Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 85/w22

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 22, Edition 85

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

As Eid Al Adha is coming up, it’s a bit more about deals, offers and staycations etc. this week than ‘Dubai News’. Hope that’s okay with you 😉 

🏨 Deal: Address Beach Resort Half Board

💡 Tip: Beach Club/Day Pass = value

💰️ Accor Summer Sale: 25% off (plus a possible further 10%!)

🏖️ Eid Al Adha Staycation Deals

✈️ Emirates Skywards x Marriott Bonvoy

PS. You can always email me here also.

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HOTEL OFFERS

Address Beach Resort: 3 Nights Half Board From £689

This is the first time I’ve noticed Address Beach Resort on the selling off sites, and it’s a decent package especially considering the lounge access at the infinity pool, which is the property’s USP.

Luxury Escapes* are offering 3 nights from £689, which includes:-

• Daily buffet breakfast at The Restaurant at Address Beach Resort

• Daily lunch or dinner at Li’Brasil, The Beach Grill or The Restaurant at Address

• Nightly cocktail per adult

• Three-hour sun lounge access at infinity pool

• 20% discount on a 60-minute massage at The Spa at Address

• Late 1pm checkout (subject to availability)

You may need to log in or create a '(free) account as Luxury Escapes tends to be ‘members only’, ie not open web access.

The best deal is LuxPlus+, as non-member rates are more expensive.

As this is a “Limited Time LUX Exclusive”, it may be time-limited rather than a permanent offer. So act quick if it floats your boat.

Last but not least, American Express UK currently has an Offer with Luxury Escapes for £150 back on purchases of £1,200 or more.

🔗 Luxury Escapes: Address Beach Resort*

ALL Accor Summer Sale: 25% Off Stays of 3 Nights+

ALL (Accor Live Limitless) Accor’s Summer Sale offers 25% discount on stays of 3 nights or more (or 2 nights+ with Sofitel or MGallery).

Additionally, members of ALL Accor can save an additional 10% on Member Rates.

Book by 11 June, for stays between 04 July to 07 Sep 25.

Other than the ‘core’ Accor brands (eg Fairmont, Sofitel, Raffles, Rixos, Pullman, Novotel, Swissotel, Movenpick, Ibis etc.) this promotion also covers the trendy Ennismore brands such as Mama Shelter, Hyde, 25hours, SLS, SO, Delano and Banyan Tree.

🔗 ALL Accor Summer Sale

Eid Al Adha Staycations

Eid Al Adha will soon be upon us (from Friday 06 June through to Sun 08 June) and UAE hotels are pushing out the staycation deals, to try to tempt residents and citizens to stay local rather than fly out for a break.

This doesn’t mean all the promotions and offers are aimed exclusively at residents, citizens and GCC travellers, so as always - check the small print.

At this time of year, especially with an earlier Ramadan, there are always a lot of promotions and offers around for hotels, so do shop around. Mid May generally marks the start of price drops as shoulder season moves in, so don’t just focus on Eid Al Adha deals.

More and more travellers are coming to Dubai in the ‘quieter’ months, from June even through to August, because there’s still a lot of value to be had. Just bear in mind these tips about managing expectations for Dubai hotels during Summer/off-season.

For example, Mama Shelter Dubai opened at the turn of the year and it’s already on promotion and offer in several places.

This is why I always say ‘shop around and compare’, because the same property is in the Accor sale above but also showing generally low rates elsewhere. One sales channel or promotion may be better value than the other and may not always be consistently lower, so do check different dates and times of the year. Also keep in mind, the potential benefits of booking direct or via loyalty programs vs indirect bookings.

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Earn and Transfer Between Emirates Skywards/Marriott Bonvoy

Emirates and Marriott have a reciprocal (or “preferred”) partner program, whereby members of one loyalty program can receive benefits when using the other.

For example, every time I stay at a Marriott Bonvoy property, I receive Emirates Skywards Miles based on the dollar spend.

What’s also handy to know is it’s now possible to transfer Marriott Bonvoy Points to Emirates Skywards Miles (and vice versa), albeit at slightly different conversion rates.

If you’re looking to earn Emirates Skywards Miles, here are a few tips that don’t involve flying (such as via Dubai Mall or Get Your Guide).

