Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 68/w5

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 5, Edition 68

Here’s your latest edition of the ‘Dubai news, deals & tips, every Thursday, in 10 mins or less’:-

Some interesting promos are around, including up to 30% off dining and drinks at IHG hotels, along with a chance for extra bonus nights and points with Marriott Bonvoy. Also, a few sample ‘deals’ to show you don’t always need to go to agents to be ‘sold’ apparent deals 🙂

Last but not least, two articles show Dubai isn’t overrated and a look at the apparent strain Dubai’s ambitious growth is placing on residents.

As always, if you’d like to provide further feedback, including which content you’d like to see more of (or not!) do let me know by clicking here

Thanks for reading 👏

Shaun

Please note: some links in this newsletter may be affiliate links, and will be denoted with an asterisk (*). This is a link to a partner site that may pay me a commission - at no further cost to you - and if so, helps to support me & this newsletter. For more info, please see Disclosure and Policies

EAT

Is Eugene Eugene Dubai’s most authentic ‘farm to table’ experience?

If you’re ever in Deira, why not check out these restaurants?

Who doesn’t love a revolving restaurant such as Al Dawaar (and it’s in the Entertainer), along with Al Ustad Special Kebab, Arabian Tea House, Twiggy, Boardwalk and XVA Cafe showing there’s a lot more than ‘the Dark Side’ to Deira 🙂

DRINK

I was in a hotel bar recently and they were having a ‘Sip and Paint’ event in the restaurant that looked great fun, so it’s good to see they’re catching on in Dubai.

Why not have a splash, a dab, and a swig at this ‘Sip and Paint’ event at Firelake Grillhouse and Cocktail Bar?

O Beach looks a bit like a flashback to early 90s U2 concerts, except in true Dubai style they’re flashier cars than Trabants bashing about the skies.

Whatever, they’ve still some decent deals eg Ladies’ Days worth checking out.

STAY

Movenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR) has been sold.

Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts will launch its “most significant wellbeing experience” in Marsa al Arab on 14 March, when it opens a three-floor, 3,500 sq m spa.

KNOW MORE ABOUT DUBAI

”Dubai’s Ceaseless Boom Putting Strain on Residents” - an interesting take on how Dubai’s push to double its number of residents within the next 15 years is taking a toll on traffic, rental rises, crowded Metros etc.

This destination from Dubai has two routes in the top of ten of the world’s busiest routes by seats sold. The Dubai route has 4.4 million sold seats in 2024, and it’s only going to get busier.

Please read this article, if only to nod your head knowingly if you’ve ever had a reaction from someone else dismissing Dubai as having no culture, being overrated or some other flaky criticism.

The other reason I’d recommend reading it is it gives a great shout-out to Farida at the excellent Frying Pan Adventures.

Bluewaters will be seeing more construction in the future, as Meraas award a 1 billion AED contract for their new development at Bluewaters Bay.

Here’s your chance to catch some of the best local comedians at Ting Irie.

Looks like Etihad Airways could be gearing up for an IPO this Spring.

Ramadan will soon be upon us, as Dubai Municipality announces the opening of the third season of their Ramadan Souq.

Speaking of Ramadan, here are a few iftars worth checking out.

DUBAI DEALS

IHG Middle East, India & Africa: 25-30% Discount on F&B

IHG One Rewards are offering 25-30% discount on dining and drinks across MENA for their members. Plus, earn an additional 100 points for every $10 spent.

Full list of participating outlets see the offer page.

Although the copy suggests ‘dining’, the terms and conditions do indicate the discount covers drinks also (see screenshot)

🔗 IHG One Rewards MENA 25-30% Discount

HOTEL DEALS

Deals ARE Out There. Keep The Faith!

You’re probably sick of hearing me say this, but it’s always worth keeping an eye out and shopping around for deals, rather than going to an agent and let them suggest they have a deal for you.

One of the best tactics you can do is keep aware of ‘gettable prices’ so you build up a feel for what hotels can be had for, ie what the going rate is, so to speak.

Rather than go on OTAs that may offer spurious claims of ‘so much % off’, use an RSS feed or bookmark sites such as Fly 4 Free, and keep abreast of deals. Even if you’re not looking to book, it will help you see where the market is going, which hotels tend to discount more, etc.

Here are a few examples:-

Crowne Plaza Deira from 74 Euros

Vienna to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways from 164 Euros

Holiday Pirates is another one, and whilst you sometimes have to trawl through a bit of chaff (eg this one that seems to think W Doha is UAE), every now and again something decent-ish pops up, such as this deal for F1 in Abu Dhabi.

Comment

The one tip that’s always worth keeping ‘front of mind’ when you’re looking around for deals is to ask yourself, “what is the angle with this site/source/sales channel?”.

For example,

• take a ‘bricks and mortar’ travel agent, their angle often is to sell on volume, with minimum knowledge, experience or even proof that the deal is actually a deal. They may not also keep up to speed on operations at the hotel, eg dining package changes, restaurant closures etc. and they may involve third-party suppliers for your booking.

• If you went with a Virtuoso agent such as Classic Travel*, you would be paying more for the exclusive relationship those agents have to sell better rate conditions, with more benefits at the hotels, albeit at a more expensive rate condition. Think, pay more to get more, and a more exclusive and preferential booking relationship with the hotel.

• If you are reading a blog, social media, Google Maps or a newspaper article, the links they use are likely affiliate links where they get a commission on click-through. They may not always be disclosed as such, and they may not always be the best deal, but generally speaking, using an affiliate link benefits the content creator and shouldn’t cost the clicker any more money - if the deal truly is a deal of course!

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Marriott Bonvoy Q1 Promotion: Unlock Elite Status Faster

Marriott Bonvoy’s Q1 promotion is open for registration. Earn bonus nights and 1,000 points each night on Marriott stays from 11 Feb to 28 Apr:-

• 1 extra Elite Qualifying Night per night

• 1,000 bonus points per night

This means you can achieve elite status with half the normal nights required:-

• Silver: 5 nights (normally 10)

• Gold: 13 nights (normally 25)

• Platinum: 25 nights (normally 50)

• Titanium: 38 nights (normally 76)

Even if you don't normally chase status, this promotion makes it easier to earn elite benefits during your upcoming Marriott stay (and more points!).

🔗 Marriott Bonvoy Earn 1,000 bonus points and 1 Bonus Elite Night Credit each night

ENTERTAINER

10% Discount On Entertainer With ‘Payday Sale’

Entertainer currently have a flash sale offering 10% discount on certain products. It’s called the Payday sale, and runs through to the end of January.

Once February hits, the promo/discount codes should be out - maybe even as early as the beginning of the month - and (hopefully) this will include ALL products, be it GCC, Abu Dhabi, Dubai etc.