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I arrived at this hotel for a weekend getaway from neighbouring Muscat primarily for some shopping of art related items. Being a priority club member I had points to be redeemed that weren¿¿¿t eligible for Intercon or Crown Plaza, but were right for the Holiday Inn Express ¿¿¿ I didn¿¿¿t have a lot of expectations (and hadn¿¿¿t read any review ¿¿¿ very unlikely for me as I use Tripadvisor extensively), however it was a short trip, I know the town well, it was close to all points I wanted to visit. I was arriving at an ungodly hour of 3:00 a.m. in the morning and had requested for an early morning check-in around 4:00 a.m. My experience from the moment I walked in was outstanding. There was another person arguing at the reception (who was patiently being dealt with at 4:30 in the morning ¿¿¿ obviously was intoxicated), the reception person saw me and stated ¿¿¿you must be Mr.Gailani, we¿¿¿ve been expecting you ¿¿¿¿¿¿ with a huge smile. Made me sit at a couch (because of the scene being created by the other gentlemen), brought the paper-work over to me and had me checked-in in minutes, then security guard who also addressed me by name smiled and carried my bags to the hotel room. More on the staff, because that¿¿¿s what set this apart, everyone had genuine smiles¿¿¿ I walked by the restaurant and a waitress shouted out, ¿¿¿do join us for lunch today, it¿¿¿s a lovely spread and you¿¿¿ll have all of us for company¿¿¿¿¿¿ I almost stopped for a second and then smiled at myself and thought, ¿¿¿who trains them?¿¿¿By evening there was a knock on my door and the security guard was on the door serving cookies as early evening delights. The next day at breakfast the smiles of the staff at the buffet were just an infectious. I couldn¿¿¿t find the juice counter so when I was seated at my table I requested a waiter to ask where the juice was and the selection (it was apple, and orange only), I don¿¿¿t like either and asked if there was any pineapple juice, he just winked and said let me do a magic trick¿¿¿goes into the kitchen and comes back with a large pineapple juice (not on the buffet), and before my glass finished, he stated ¿¿¿looks like you need another one¿¿¿ , and refilled it (all this was for free).The experience was so amazing that I simply decided that I will stay here for many more times. Because for a small budget accommodation¿¿¿it made me feel like royalty!Now, having raved about the staff, its time to give positives and negatives about the hotel:The positives:- Its at start of Jumerah (near union flag) so Dubai Mall and the Exhibition Halls are 10 minutes by cab.- There is a free shuttle to the Jumeirah Beach Park- The rooms have flat screen TVs, locker facilities etc The Negatives:- The front view of the hotel is terrible as it faces the dry docks so cranes and container junk yard is the last view of Dubai one wants to see- The air conditioning dindn¿¿¿t go below a certain degree ¿¿¿ it wasn¿¿¿t hot, and it cooled, but when in Dubai you need some extra cooling (I even asked their engineering to come and test the blast from the a/c to increase it¿¿¿ but I just later slept without a cover)- The d¿¿cor is basic of both the lobby and the room (but one gets what one pays for)Overall this was truly an unexpected discovery ¿¿¿ simply outstanding staff and amazing service, with basic room and other amenities, but if you¿¿¿re in Dubai to be outdoors shopping or sightseeing and need a welcoming place to hit the sack and be treated with smiles ¿¿¿ THIS IS YOUR HOTEL!

good overall hotel. close to jumairah 1 block. quite. room is spacoius enough. things to improve: internet is not quite fast, sometimes it goes off suddenly- dont distrub tag on the door needs a coloring , becasue there is no diffrence between go ahead clean and dont distrub. This may very easy confuse the cleaning crew and dont notice the tag.

Everything about this hotel is just right. From check in to rooms to breakfast. Excellent value for money , you won't get many good hotels at this price in Dubai. The hotel is located right opposite to Dubai Dry docks and is only 15-20 mins taxi ride from most of the Dubai Attractions. Nearest metro station is Al-Jaffiya, taxi ride to metro station costs 10 Dirhams. Taxi ride to Dubai Mall costs 20 Dirhams, if you are travelling as group its better to take taxi.Rooms are neat and clean. Staff is courteous. Hotel is newly built. Continental breakfast was very good. Lots of eateries shops within walking distance from hotel. Overall an excellent experience staying in this hotel.

We stayed the first time in Jumeirah, Dubai and really loved it! We would like to go back! The service was very friendly and our room was very clean. The breakfast was good and it was enough for us. As well the hotel has a shuttle to the outlet mall which is in the outer region of Dubai and it was worth going to. We did not stay a lot in the hotel because we wanted to explore the city. It was easy to get a taxi from the hotel and we got everywhere very easily. Taxis are very cheap and without it we would not get anywhere. Deira and Bur Dubai is very nice and close too.The open beach in Jumeirah is very nice, big and close too.At our next stay we will stay longer than 6 days because there is so much to do and see!! :)

We have reviewed this hotel before, but this time was not very impressed.Negatives Horrible damp smell throughout the hotelIf you book the glass boat for the dinner cruise at Marina, please make sure you tell the tour operator at the hotel lobby to drop you outside it and not miles away. We had to walk approx half hour to get to it which tired us out even before we got there. We instructed the boat people to get in touch with the driver and make sure he comes to pick us up from the correct place. When we finished we stood waiting and there was no sign of the driverThe drive down to the car is very tight and very difficult to get a 4x4 car back out of the car park due to a very tight bend which resulted in damaging the car.The WIFI is appalling and kept dropping out every other minuteIf you need milk for your child go to the nice gentleman in the bar who will be more than happy to give it to you for FREE and with a smile. The lady at the restaurant refused to give us milk as the restaurant had closed and she wanted to charge us for it! Paying 500AED per night and have to pay for milk, I think that¿¿¿s disgraceful!When we asked for a child cot and ironing board to be delivered at the room, the guy left the door open on his way out. When we reported it to the manager, his response was ¿¿¿it¿¿¿s OK as we have a good security system here¿¿¿. That was just not good enough, so we should let strangers into the room to look through our personal belongings??PositivesComfortable bed and clean roomNice buffet breakfastFriendly staff, especially the security staff and the tour operator.Very close to the public beach