Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 94/w31

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 31, Edition 94

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

🚨 Holiday Homes/Airbnb pitfalls

🏨 20% Marriott Bonvoy

💸 Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk Deal

👁️ Watch out for Emirates scam posts

🚗 Limousines in Dubai: Blacklane, Black Limo

👉 Booking Dubai hotels with points

🏊‍♂️ Night swimming & Ice Baths in Dubai

🛩️ Virgin Atlantic A350-1000

🎲 MGM Resort delayed by a year?

PS. You can always email me here also.

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

DUBAI NEWS

Virgin Atlantic LHR-DXB Operation Changes: A350-1000 Starts

According to AeroRoutes, Virgin Atlantic will change plane type from 26 Oct 25 on the LHR-DXB route.

“The 397-seater A350-1000 replaces 787-9 (335-seater from 22MAR26)”

Check out Virgin Atlantic’s page on the A350-1000, or check the always-excellent Aerolopa Seat Plans.

Dubai Summer Sales now rival Black Friday, with a 40% uplift in sales.

It’s not just Dubai Summer Surprises, but summer is now a very popular season for sales especially e-commerce and gifting.

As the temperatures are nudging close to 50, it could be worth considering night swimming. Either at these three public beaches, or somewhere like Address Beach Resort.

Or, pop over to AURA Skypool for its weekly Ice Bath Workshop, complete with certified Wim Hof Method instructor.

KNOW MORE ABOUT DUBAI

Chauffeur and Limousine Services in Dubai: Blacklane, Black Limo

‘Limousine’ is one of those terms that can mean different things in Dubai.

In the UK, we tend to think of ‘limousines’ as the stretched or elongated fancy vehicles often used for special events such as prom nights, weddings, hen nights etc.

In the UAE, limousine is a bit of a ‘blanket term’ for anything from a posher taxi (reference the Lexus ‘limos’ seen at the airport and malls pretending to be the same price as a taxi) through to a vehicle for a hire with a driver (either via ride-sharing apps or hourly/daily hires). Main takeaway - it’s not necessarily a ‘posh’ car!

Whilst it’s possible to hire premium brands via services like Uber Black and Careem, two other platforms worth considering are Blacklane and Black Limo.

Blacklane are a worldwide platform dedicated to chauffeur-level service and premium brand vehicles, aimed at flexible hires along the lines of Uber. Black Limo are a local verson of Blacklane, though a standalone company.

My initial take would be, Blacklane is far more established as a worldwide presence and app, whereas Black Limo may have a wider range of vehicles, albeit from a local company.

Blacklane offers a ‘Platinum Class” which has recently added a Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II to the fleet.

🔗 Blacklane

🔗 Black Limo

ONE BIG DUBAI TIP

How To Be Careful With Holiday Homes and Airbnb in Dubai

Following on from a recent edition about the different types of accommodations (hotels, hotel apartments, residences, holiday homes, serviced apartments etc.) available in Dubai, here’s a ‘deeper dive’ into the pitfalls to consider with renting ‘holiday homes’ including Airbnb.

Dubai has a massive amount of ‘inventory’ when it comes to apartments and villas due to the booming development and real estate market, and it follows there is an equally massive market in short-term lets for additional revenue. However, it’s wise to tread carefully, do heaps of due diligence and most of all, know the pitfalls if you are considering short-term rentals.

Like anywhere, there is good, bad, and a gap somewhere inbetween.

The first thing I would say is there’s a benefit in convenience and simplicity. In other words, if there’s a dedicated hotel apartment building available (i.e. a commercial building with one common reception and everything within booked uniformly and centrally), that’s likely the ‘safest’ option, at least in terms of avoiding hassle.

If you look at an area such as Dubai Marina, especially Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR), there’s a massive concentration of residential apartment blocks and hotels as it’s perhaps the main area in Dubai for expats and residents to live, as well as tourists to visit.

Airbnb is one of the more popular platforms for short term/holiday rentals, and even OTAs such as BookingCom now feature lots of residential/holiday homes in Dubai, especially apartments. There is also a massive cottage industry of third party agencies that will market and service holiday homes for rentals.

There is also a big range of reasons why properties are made available as ‘holiday homes’, ranging from dedicated year-round rentals just for tourism, or temporary rentals to cover empty periods e.g. when owners are away.

Where It Can Go Wrong

Before we even get into the various ramifications of different platforms, agencies, buildings etc. we need to take a step back and understand the biggest risk.

Whilst competition is often a good thing, sometimes - and Dubai is not exempt from this - it can also bring a ‘race to bottom’, whereby people may not always play by the rules or things may not always be ‘above board’.

This is why Dubai has a requirement for Holiday Home regulation, in that any property available for letting as a holiday home needs a permit from Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Needless to say, this should be the first step in your due diligence before booking.

Note that hotel apartments are registered separately as one entity, and this is the fundamental difference with residential short term lets or holiday homes. That is, if one ‘unit’ (i.e. apartment) is being made available for let as a holiday home, each unit is effectively an individual entity. Thus, one lettor could own several units in one building, and each would need to be registered.