A way I’ve used in the past, for instance if you need to top up to a certain amount, is Rocketmiles.

This is a hotel booking service that is part of Booking Holdings (that run Agoda, Priceline, BookingCom etc) where you pay an ‘extra over’ price for the hotel and then earn multiples of points.

Just do your research on the earning rates as they can vary wildly, and know what the ‘gettable price’ for the hotel is and also consider the ‘cost’ of the extra miles/points. Whilst it’s possible to get a lot of points/miles on certain hotels or price points, have an awareness of the general cost of buying points/miles as it may or may not always be good value.

Sometimes it can be cheaper (and simpler!) to just wait for a promotion to buy points or miles, especially if there are bonuses to be had. One big reason I’m all in on Marriott Bonvoy is those points are the some of most ‘transferrable’ in the loyalty program game (i.e.the most amount of airline partners that can transfer to).

In the past for instance, I’ve earned (or bought) in Marriott Bonvoy, then transferred a chunk to American Airlines AAdvantage to then redeem for Business and First Class on Etihad (as it took less points/miles in AA than Etihad). Similarly, bought/earned in Bonvoy then transferred to Virgin Atlantic to redeem for cruises.

ONE BIG DUBAI TIP

Why Beach Clubs and Day Passes Could Work Out for You

Beach clubs and day passes are here to stay in Dubai, and even if you don’t think you’re interested - you should be.

I post regularly about them, such as here, because they really are a big deal in Dubai. In both senses too.

What started off as a bit of ‘ancillary revenue’ for hotels during the pandemic whilst occupancy was low is now a cottage industry in Dubai. There are so many places offering day passes, either for pools in city hotels through to full on beach clubs or beach resorts, that there’s almost a deal for everyone.

Where the beach club/day pass thing gets really interesting is the competitiveness, in that some outlets are literally cutting their own noses off with enticements such as ‘redeemable F&B’ (whereby the cost of access is offered as a credit on food and drink).

Keep your eye on Time Out or Whats On, as they regularly publish and update the best deals and will often have pages for certain areas, such as West Beach, JBR or Marina.

Top Tips for Day Pass/Beach Club Value in Dubai

Don’t overlook the ‘slice and dice’ aspect when looking for hotels. It could actually be cheaper to book a non-beach hotel, and use day passes or beach clubs on the days you want to use pools and/or beaches. Unless it’s a ‘drop and flop’ holiday where you may spend every day at the pool or beach, the money you could save on your hotel could perhaps go towards day pass use and with redeemable credits, get far more value for money.

If you’re flexible on when you can visit, weekdays will often be cheaper than weekends (and often quieter).

As always with these things, check the small print. Some outlets may offer ‘free’ access, but then there are restrictions (eg beach only, not pool use) or cost uplifts should you want a lounger or cabana.

You may not even need to pay anything. Certain restaurants, particularly on events such as brunches, may offer complimentary use of a hotel’s facilities. Saturday brunches are generally more likely to do this as they’re a bit quieter than Friday. City hotels may also offer access to their sister hotels or beach clubs, such as Grosvenor House does with Le Royal Meridien, so do ask before booking.

Conversely, if you’re considering staying at a hotel that may sell day use to its facilities, it could be worth asking before booking what they offer, when etc. because sometimes they can get very busy.

It’s also not unusual for a hotel to employ a third party to manage/monetise their pool/beach access, so don’t always assume every part of a hotel or resort is accessible to staying guests.

Top Tip: If ever you want to read all the previous editions of this newsletter mentioning a particular topic, eg ‘redeemable’, just click the Archive link here and either search for your required term, or use the tag cloud (see screenshot below).

HOTEL NEWS

New General Manager for the H Dubai

The H Hotel is a great hotel at the top of SZR, by Zabeel roundabout. That neck of the woods actually has several decent value five star hotels, which is why I often shout them out. It’s also a great location for transport links, being close enough to Old Dubai and Downtown but still has its own vibe, especially at night.

Whilst there isn’t as much around each hotel compared to Downtown or Marina, there are still many excellent bars, lounges, clubs, coffee shops and restaurants close. And cheaper!

Good luck to Yassin Mahmoud, the new General Manager, as the hotel rebrands under Story Hospitality.

Ever wondered what salaries are like in Dubai hotels?