Emirates Airlines offers a stopover plan
when you arrive in Dubai.
Has anyone taken advantage of this and what hotel would you recommend for a two night stay. What should we do with this time?
We will then be on to Bangkok.
Any info will be appreciated.

We recently did the Dubai stopover in November..Didn't use Emirates package though because they did not have new prices out yet...However, if you have a hotel in mind let me know and i can tell you if i saw it..We stayed at the Riviera Hotel, which we really liked, which was right next door to the Carlton Hotel (offered by Emirates)..Great location...

We took the Big Bus around..which might be a good idea if you only have 2 days..You could do the city tour and the beach tour in 1 day..And if you do choose the Carlton hotel, there is a stop right in front of the hotel to catch the bus..
http://www.bigbustours.com/dub/html/dub_our_tours.html You can see the main sites this way and get out at the ones you would like too...Gold souk, old souk, Dubai Museum, Diera City Centre..etc, etc..Plus the beaches...

Another idea is dinner at the the Al Hadheerah Desert Restaurant...
Just an awesome evening out with all of the Arabic Entertainment you could want.
http://www.jumeirahbabalshams.com/dining/

Or if you aren't into that..do a desert safari....

The Mall of the Emirates is a nice shopping mall..You can see the new Indoor Ski Hill there...

Or check out the Souk Madinat Jumeirah..There are 75 boutiques, shops, restaurants, etc..

Check out the Burj Al Arab Hotel...

These are just some ideas.We had 5 nights and could have still used more..

Check out my pics at....
http://community.webshots.com/user/gbassett

Hi TracyB

Thanks so much for your reply. What an informative response. Your photos look great and I will certainly do the big bus. With such a short time, it seems like the way to go.

I am in the prelimenary stages of planning this trip and haven't zeroed in on a hotel yet.

When I do pick a hotel I would like to post it here and get your response.

Thanks again.

We did the stopover with Emirates last march and everything went fine. Would recommend it.

Unfortunately can't say the same about our hotel. We stayed at the Highland Hotel and the mottos there seemed to be "I'm sorry that is not possible" or "It is not working at the moment".

Funny enough the last time I heard that from them I let them know I was less than impressed. Before I even got back to the room from the front desk, they had phoned to tell me that my request was now possible!

Basically I agree with everything TracyB said

I had a stop over in Dubai with an afternoon flight to Kenya. So in the morning we got a tour of the city and found it pretty interesting.

I would certainly love to go back and spend more time.

I would not take 2 days off of a trip to Thailand to see Dubai. Change planes and keep moving. It won't help your jet lag and will cut into valuable Thai time, IMO.

Here is my take on Dubai. I have been numerous times on business and have really attempted to like the place, but I simply can't. I call it Singapore with sand, but that is an insult to Singapore, where I lived for many years and which I like very much.

I have to say this much for them: they have great PR. They have created a hype about themselves and get people to visit them although there is almost nothing to do and see, and what there is to do and see is very mediocre indeed. If only Cleveland had their PR machine.

Emirates is a fantastic airline and that is the only reason to transit through Dubai IMO.

The people are wonderful, but of course virtually none of them are from Dubai, they are all guest workers. Almost everyone you come into contact with (taxi drivers, hotel workers, tour guides, etc ) will be from Jordan, Palestine, the Philippines, India, Pakistan or another depressed economy. They are all warm and wonderful people of course, but you could meet them in their own country or in other countries where they are guest workers.

The shopping is nothing to write home about if you are from the US, and if you closed your eyes you could BE in the US: Toys R Us, Dunkin' Doughnuts, etc. The people who come for the shopping are from Europe as the electronics are cheaper, or from India as the variety of goods for sale is better (although that is rapidly changing). There are no particular bargains that I ever saw, and you are going to Thailand where the handicrafts, souvenirs and silks on offer are simply fantastic. I did not find gold any bargain at all, and you can buy jewelry for the same or less in Bangkok (and less in India). The best thing to buy is the Oud perfumed charcoal, but this is not inexpensive unless you buy the cheap stuff which won't last. (You also have to have a taste for rather strong perfumes).

There are many good restaurants, mostly all in hotels (this is where the Singapore comparison is strongest together with shopping malls), but again you are going to Thailand where good restaurants are legion.

The beaches are not at all beautiful, perfectly OK, but not white sand beaches and azure waters. There is quite a strong undertow. I would not for any reason travel to Dubai for the beach, if you want to go to the Middle East for beaches, go to the Red Sea where you can snorkel and dive and have pretty beaches. As you are going to Thailand, you will see much much prettier beaches. Dubai is on one of the world's major shipping lanes, and the world's major shipping lane for unrefined oil. The water is not clear. A good bit of the beach front is virtually under construction from the reclamation for Palm Island I and now Palm Island II. There can be a lot of noise at night from this and lights from the construction at certain hotels near Jumeriah, as the project is massive. Construction noise is a big problem overall as Dubai is one giant construction site (see below).

The desert is very pretty. You can spend time in some of the resort hotels there or take a day trip by jeep into the desert. That being said, the desert there is mostly the flat sandy dune desert, it is nothing compared to the gorgeous red sandstone deserts of Jordan, just next door and an hour by plane, and which of course has Petra, one of the wonders of the ancient world. If you want to see a desert that will stun you, go to Jordan. (And don't get me started on the stunning Jordanian men. . . )

As I mentioned, Dubai is one huge construction site, with mega malls, hotels, office buildings and universities going up all over the place. The new indoor ski area mentioned above was just completed, its part of a huge mall as well. Driving out on the highway from town towards the Jumeriah beach area you will pass about 2 dozen gigantic projects, including a 1,000 room hotel, the tallest hotel in the world, etc. It is just cranes and noise and--- traffic. There is absolutely no public transportation at all and none currently planned. EVERYONE drives. It can take you an hour or more to get from one side of town to another. This is another reason to avoid a 2 day stopover, it may take you an hour or more to get to and from the airport, depending on where your hotel is. If you want to stay out at one of the beach resorts, which might be the only reason to go in the cool season, plan on 90 minutes to and from the airport, and then once you are there, if you want to go into town, you need an hour or so there and back.

The weather is really pretty awful for about 8 months of the year: over 90 F and of course being on the sea over 90 percent humidity (this is the part most people don't realize). Take a look at weatherbase.com for temps, but don't forget about the humidity. Of course everything is air-conditioned, but if you wanted to stay inside why are you stopping over? From November to about early April it is great, low humidity and very comfortable temps, and for those months, a few days at the Ritz-Carlton on the beach is really wonderful. But unless you can work that out, to stay for 2 days in a city hotel and only add to your jet lag is so not worth it I can hardly stop myself from going on and on about it. . .

Funny..we didn't have absolutely any problems in Dubai whatsoever..not with traffic..not with anything...It is not my favorite city in the world, but it is definately worth a stop IMO...If you are there...why not stop in...

It especially breaks up the long flight so when you get to BKK you will be over your jet lag....

I've been to Dubai twice (last in Oct 05) and I would say its worth a stopover. It would be nice way to break the journey. There is lots to do, we enjoyed the desert safari. Check out the mall of emirates and the indoor ski hill like someone mentioned (it hadn't opened when we were there). Also Burj Al Arab .

Restaurants are plenty. Yes, there isn't any public transportation, but taxi's are very easily available and very cheap (that would have something to do with the cheap petrol prices). Also you don't have to worry about taxi's fleecing you like it sometimes happens in parts of Asia. It's a very safe place. There's also lots of nightlife.

The weather can be very hot, traffic has gotten worse over the last few years, and constuction is definitely booming, but it still is an interesting place to visit.