So, the risk is simple - if you are responsible and have received an approved permit for a holiday home, and do everything ‘above board’, how can you compete against those that are not?

There are a few other potential pitfalls to consider with the ‘holiday home’ market, and in the worst cases these could be :-

1. Lockouts - for whatever reason, you may not always be able to access the property or even contact the agent/owner/point of contact.

2. Access - sometimes, holiday homes in apartment blocks or compounds may offered for rental contrary to building owner/developer rules. This can develop into building owners/developers refusing access to facilities, e.g. swimming pools.

3. Bait and switch - sometimes, several units in the same building could be advertised or marketed on a site or platform, but when the unit is allocated it could be somewhat different (e.g .different position/view in a building, higher/lower floor etc).

4. Gazumping - it does happen, sadly. A booking for a unit can be confirmed, but for whatever reason, intentionally or otherwise, it’s replicated or mixed-up which may result in you not being able to access it. This tends to happen more when there are peak events, eg New Years Eve, as rates can rocket.

5. Competition - sometimes building owners/developers have their own plans for the holiday home industry, so may protect their interests by moving against the market. Emaar for instance, a few years ago, tried to ban holiday homes in some of their properties, apparently because they wanted to move into the sector directly. Read more here.

It’s important to note that I’m not casting aspersions on the industry, market, platforms, developers, agencies or anyone. I’m also not saying to what degree the ‘worst case’ problems may happen; just that they can and do.

You only have to look how many agencies and other third-party companies operate around Dubai in the holiday home rental space. There’s a few companies, for instance, that will ‘turnkey’ the process of listing, ‘management’, access and marketing properties onto Airbnb and other platforms.

How to Avoid the Pitfalls

It’s beyond the scope of this article to cover in-depth analysis of the platforms such as Sonder, Marriott Homes and Villas, Airbnb, BookingCom etc that offer holiday homes in Dubai.

The one constant though, in this and in many things in Dubai is - do your due diligence. This could include :-

• Check for permits.

• Build a relationship with the contact for any properties, and get a feel for them. Do they seem patient, informative, knowledgeable, reliable and ‘on the level’ or are they difficult to reach, pushy, vague etc.?

• Thoroughly read the terms and conditions for any bookings.

• Research deeply the platform, the unit, the agency/provider etc. on sites like Trip Advisor, Google Maps and other sources. BookingCom for example, has a high proportion of properties available around Dubai Marina/JBR, so you also need to understand the platform’s reputation and rules as well as who is letting the unit.

• Remember that reviews can be skewed and faked.

• Compare the market - look for other properties in the same building/compound, see what the normal rates are, and if there are any issues (access, lockouts, complaints etc.).

• Consider complexity - the more parties involved in something, the more hassle it can be if it goes wrong. Imagine if a property is on a platform, listed by an agency and with several other parties involved (not uncommon in Dubai). Who’s your point of contact in case there’s an issue?

Of course, this is all a lot of work, and it could be that it’s just not worth it compared to whatever savings may potentially be had. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that the deal you may have seen may be ‘too good to be true’, but do consider all of the above if you’re going on the ‘open market’ for holiday homes.

This is why I say, sometimes it’s just simpler and safer to go for hotel apartments, because there is less complexity, research and due diligence needed. At least with hotels and residences, or hotel apartments/aparthotels, there is a lot more consistency and only one channel of communication.

Conclusion

I don’t want to discourage anyone from considering holiday homes in Dubai. They can offer great value, convenience, facilities and especially, some fantastic buildings around Dubai.

However, I do want to ‘raise awareness’ so that anyone considering short term holiday home rentals knows some of the pitfalls, rather than just go in blindly on something that may be too good to be true.

There’s also the opposite angle to all of this - sometimes, the guest/customer isn’t too bothered and just wants the ‘cheap as chips’ option.

I recall someone once asked me about a building in Dubai Marina as they’d found it available for $25/night on an OTA, so I suggested a few pointers for them to look into. Turns out, it was a shared apartment and most importantly of all, they were delighted with what they paid and received, compared to spending four times that on an exclusive let just for one person. They weren’t bothered if it was registered as a holiday let, as they figured, for $25 per night it was worth a gamble!

FOOD AND DRINK

Jazz Bars are a thing in Dubai, and What’s On give you “5 of the best for chilled summer nights”.

Q’s Bar and Lounge is worth the trek up to Palazzo Versace, especially as it’s Quincy Jones’ first-ever bar, and often has worldwide talent dropping in to play.

One of the new promotions under Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is the DSS 10 Dirham Dish, with more than 190 restaurants offering a dish for 10 AED between 1-31 August.

11 iconic brunches worth the hype?

Candypants, Bubbalicious and Al Qasr would be my pick of those.

Coya does get overlooked a bit, as does the Four Season Resort Dubai - which is a shame, as it has several great F&B outlets.

Barfly by Buddha-Bar at Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah is a nice pick, especially with it being a Saturday evening.

