Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 49/w38

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 38, Edition 49

So here is this week’s digest of the ‘Dubai news worth knowing’, all in 10 minutes or less of your time.

I promised there will be heaps of offers & deals coming in as the season restarts. And here they are (some of them, at least). More will follow in coming weeks.

Plus, a tip about how to find (and check) value with Dubai hotels.

👇 A few things worth knowing about Dubai this week 👇

🏨 Which 2 Dubai hotels are part of the World’s 50 Best Hotels?

💡 Dubai hotel price wars have started.

💸 3 great hotel deals on Luxury Escapes.

🛬 Etihad increase Summer schedules. Free Stopovers.

💵 Emirates Cash+Miles offer increases value.

🤔 Virgin Atlantic to start flights to …. Riyadh?

Tittle-Tattle: Dubai Shopping Festival dates. 300 more taxis. Nikki Beach to reopen.

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HOTEL NEWS

2 Dubai Hotels Are on World’s 50 Best Hotels List. Guess Which?

Okay, before we start, let’s let the ‘elephant in the room’ out. I’m not a fan of these ‘lists’ as they’re often gamed, or at least skewed, and as Dubai Awards season shows us, there’s often another list out a few weeks later that’s totally different.

But it’s an interesting question to ask … which two Dubai hotels do you think made it into the Top 50?

One, at number 9, is on Palm Jumeirah. Think Lionel Richie and Jenga. Answer Here.

The other, at number 13, only opened this year and has a very British sound to its name. Or perhaps not, if you’re thinking about **** del Rey. Answer Here.

🔗 The World’s 50 Best Hotels

DUBAI TIPS

Hotel Pricing Wars Have Begun. Tread Carefully.

As the new season has started, hotels start to change their pricing back - and upwards - but that’s not always a bad thing. Whilst the beginning of October is traditionally when the weather turns and inbound tourism starts bumping up, it can also offer a lot of opportunity to snag good prices for hotels.

This won’t always be in offers or promotions, but sometimes as inventory ‘opens up’ across more sales channels, it’s possible to find ‘gettable prices’ that are lower than usual. Especially on future forward bookings, as sometimes the pricing is more aimed at the ‘peak weeks’ of Christmas and New Year, so dates past the peaks can offer value.

A few examples of this can be see with Jumeirah, as a few threads on Trip Advisor have been showing decent deals for Jumeirah Creekside (on Summer Escapes promo) and Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

🎩 Hat-tip to reader Stugirl for the Emirates Towers pricing deals.

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Whilst it’s possible to find decent deals by shopping around with Dubai hotels, or even trying different tactics or strategies, it’s also worth having a ‘sanity check’ when a deal seems too good to be true.

It could be that you’re lucky, or there could be there are other factors at play. I’d say at present, do consider the ‘Jumeirah factor’ when pricing up their hotels, because it’s not unknown for them to ‘unbundle’ rates (i.e. remove what used to be a given, eg Wild Wadi access) or change operations or facilities access (as past editions of this newsletter have mentioned).

Similarly, as new hotels open, rates sometimes can be incentivised (at best), or a gamble (at worst). Delano for instance is due to open around the end of October, but - and this is a personal opinion of course - I’d always be wary for the first 6 months of any hotel opening.

It could be there are different phases of opening, some operations or outlets may be delayed, staffing levels may be lower, processes and training may still be being ‘ironed out’ and so on. Always remember - it’s about ‘actual value’ vs ‘perceived value’ with these things, and if they’re charging lower rates than would be expected, there’s usually a reason. Or it could be a glitch, or good fortune. Who knows?

HOTEL OFFERS 

Luxury Escapes Have 3 Great Hotels on Deals Right Now

A few decent hotels are currently on Luxury Escapes as ‘Limited Time LUX Exclusive’ offers. These deals are only available for a short time, and often will included added benefits as well as competitive prices.

Raffles The Palm Dubai*

• 3 nights from £779, includes taxes and charges

• Guaranteed upgrade to Premier Palm Room

• Includes breakfast and lunch OR dinner

• Kids stay free (under 11s)

ME Dubai by Melia*

One for the architecture buffs, this hotel was designed by Zaha Hadid and is located in Business Bay.

