.My Travel
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.Dubai
Polished, bright, well-planned, and an absolutely stunning city. Visiting here was one of my dreams (wishes) coming true.
Everything is expensive here! One small water bottle (half a liter) costs AED 1 (which is nearly the cost of a 1L bottle in India). So, it's not about the conversion. The city is expensive by at least 1.5 or 2 times. From all that I saw, decent things begin from AED 10 or AED 15, and there's no upper limit. The same jacket that costs AED 300 in Dubai would cost only INR 3,000/- (roughly). These are pretty approximate or prelimnary observations, but that's what I've observed.
Cheap things are "cheap" in the actual sense of the term, so, it's always good to not go for them.
FOOD:
Pure Vegetarians like me who don't even have eggs should actually stay at home :P However, there are places where you get Vegetarian options. The best places (in terms of pleasant surprise) that I ended up eating at were Bombay Chowpaty (at the Emirates Mall) and Rangoli (at Meena Bazar).
SIGHTSEEING:
There are nearly unlimited places to visit and unlimited things to do, but since I was with my parents (who eventually fell a bit ill during the trip) my plans were not very exhaustive. We, however, visited the following places:
♦ City Sightseeing Tour Bus
♦ Burj Khalifa (At the Top - 148th floor)
♦ Jumeirah Beach
♦ The Dubai Mall
♦ Mall of the Emirates
♦ City Walk
♦ The Dubai Fountain
♦ Meena Bazar
♦ Gold Souk
♦ Deira City Center
♦ a few more small places...
COMMUTING IN DUBAI:
♦ Buses are available, but we did not take any.
♦ Metro (Green and Red Lines) - Quite expensive as well - One trip from Baniyas Square Metro Station to The Dubai Mall costs AED 8 (at the time we went), which I very high, according to me.
↳ I was actually planning to take a Nol Card, but my mother suggested me not to unnecessarily lock the money in that. That was for the good, as we cut down our trip from a week to three days.
↳ The walk from Dubai Mall Metro Station to The (actual) Dubai Mall was a LONG one. 7 Travellators, and a lot of walking in between. My mother had a bad time.
♦ Taxi (the only reason I might visit Dubai again) - not only the Taxi Drivers are cute and courteous, but there's also no chance that they cheat you (unlike my or other countries). Additionally, they're cooperative, warm, friendly, and helpful. One of us suggested to take the Metro because of huge traffic at that point of time (which would empty our pockets in the Taxi ride). They're pretty proactive, in that sense.
↳ Dubai did not seem like a BIG city (area wise), so they don't really say 'No' to wherever you want to go - even if it is a short distance)
↳ Fares from the Airport (Terminal 1 where we landed) start at AED 25 (very high. again, but it's similar to Ola Cabs in India)
↳ Fares within the City (for the colored Taxis) start at AED 4 or AED 5, and are bearable, especially when you have people with you who can't walk a lot.
Wi-Fi:
♦ Wi-Fi is available at The Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa (unlimited and free access). That was very very helpful.
♦ For the Emirates Mall and the Metro, you need a local phone number to register yourself.
.Hyatt Place, Baniyas Square
Good, comfortable stay.
DATES STAYED:
22nd to 26th September, 2017
LOCATION:
♦ Right across the Baniyas Square Metro Station (in the Deira area of the city). Super-convenient.
♦ Metro, Taxis, and Bus stops are readily available.
♦ Back side of the hotel has LOTS of 'affordable' shopping.
♦ There's a Mc D right in front of the hotel.
♦ There's a beautiful garden (called Naif Park) in front of the hotel as well, where you can just relax yourself on the green grass.
♦ Dubai City Sightseeing Bus Stop # 11 is around 600 m walk from the hotel (opposite the Riveira Hotel).
FOOD:
♦ Their complimentary breakfast surprised us with Idli, Medu Wada, Upma, Paratha, Kande Pohe (on a variety of days), besides Tea, Coffee, Fruits, and Full Fat Milk ('of what' I don't know, but that which I thoroughly enjoyed).
♦ We did not have any other food here (besides the breakfast) as we were out in the city anyway for the rest of the day.
ROOMS:
♦ Spacious, comfortable beds, clean
♦ Cleaned daily and Coffee-maker replenished
♦ Complimentary water bottles provided as well
Wi-Fi:
♦ Another great thing about this hotel. FREE, Unlimited, Fast Wi-Fi all over the place.
♦ 4 of our devices were connected.
STAFF:
♦ Security Guards at this hotel are very sweet, warm, and talkative.
♦ Restaurant Staff is quite helpful as well.
♦ It is my observation that the Reception Staff (in general) are friendlier during Check-Ins and Check-Outs. For the rest of the times, I feel that they're a bit too occupied with their work to help guests - even though they're there and cooperative enough.
SIDE NOTE:
♦ Check-in by Mr. Iqbal was smooth and friendly.
♦ We checked-out earlier than our plan, and they refunded us the amount. I'd booked the hotel through Booking dot com and paid completely. When we asked the Reception Staff the query about the refund on the second day, they were not very helpful. However, during the actual check-out, we got the refund (from another guy at the Reception called Mr. Mohammed).
OVERALL:
♦ Very good and convenient hotel. I would, however, like to try a different (5 star) hotel in the future, if, ever, I go to Dubai again.