Even if those 11 aren’t enough, here’s another 15! Carnival by Tresind would be my pick from that list - as Entertainer has two for one on Saturday and night brunches.

HOTEL NEWS

MGM Confirm Dubai Resort Opening Delayed by a Year

The planned 3-hotel MGM Dubai “The Island” looks to be delayed, according to William Hornbuckle, CEO and President of MGM Resorts International in a recent earnings call.

During the previous earnings call in April, he said it was due to open third quarter 2027 and now has since updated to “progress in Dubai has also started to gather steam with an expected opening date of the second half of 2028.”

It remains to be seen if gaming will be included, as MGM Resorts currently has a non-gaming management agreement with Wasl Hospitality that will bring Bellagio, Aria, and MGM Grand brands together to offer 1,400 keys at the development currently known as “The Island”.

MGM Resorts is the second US-based hotelier and gaming operator to receive a licence to operate gaming in the UAE after Wynn Resorts (for Wynn Al Marjan in Ras-al-Khaimah).

EMIRATES

Emirates Pause Social Media Ads Due to Scams

The number one rule about deals, promotions and offers? “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.

However, this doesn’t stop the scammers from trying it on, and sadly, from some folk getting stung by them. One that pops up semi-reguarly on social media is the faux-Emirates ‘ads’ which offer things like ‘you have won tickets in a draw’ to pretend raffles to super-low prices for flights.

Many of the posts are ‘copycats’ and impersonate branding, routes, visuals and other trademarks to look authentic.

Emirates have taken the dramatic step of temporarily suspending online advertisements and issued an alert warning passengers to be cautious.

Simple Flying have collated a decent comparison between Economy in Etihad vs Economy.

If you were considering booking Premium Economy on Emirates, have a listen to this episode from Simon Calder’s Independent Travel Podcast ⤵️ 

HOTEL OFFERS

Luxury Escapes: Sofitel Dubai the Obelisk, 3 Nights From £329

Please note, to save space in the newsletter, all current deals, offers and promotions will be listed here. Please be sure to check there for more detailed information.

Luxury Escapes have a Limited Time Lux Exclusive for Sofitel Dubai the Obelisk, with guaranteed upgrade to Deluxe Club Room, from £329 for 3 nights (LUXPlus+ members) or £359 for non-members.

Note - Limited Time LUX Exclusives tend to be available only for a limited time, so best book quickly to avoid disappointment!

• Guaranteed upgrade from Deluxe Room to Deluxe Club Room

• Daily la carte breakfast at Club Millésime or La Veranda

• Club Millésime access and garment pressing

• Two hours of nightly free-flow cocktails and canapes at Club Millésime

• Daily afternoon tea at Club Millésime

• AED100 dining credit per package to use at Brasserie Boulud or Taiko Dubai

• AED100 credit per package to use at Sofitel Spa with L’Occitane

• Early check-in and late checkout, subject to availability

Do check out the page in full, because there are several Dubai hotels at some decent rates, and some offers have additional benefits included.

• Address Beach Resort, 3 nights from £689

• W Dubai - The Palm, 3 nights from £509

• The Dubai EDITION, 2 nights from £379

• Atlantis The Royal, 3 nights from £1,524

• Atlantis The Palm, 1 night from £294

• Sofitel Dubai The Palm, 1 night from £138

• Bab Al Shams Desert Resort, 1 night from £245

• Fairmont The Palm, 1 night from £143

• Address Sky View, 1 night from £240

🔗 Latest Dubai Hotel Deals, Offers and Promotions

FLIGHT DEALS

Business Class New York to Dubai with Delta/Skyteam $3,109

Loyalty Lobby have found another great “Airfare of the Day”, this time on Delta from JFK via (CDH/AMS/LHR) to DXB from Jan 26 onwards.

• Book by: 13 Aug 25

• Booking Class: Z, non-refundable

LOYALTY PROGRAMMES

Booking Dubai Hotels With Loyalty Programme Points

I often mention about using hotel loyalty programmes to book hotels, as it can sometimes be a better deal than using cash.

For instance, if you have enough Marriott Bonvoy points to cover a five night award/redemption stay, you will only be charged for the 4 cheapest nights (according to points cost per night), effectively giving a ‘free’ night.

Upgraded Points have this listicle of “17 Best Hotels in Dubai to book with Points“, which can serve as a good starting point for inspiration. Especially when you can find stunning resorts like Al Maha for 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Top Tip - Buying points (as opposed to earning through stays, flights, dining spas etc.) can also work well, especially when there’s a bonus on.

Have a look at this ‘One Big Dubai Tip’ to learn more about buying points and miles.

Save 20% With Marriott Bonvoy Weekend Escapes

For the next 4 weekends, Marriott are offering 20% off weekend stays for Members, with non-members still receiving a 15% discount.

Bookings have to be made at least 5 days prior to stay, and the offer is valid for weekdays too at ‘resort’ properties.

Note - bookings are pre-paid and non-refundable.