Destinations Dubai UAE Time of travel Mar 2009 Length of holiday 1 week Childs age Toddler (1-3 years) Infant (3-5 years) Accommodation Hotel Holiday type Beach Transport Aircraft

We last visited Dubai in 2002, 7 years ago, how time flies and how a country develops. Back then we had a good time, child free, but this time it was fantastic
With 2 little ones aged 2 and 4 by our side, we all had a great time and this is the reason why...

The weather
From the moment we arrived the sun was shining with not a cloud in sight. It was mid March and daily temperatures hovered around the 30 degree mark which was just about right for us all. Nights were warm but again comfortable for us and the kids.
Note that the week after we left it rained heavily so I guess we were lucky!

The hotel
We were thinking of staying at the new Atlantis hotel on the Palm, but some negative reviews suggested that it was experiencing some teething problems. Instead we stayed at the 5* Jumeriah Beach Hotel, that’s the wave which is opposite the Burj Al Arab which is the sail shaped one.
We arrived mid morning after an interesting night flight and on arrival we were greeted by very warm and welcoming staff. Out room was not yet ready so they gave us a mobile phone, which they would call when the room was ready, and whisked us off to enjoy their international buffet breakfast. The spread was amazing, the best we have experienced where we enjoyed a whistle stop tour of the world’s cuisine. Being vegetarians, we are normally bored of the breakfast after 3 days but in this case we were still being treated to new dishes the morning that we left.
The mobile phone rang just as breakfast was over saying our room was ready. We were then escorted to our room by one of the many customer relations staff found in the lobby who tool us in the glass elevator which the kids loved explaining the facilities of the hotel. The room was spacious, clean with a lovely big bathroom and stunning view of the beach and the Burj Al Arab. All rooms are sea facing so I doubt anyone would be disappointed. No kettle which is must for a Brit but it soon arrived after a phone call.
We then thoroughly enjoyed the facilities offered at the hotel which included

- The Wild Wadi Water park. This water park sits next to the hotel and is free for hotel guests. It is a large park with a lot to do but was probably a little advanced for our youngest, but never the less we enjoyed it the 3 times we went.

- The Beach, although manicured each night, is large with warm sea waves lapping the shore. No need to lay down your towels early to grab a sunbed!

- The pools – There are 2 main pools of which we were always in the kid's pool as this offered the shallow area with a connected small water slide. It was great fun.

- Kid's club, this place is brilliant with a dedicated shallow pool and indoor area for the kids. You are entitled to send your child to one of 3 sessions that are available during the day which gives a good balance of my time and family time. The best thing was the staff who are all qualified, speak English and are just great entertainers and there were so many of them compared to the number of kids. Maybe we got lucky!

- The Restaurants, The hotel itself has many restaurants, we recommend the pizzeria on the beach, but we also had access to the larger Jumeriah complex which includes the Burj Al Arab and Medinat hotels. All are a golf buggy ride away and the Medinat area in particular has a large selection of restaurants connected via man made waterways. The kids loved riding on the small boats. I would recommend the vegetarian and noodle restaurants in this area.

- The medical clinic. Was hoping not to experience this one but we did almost daily as both our kids suffered fevers at different times and our daughter cut her chin which needed dressing each day. The doctor and nurses were superb, attending to our children gently and in a manner which made them feel very comfortable and their explanations to us were very clear and informative.

The Service
This country really understands customer service. From the taxi drivers to the hotel staff, they ooze honesty, humility and service with a smile. The hotel in particular was impressive. The number of staff was incredible with us hardly ever having to wait to talk to someone. The knowledge was second to none and their attention to detail was spot on every time, always addressing us with our name and a smile. This was true 5* service.

The Safety & Security
Never have we felt safer than at the Jumeriah Beach hotel. There are numerous security staff manning each part of the hotel as it used extensively for corporate functions and by outside guests using the restaurants and sports facilities. Each security staff has a list of hotel guests which they check against your name. The first time can be daunting but after that they and their colleagues recognise you and even acknowledge you by your name.
Life guards – the children's pool has 3 guards at all times watching over the kids, there were hardly ever more then 10 people in the pool so this was a great ratio. The beach has plenty of guards one of which is out in his canoe actively patrolling the sea. Even the kid's club pool which is only shin high has a guard. This high level of security and safety added so much comfort to our overall experience of the hotel.

The City
We only ventured out of the hotel complex on a few occasions but when we did, we were amazed by the city as were the kids. Dubai just doesn’t do small! We visited the 2 main malls, the Mall Of The Emirates which houses the indoor ski slope, and the recently opened Dubai Mall which houses a huge Aquarium and water zoo. Both malls were massive and were an eye opener but long gone are the bargains that were once in Dubai. Everything felt more expensive than the UK.
We travelled around by taxis which are cheap in comparison to other costs. All taxis were air conditioned and metered. On one night, my wife left her purse in the taxi which would have been a very healthy tip for the driver, however to our amazement he came back to where he dropped us off and waited for us to re-appear before politely handing it back to my wife. He got a good tip but this action alone gave us a good insight into the ethic of the citizens of Dubai. Maybe a generalisation but it felt justified by what we had experienced in other parts of Dubai.

Virgin Holidays
We were quite excited to buy a holiday with Virgin and fly with them. On the whole it was good but it could have been better. The flights were fine but the night flight to Dubai never turned into a night flight. We were expecting lights out so the kids would sleep but there was always a trolley offering something coming up down the aisles making it difficult to sleep. They did eventually nod off half way through but the 7 hours does not give enough time for them or us to sleep.
Whilst in Dubai the transfers were great but we thought we’d have more contact with the rep but this never happened until we called him to confirm all was ok with flights and transfers. A very minor point.
The inbound flight to London was an early morning affair and could have been a disaster as the entertainment system had broken. They offered £25 each off your next virgin holiday but the flight could have been chaos. Luckily for us the kids both fell asleep for the majority as did we and when they were awake we had magazines and a portable DVD player to keep them entertained.

In summary, the holiday was one of the best yet. The biggest compliment I can give is that we will return to Dubai soon and probably enjoy the Jumeriah Beach Hotel again. It was everything a holiday should be except next time I hope my kids stay healthy and maybe enjoy it more than they did this time.