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You are here: Home / Travel / Eat, Sleep, Do in Dubai

Eat, Sleep, Do in Dubai

December 27, 2016 by Fiona Maclean 14 Comments

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Last Updated on December 29, 2016

SimCity Bonanza in Dubai:

JW Marriot Marquis Room Daytime View

Staying in the tallest hotel in the World is just one option in a city like Dubai where superlatives reign.  The JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai is just that, and a striking building in this spectacular city. The centrally located hotel has a charming outdoor pool, spacious rooms, all with picture windows out over the city and 12 restaurants and bars offering a cross-section of world cuisine.  Our base for a recent trip to Dubai, it’s the sort of place where you could, if you wanted, just stay for your entire visit.

JW Marriot Marquis Room

We did enjoy sampling the restaurants – from the extensive options for breakfast at Kitchen6, through to late night desserts at Prime68 followed by cocktails in Vault on the 71st and 72nd floor.  Without exception, the food was excellent quality.

Soft Shell Crab Rang Mahal

My personal favourites were Rang Mahal by Atul Kochhar, where amongst other dishes we enjoyed this perfectly cooked soft shell crab

Sashimi - JW Marriott Marquis

the quirky and lively Izakaya Japanese restaurant with wonderfully fresh fish prepared in an open kitchen

JW Marriot Marquis Garden - Meat

and Garden, a relaxed Peruvian restaurant where we enjoyed some fabulous dishes including a memorable lomo saltado and some delicious lamb cutlets.  But, with just a couple of occasions to sample the food in the hotel, we didn’t have a chance to experience the steaks at Prime68 (by then we were eating dessert!) or to do more than taste a few dishes at Tong Thai – and there were more restaurants on site where we didn’t get through the door!

Tong Thai Dubai

I was also impressed by the Executive Lounge on the 37th floor which offered a complimentary breakfast (and was a calmer environment than Kitchen6 first thing in the morning), snacks and refreshments through the day and wine and cocktails in the evening.

Mixologist Vault JW Mariott

That was, at least partly, due to the Dubai concept of brunch.  When I first looked at our itinerary I was concerned I might be hungry.  Once I’d experienced brunch at the Madinat Jumeirah Mina A Salam I was convinced I’d never want to eat again.

Brunch at Jumeirah Mina A Salam

Gentle reader if you visit Dubai and decide to indulge in a Friday Brunch, take care.  Don’t eat the night before, don’t have anything for breakfast and don’t make plans for dinner.  Taking an American style brunch to new levels, our experience had us indulging in oysters, grilled lobster, steak, curry from Sri Lanka, Tex-Mex ribs and more.  And then feasting on macarons and cheesecake, trying hard to avoid the chocolate fountains and unlimited ice-cream.

Brunch Madinat Jumeirah Mina A Salam

The hotel restaurants were packed for Brunch, which started at 12.30pm and went on for most of the afternoon.  The local expat community seemed to use the brunch experience for celebrations – birthdays, anniversaries and leaving parties, while business travellers or those on vacation like us were just there for the ride.

Title Beach Dubai Caption

The hotel itself, on the beach, had a stronger Arabic feel than our base at the JW Marriott Marquis, with marble floors and arabic style gilding.  I particularly liked the little boats which took guests from one part of the beach to another via a network of miniature canals.  We could see the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel in the distance, one of Dubai’s most iconic structures and reputedly the only 7-star hotel in the world

Vida Downtown Cabanas

By the next day when we were due to brunch again, I still wasn’t hungry.  Fortunately, Hotel Vida in downtown Dubai was somewhat more restrained in its offering (though you’d still struggle to eat again that day). With 156 rooms, the hotel is on the large side for a boutique hotel, but careful design lends the lobby and pool area a charming colonial style with an Arabic twist.

Pastries Vida Downtown 2

If you can drag yourself away from the comfortable poolside cabanas, you’ll find shops, the new opera house and more within striking distance of Hotel Vida – and, if you prefer not to walk, the hotel will lend you a bicycle!

View fro

From Hotel Vida, the must visit Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall is a short drive.   Check out The Dubai Fountain (the world’s largest fountain) browse the shops, take a coffee and pastry in one of the many wonderful coffee shops and, without any exception (unless you really suffer from Acrophobia), take a trip up the Burj Khalifa, the World’s tallest building, for a 360degree view of Dubai.  We went in the early afternoon on Saturday when it was probably at its busiest.  I’ve been told that a timed ticket for first thing in the morning will give you a more peaceful experience – and I can imagine that Sunset at the Burj Khalifa is also spectacular.   The building started to be constructed in 2004 and was completed by 2010, as part of ‘Downtown Dubai’.  And, it’s an amazing experience.

Aquarium Dubai Mall

When you tire of the contemporary, there are traditional parts of Dubai to explore too.  Perhaps my favourite meal of the trip was at Al Fanar where we feasted on Emirati specialities.  Our ‘walking tour’ with Arabian Adventures (mostly by minibus) also introduced us to some superb cafes and bars in the old part of the Dubai, a welcomed contrast to the newer, Westernised parts of the City.

Dubai Ice Cream

We tried some fabulous Emirati ice cream, amazing non-alcoholic cocktails and one of the best plates of ‘Beirut falafel’ before heading to Al Fanar.

Al Fanar Dubai

My personal favourite was matchboos daya – chicken cooked in saffron rice with dried lemon.

