI Cheers Club: Loyalty Programme for Drinks Deliveries

MMI have launched an app-based loyalty programme called MMI Cheers Club.

For every 10 AED you spend, you will earn one ‘cork’. 25 corks unlocks the rewards catalogue, with typical rewards such as 75 corks = 12 pack of Heineken or 200 corks = a bottle of Moet Chandon.

As a new user, you will get double corks on your first purchase - delivery or in-store.

There are also in-app promotions with prizes such as Dubai 7s experiences including meet and greets, weekend passes, VIP access etc.

MMI are also on My Emirates Pass for 10% discount and Entertainer Buy One Get One Free, so as always - do shop around and compare to see what the best deal for you is.

🔗 MMI Cheers Club (IOS)

DUBAI NEWS

Dubai Taxi Prices to Increase

RTA have confirmed that taxi prices will rise slightly.

Taxi rides booked via an app will have a starting fare of 13 AED, with the remainder of the changes being about booking fees and starting fares, particularly around peak times (0800-0959 and 1600-1959) and at night (2200-0559).

Given the changes are quite small, I’d still stick with my ‘ballpark calculator’ for 2.5 AED per km or 2.75 AED per km ex-airport.

As of 01 November, delivery drivers on motorcycles will be banned from the using the high-speed lanes on highways.

KNOW MORE ABOUT DUBAI

How About a Hotel on Dubai World Islands?

Dubai’s World Islands has some lovely hotels these days, and Buddha Bar have announced plans to have a hotel and floating residences there. (Archived page here).

Due to open in 2027, the hotel will have 162 rooms including a Residences floor, along with The Floating Residences by Buddha-Bar, 24 villas positioned above the surface of the water.

If you can handle spending most of your time offshore on islands, with only boat access, do check out some of the hotels on World Islands such as Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort, voco Dubai Monaco or the upcoming Hygge Hotel at Heart of of Europe.

ONE BIG DUBAI TIP

First Timer Tip: Hop On Hop Off (HoHo) Buses For the First Day

This week’s tip sounds sooooo touristy, but hear me out. Especially if you’re a first-time visitor to Dubai.

I’ve mentioned previously about the layout of Dubai, and how it can catch you out.

So, maybe consider leaving your first full day free, and spending some time on a HoHo bus for a few reasons :-

• There is no better way to get the ‘lay of the land’, and especially how linear and sporadically developed Dubai is.

• In terms of time, it’s a terrific way to see a high proportion of sights/areas in the most convenient and quickest manner.

• The Metro doesn’t go to the ‘main’ sights/areas, but rather one line parallel to the main highway (SZR) and a loop around Old Dubai.

• There are two HoHo providers, each with different routes - so you only need to pick the ones that are of interest to you.

• As they run several times a day, should you see somewhere you fancy hanging around, you can just jump on a later bus at your leisure.

• Each HoHo provider may offer add-on packages, including things like At The Top (Burj Khalifa), desert safari, Creek cruises etc. - just be sure to check the ‘actual value’ of these by shopping around and comparing though.

• Cost-wise, it’s easy enough to find deals via apps like Entertainer on Buy One Get One Free, or other sales channels for discounts.

• If you’re into history and education, you can plug in to the in-bus audio for an informative guide to the city and its sights.

As a real-life example, have a look at this thread from Trip Advisor Forum. It’s from a traveller looking to visit and considering the merits of a ‘self tour’ to see sights using public transport. By learning a bit about Hoho buses and routes, they realised there would be a lot of ‘add ons’ if they were to use Metro - say visiting areas not close to Metro stations that would need a walk and/or taxi.

Ultimately, they realised the HoHo was far more convenient 👍

Cost Comparison

Even if you only went for a one day pass, the distance and sights/area you would cover on a HoHo bus is likely cheaper than taxi or Uber/Careem. Estimate approximately 2.5 AED per km in a taxi as a baseline, and it’s easy enough to look at Google Maps - on the Directions section - to price up a rough taxi cost.

Of course, if you’re in a group or a large family, ‘economies of scale’ i.e. 4 in one taxi may make a taxi competitive, but the HoHo also has the convenience of less hassle - i.e. you know where they will pick up and drop, at what time, and you don’t have any interaction with the driver, paying, directing etc. that you may do in a taxi.

My own view on the merit of the Hoho bus is whilst they can be useful in any city in the world, due to confusing areas and the sporadic, linear development of Dubai, they’re especially usefu lto get a feel for how to get around Dubai, what’s where and how far apart from each other things may be.

It can be very easy to lose time in Dubai travelling about, especially if you’re staying in an outlying area or have a very ‘full’ or tightly-planned itinerary.

Routes, Schedules and Deals

The two HoHo providers in Dubai are City Sightseeing Dubai and Big Bus Tours.

On each of their websites, they have maps showing their routes and stops. Note that some of the stops are ‘interchanges’, which serve two routes and can be used to change from one route to another.

For instance, in the screenshot below from Big Bus Tours map page, Stop number two - indicated by red and blue halves - is an interchange at Dubai Mall between the Red and Blue route.

Schedule wise, they will generally run during the working day, between 0900 and 1700, and approximately 45 minutes apart. So if you were to disembark to mooch around, you’d likely have around 35-40 mins free before you could get on the next one.

There are always deals in Dubai, and the ‘best’ is often subjective. Some may find the add-on or multi-day packages provide the best value, whereas others may find a one day, on a discount rate or Buy One Get One Free, may work for them.

At present, looking at Entertainer Dubai 2025, Big Bus Tours is offering Buy One Get One Free for Discover Adult with an estimated savings of 329 AED and with 3 vouchers (or six if you have XL offers). This means for every two people, one could go free by using one voucher.

City Sightseeing Dubai offer the Standard HoHo Bus Tour, again with 3 (or 6) vouchers with an estimated saving on 345 AED.

City Sightseeing Dubai are currently offering 20% discount, along with 24 hours complimentary, via My Emirates Pass.

🔗 City Sightseeing Dubai

🔗 Big Bus Tours

Conclusion

Hopefully, this tip doesn’t sound too corny or touristy. The layout of Dubai is well worth getting used to - unless you’ve done a comprehensive ‘desktop recce’ beforehand - and a HoHo tour on the first day can ‘tick many boxes’.

• You can see a lot of Dubai in a relatively short time, for a decent price point, in a hassle-free way.

• You could even use it as an alternative to other forms of transport, e.g. avoid taxis or Uber/Careem.

• You may see somewhere as you’re travelling round that you may want to investigate further, either by alighting for a ‘mooch around’ or returning on another day. Similarly, you may pass by some sights that you had on your list already, so once they’re ‘ticked off’ it can free up time to see somewhere else another day.