• 3 nights from £439, includes taxes and charges

• Daily breakfast

• Nightly cocktail

• 20% dining and spa discount

• Guaranteed late checkout

Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai*

Located close to Ibn Battuta Mall, Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate is an ex-Movenpick property and a great value shout. Be aware though, it’s a bit outlying so you’ll likely rely on taxis or public transport to get around. No biggie though, Metro station and a bus station are nearby!

• 3 nights from £239, including taxes and charges

• Daily Breakfast

• 2 hours free-flow drinks

• 100 AED spa credit

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These 3 hotels are super deals, but time-limited - so be quick if they catch your eye as they won’t hang around forever.

There are also many other hotels and deals around on Luxury Escapes, so do check out the main page for Dubai here*.

Note - you may need to sign up for a free membership via email address to see all the deals.

🔗 Luxury Escapes - Dubai*

FLIGHT DEALS

Etihad Unveil Increased Summer Schedule, inc Free Stopovers

Etihad have announced their Summer Schedule, including double-daily flights year-round flights to major European cities such as Paris, Manchester, Frankfurt, Zurich, Barcelona and many more.

Etihad also offer a “Free Stopover Program*”, offering up to a two night stay at select Abu Dhabi hotels.

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As always with these kinds of deals, do read the ‘small print’ as Etihad has quite a few ‘blackout’ dates and restrictions.

Also, and I know I say this every time, but do ‘validate the value of the deal’ by checking the price of the hotel and flight separately compared to the combined ‘free’ offer. Abu Dhabi is cheaper than Dubai for hotels, and it could very well be that ‘free’ element of the hotel night is paid for elsewhere in the deal (ie the flight cost).

Some of the hotels for example, Aloft, Premier Inn and Traders can be had for around £60/night direct.

Emirates Skywards Cash+Miles Offer

Emirates allow you to offset cash fares by using Skywards Miles via Cash+Miles, and have a promotion running allow better-value redemption rates for travel up to 30 Nov 24.

How it works: you ‘spend’ your Skywards miles against the cash cost of a flight ticket, and the amount of miles will reduce the cash price accordingly.

Economy and Premium Economy passengers can get 1 cents per mile value, i.e. a cash value of $20 for every 2,000 Skywards miles.

Business and First passengers can get 2 cents per mile value, i.e. a cash value of $200 for every 10,000 Skywards miles.

Bookings to be made by 30 Sep 24.

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This could be useful if you’re looking to fly soon and are sitting on Skywards miles, as the value for Cash+Miles is likely to be better than using for out-and-out redemptions, which can come with fees and awkward rules.

🔗 Emirates Cash+Miles Offer

FLIGHT NEWS

Virgin Atlantic to Fly to Riyadh?

Okay, not strictly Dubai related, but in an intriguing move, Virgin Atlantic have announced they will start flying London Heathrow (LHR) to Riyadh (RUH) from 30 Mar 25.

Virgin Atlantic have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Riyadh Air, clearly with one eye on connections within the Kingdom.

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Whilst this may seem an odd match at first, it’s certainly intriguing and does kind of make sense. Saudi Arabia is on a massive push on many fronts, including increasing tourism but also aiming to encourage international businesses to move their regional head offices from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. On top of these markets, the move is apparently with a firm eye on the ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives’(VFR) market.

DUBAI NEWS/TITTLE-TATTLE

Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) confirmed as 06 Dec 24 - 12 Jan 25.

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Heaps of deals to be had during these festivals, so keep an eye on official websites, Visit Dubai, social media, Whats On, Time Out etc.

Idris Elba wants you to ‘Invest in the Emirates’.

Nikki Beach Dubai to reopen on 01 Oct 24.

Robbie Williams performed a surprise gig at Lock Stock & Barrel, JBR.

Dubai will have 300 more taxis on the roads, as RTA announce 300 new plates issued, of which over a quarter will be electric.

All the club opening parties in Dubai.

Saudi National Day is on 23 Sep 24, and Dubai is ramping up (including pool parties!) with plenty of festivities planned for the expected surge in inbound tourism.

Experience live plating at Michelin-starred Ossiano Dubai with a 12-course tasting menu.