Emirati Feast at Al Fanar Dubai

But we also enjoyed a very comforting dish of thereed laham (a curry layered with Arabic flatbread to make something that was a bit like a savoury bread pudding), samak mashwi (whole seabream barbequed with spices) and a whole range of pickles, dips, flatbreads and more.

Dubai Gold 27

The traditional parts of Dubai don’t sell alcohol so afterwards we headed for perhaps the most glamourous hotel I’ve ever visited – Burj Al Arab, which we’d seen during the day, to Gold on 27.

 

Gold 27 Cocktail 2

My stunning cocktail, Scent of the Souk, was a real showstopper, as was the view back to Dubai and the amazing gold leaf lined room.  And, if I ever visit Dubai again, I will be making a point of visiting Nathan Outlaw at Al Mahara – after all, we need to support our local chefs!

 Gold 27 Interior

 

Factbox

  • I stayed at JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai – from £519 per person, based on a 3 nights stay in a Deluxe Room with breakfast (45% saving on stay when booking with Emirates Holidays). Package includes return Economy flights with Emirates.
  • Friday Brunch Experience at Jumeirah Mina A Salam costs AED525 per person including a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages  (approx. £118 per person)
  • Saturday Brunch 3in1 at Vida Downtown costs ED345 per person including selected house beverages (approx. £77 per person). An extra AED100 per person for a private poolside Cabana and pool access (approx. £22pp)
  • I also enjoyed a Flavours of Dubai Walking Tour with Arabian Adventures – £89 per person through Emirates Holidays

I travelled as a guest of  Emirates Holidays .

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Dubai, Travel Tagged With: Emirates

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Christopher says

    January 4, 2017 at 9:37 pm

    Oh Dubai is so on my to go to list. This hotel looks awesome, very luxiourious. The food looks incredible. Chicken on saffron rice delicious. I’ve watched several docs on this city and how the needed to build all those tall buildings on sand. I’ve always fouls this place interesting. Great post.

    Reply
  2. Laura Lynch says

    January 4, 2017 at 10:19 am

    Brunch looks amazing. Perfect way to start the day. I have been wanting to go to Dubai and this looks like the perfect place to stay. We like to do food crawls when there are so many places to eat like that, to try a little dish from each place in a progressive dinner style. That would be really easy to pull off there.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      January 4, 2017 at 3:50 pm

      You could definitely do a food safari at the JW Marriot Marquis. The Friday Brunch also has lots of options – you can try a little from all sorts of cuisines there too

      Reply
  3. RaW | Ramble and Wander says

    January 2, 2017 at 10:52 pm

    Oh no! Reading this makes me miss Dubai! I used to live there for over 4 years so am quite familiar with the weekend brunch – it’s something that you just get used to after a while, haha! My best food experience in Dubai was probably a “simple” 7-course afternoon tea at Burj al Arab, which was enough to make me skip dinner that day. Would love to stay at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel when I go back to Dubai one day – I just love its unique design. But then again, there’s plenty of unique architectures in Dubai, esp along Sheikh Zayed Road and in Dubai Marina area.

    Reply
  4. Mar Pages says

    January 2, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    It seems that you really can spend about 95% of your time in Dubai just eating! The local food really does look impressive. I’m sure, like you, I’d continuously eat if I had that amount of food placed before me. Looks like you had a wonderful trip!

    Reply
  5. Vicky and Buddy says

    January 2, 2017 at 12:47 am

    That brunch… I’d love to try it one day. Sort of like a personal challenge, just to see how much I could eat! It all looks so lovely though, especially the pool areas. Hopefully I make it to Dubai one day!

    Reply
  6. Carol Perehudoff says

    January 1, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    I didn’t know that JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai was the tallest hotel there. I’m going to be travelling through Dubai in March, but sadly I don’t get to stop. Argghhh. This looks like such an amazing place to stay, especially if you have executive lounge access.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      January 3, 2017 at 4:55 pm

      I was amazed at the facilities in the executive lounge. I knew there are great business facilities there – but, there was a lot more. In the evening it was a lovely, private bar and lounge with great views out over the city. And most of the drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were free, along with enough food for a light supper

      Reply
  7. Jo says

    January 1, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    Dubai is on my bucketlist and hopefully I will make it there this year. Heard good things and I chuckled at the idea of brunch here. You mentioned not to eat dinner the night before or breakfast the morning of the brunch – looks like it must be really scrumptious and I can’t wait to try it out myself.

    Reply
  8. Jimmy and Tina says

    December 31, 2016 at 8:07 pm

    I’m not much of a mall person but your photos are awesome and would love to see this mall, I remember watching the Mall of America being build and used to revel at it being the largest but I think it most likely pales in comparison to the one in Dubai!

    Reply
  9. Drew says

    December 31, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    Looks like you had a pretty decadent holiday! I agree with the brunch spread. I stayed in Abu Dhabi and the brunch spread at the Rosewood Hotel was mind boggling. Like many before me, I tried to restrain myself, but ended up going back for seconds and thirds, and skipped dinner that day! I guess that’s an UAE thing.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      December 31, 2016 at 11:47 pm

      Our challenge was that as we were hosted, we had no option but to eat again in the evening!

      Reply
  10. Rich Tyler says

    December 29, 2016 at 5:21 pm

    I’d love to go to Dubai – looks truely amazing 🙂

    Reply
  11. Deborah Clarke says

    December 29, 2016 at 6:18 am

    Wow it looks absolutely amazing. The food looks divine. Would love to travel here.

    Reply

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