We (Group of 5) will be in Dubai this fall,

Can anyone highly recommend a driver/guide to show us around Dubai for a day?

Looked at the Big Bus, but with 5 would probably be more comfortable in a A/C minivan, and might even cost less. :cool:

I don't recall that anyone on the April Silversea group cruise got a private guide. I know there was a group of 6 who did the HOHO bus, it stops at most places of interest. If you will be there long enough, don't miss the Desert Dune Safari!

Hi H20

We arranged our car & driver through our hotel (Grand Hyatt). There are lots of things to do; consider dropping a line to the concierge to get a referral.

I second Olivia's suggestion - the Desert Dune Safari at sunset with dinner was a lot of fun for the group. Don't forget to get the henna tattoos .. I went for an ankle camel.

Cheers, Anne

If you visited the Burj Al Arab hotel,
Do you still consider it a MUST SEE ?

Glamorous, Stunning - But really, any more than the Bellagio, Wynn or Venetian Hotels in Las Vegas ?

The $500+ for the 5 of us would pay for both the car & driver and Desert Dune Safari.
I hate to make any cuts, this is likely our only visit to Dubai.

Thanks JHP & Adrenn - Will look into the Desert Dune Safari and contact the Hyatt concierge for a driver and more ideas.

:nw: - Have to start practicing for the daily prayers

Hi H20

Several of the folks who recently visited may be able to chime in. My take was most thought it worthwhile for tea, albeit tea takes 2-3 hours. Others really liked the Bateaux creek dinner cruise.

Try using the 'search' function for Burj in the Category:Chat section. I came up with 13 threads talking about the Burj. Several on the Dubai pre-cruise trip opted in to having the full tea at $105 per person at the Burj. Food is pricey there, so the cost differential for lunch/dinner would be less than the $500+ figure.

There's a hop-on, hop-off bus that has two routes. A 24 hour ticket is about $30 per head, and if you time it right, you can do both routes over a two-day period. Our intrepid group of travelers actually got off at each of the stops. Wow! In the Dubai heat, that's quite an accomplishment. We took it the next day and got off at a handful of stops. It leaves from the shopping center opposite the Raffles pyramid shaped hotel. There's a shuttle bus that leaves about every half hour from the Grand Hyatt over to that shopping center. It runs from the convention center entrance. I highly recommend the shuttle bus over walking to the center. The concierge desk can give you the times the hop-on, hop-off bus leaves and the shuttle times so you can coordinate what time to leave. The blue route is prone to traffic jams in the afternoon. The "Ski Dubai" facility and the beaches are along that route.

Cheers, Anne

H20 Bound:

If you'd like to see my photos of Dubai, go here:
http://Ray-Penny.smugmug.com/
Segment #6. If you see an arrow on a photo that is a jpeg movie. I believe my photos of the hotel are on pages 5 & 6. We did the high tea for $155 each but unfortunately that didn't include seeing a suite. Security is tight and you can't just go in and walk around.

Now is the very difficult part...is it worth it? It was for us but then again there were only two of us to pay for. ($155 each for High Tea thru Regent tours.) However, we have no desire to go back to the hotel should we ever be in Dubai again. Been there done that.

Good luck!

Cheers! Ray
p.s.: My Smugmug a/c needs a lot of editing but unfortunately the editing of my video of the WC is consuming all my time right now.

Thanks, Great pictures Ray

We did the "high" tea at the Burj and loved it--it was worth every cent just for the experience (and besides, the food was great--a good substitue for lunch). We also loved the HO HO bus, but it was hot and noisy, I'll have to admit. You might be able to see everything from a private car, but I don't think it would be as much fun. Our favorite thing in Dubai was the Desert Safari--don't miss it!!

We stayed at the Burj for one night. It was definitely worth it. Had a lovely 2 bedroom suite. One bedroom was very provencal the other very garish. The master was red and black with a mirror above the bed !! Living room was also red and black and huge dining room and dining table laden with stacks of fresh flowers. Family room was again blue and yellow. Fabulous bath with the Hermes toiletries etc Butler didnt do much other than provide fresh juice and a few presents of dates, snacks sweets. Concierge was very helpful. The spa/pool area was lovely and was great to be pampered. The Burj gave us a chance to meander in the Jumeirah beach area.

I did see a lot of the same vehicles used for the desert safari doing private tours during the day. At that cost I think it would be a good way to go and fun to all be together. The HO HO buses get you around but it is hot.

Burj - well I would not compare it to the hotels you mention like the Belagio, Venetian etc. To me these fall in the large, classy, beautifully decorated hotels. These hotels focus on the stunning lobby and public spaces with nice but not outrageous rooms.

To me the Burj goes the other way. Incredible rooms (which we did not get to see) and the lobby is not really large or in my opinion that special. I would guess that it would be considered very garish in decor for most Americans. For me it was more fantastic on the outside than the inside. I think the outside design is amazing. Marcie's pictures of their room during their stay really made me want to stay there just once. Not to be on this last trip.

That said I think to make a decision to "not go in" on your only trip to Dubai you may regret. Inside I personally found it a little disappointing. I imagine if we had stayed in a room I would have liked it much more because the rooms are supposed to be really stunning.

I did the tea, glad that I did that, seven courses just a little over $100 - a meal in fact. The problem was it took over 2 hours so ate up a lot of our day. I would suggest it once but I would not do it again.