They have offers during certain times of the year .....

The airport terminal hotel is not included though - you will have to pay to stay there

So it's not a policy it's only when they have a special deal going on or something?

By the way I don't care which hotel it is or where as long as it's a hotel.

Yes, they have a special promotion certain times of the year and mostly to premium passengers. But, you can certainly book with Emirates for any hotel and you may get better rates.

The cheapest is like $150--way out of my budget!

But, I did just find something out which will solve my situation and may be useful to other people with long layovers in expensive Dubai: if you have an Amex gold card you get into their fancy lounge for free! (It's called the Marhaba lounge and normally charges something like $25.) It's not quite the same thing as a hotel but it has food and it's probably quiet.

Thanks!

mp413

I would really like to know where you are going which means that a $150 hotel is "way over your budget".

Darn, I just realized that the Amex deal I was speaking of only applies to Middle East Amex cards! So please ignore what I said about free access to the swanky lounge unless you have a M.E. Amex (which I don't!).

snik, I knew this forum was not exactly budget-oriented but are you really surprised that $150 a night might be too expensive for some people? What bubble do you live in? I'm a humanitarian worker who will be en route from working with refugees in Malawi back home to the States, and found a fare under $500 from S. Africa to Greece on Emirates which I wanted to take advantage of, though $150 a night for a hotel would bring the fare above the next option. In other words, I'm looking to save every pennny. I don't want to start something here, but your comment seems quite ignorant and might offend some people.

No fight necessary! It's just that Dubai is an expensive destination with not many "budget" type (hostel) lodgings. So while $150 is high for you, it's very cheap for Dubai.

Search out hostels in Dubai and see if there might be any to meet your needs.

You will get a free meal voucher from Emirates with a long layover.

There are definitely hotels that you can get for much less than $150. I stayed at a hotel in Deira for a week, and I paid less than $100 a night, and that was not nearly the cheapest hotel in the area. I'm sure if you do research you could find a place for between $50 and $75. I was the only American in my hotel, which was filled with lots of business people from Africa and Asia, and I much preferred it to the fancy hotels.

Check out

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-489490-dubai_hotels-i-sort-lowprice-prhigh-130-prlow-15?fromiy=1

Thanks all, but like I said a free hotel would make all the difference--paying for a hotel in Dubai, even one that costs $50 (plus taxi which is probably a fortune as well) means I might as well fly the Greek airline which is the next cheapest thing (and which goes direct).

I appreciate the responses!

Maybe Emirates has changed their policy. When I flew with them in Oct 2005, this was absolutely their policy. I was not a "premium" passenger.

Double-check and call Emirates.