Experiences

Dubai has become an almost imperative city to visit in any ambitious travellers’ “must-see” catalogue and certainly a one-stop shop for wanderers alike. It doesn’t help that the Emirates Airline covers most of the world and uses its home country as a transit point, so at one time or another, almost everyone everywhere will stop in Dubai, and ultimately get allured in by the luxurious gold and futuristic ambiance of the city.

It’s the very hub of business and pleasure for the world and links the East with West seamlessly. For 72 hours, On the 19^th November, 5 friends and I stopped over in Dubai on our way to Thailand and it was the first time I’d been back since 2012 – although then it was only a 15-hour transit with family. Does that even count?

I tend to travel for pleasure whenever I can, which admittedly isn’t often due to workload and demand (that’s changing this year :D), but I was in Dubai to enjoy what the city had to offer and grab a few things for family and friends. We stayed at the 4* Carlton Downtown on Sheikh Zayed Road, Deira in their twin Deluxe Room. I think they upgraded us in all honesty, the room was way too good to be just a Deluxe.

Built in 2013, the hotel is home to 357 rooms and suites and whole bunch of extra amenities, including dining and lifestyle venues, spa, fitness centre, tennis court, swimming pool and 23 fully equipped meeting rooms for conferences and events. Preeeeetty cool. Carlton offers a range of entertainment options including Jimmy Wickets Sports Bar & Lounge and Zephyr, the highest AL fresco rooftop lounge in Dubai.  We opted for Breakfast included in our stay of course, because honestly, who wants to be looking for places to get decent breakfast first thing when you wake up in the morning.

Room 2112 is pretty high up, on the 27^th floor. The room had the most amazing views of the city’s skyline and faced onto Sheikh Zayed road. It towers way above the building’s opposite, so we got views of the Arabian Gulf in the distance. The room is slap bang in the middle of the suns path throughout the day and meant our rooms were constantly bathed with direct heat from the sun.

We, unapologetically and totally unmatched to the rooms below, got to soak up the breath-taking full views of sunrise and sunsets and crystal-clear azure blue skies.  The views were fantastic. I’d booked it through a friend who like the Hyatt, had given us dirt cheap discounts on the room and had told them we were VIP, so the room was probably one of the best they had and rightly so, we were.

You’d think it would get pretty loud with the longest highway in Dubai so close, but being so high up with triple glazed, solar controlled windows means it’s virtually sound proof from the outside world.

You don’t hear much overhead noise, or horns, or the rush of the constant lengthy traffic that seems to be the cities norm. Check-in was smooth in the grand foyer; the receptionist was this mid height arab/Iraqi/Moroccan young man, maybe mid 20’s but honestly- and I mean this in a total good way – looking like he’d just hit puberty… a very youthful and welcoming smile.

He got us checked in swiftly, and Joseph – the Filipino bell boy (or rather, man), greeted us to take our bags up. If you visit, just ask for Joseph really. Like, I’ll keep it that simple for you. His knowledge of the city, best places to avoid and the “cool kids’ hangout” areas saved us a lot of time, and quite frankly we needed it. He was open, relatable and pretty prompt come to think of it. And he was never too far when we needed him.

My room didn’t have an iron or ironing board, nor did the shower tap turn when I got in. Called Joseph and in no time, he was tugging away… I could’ve done it in all honesty, but I wanted to see him work his arm muscles real good. They bulged. A girl can dream 😊

Our room was ready by 11. No lie, the most spacious hotel rooms I’ve ever been in. hands down. We were given a whole 42 sqm of land to live on, and as if that wasn’t enough, we had a work desk and wardrobes, with at least 5/6 small cabinets dotted around for storage and off-loading, and even a couch. We had enough room in there to fit at least 10 adults with luggage comfortably sleeping on the floor, or if you had a little class, perhaps a solid 5 people comfortably in the space for 2 they’d given us. It was amazing. The interiors combine sleek, modern décor with everyday functionality, highlighted by airy finishes and humungous landscape windows. You know them royal houses you see in movies, where even Peter Crouch couldn’t touch the ceilings if he stepped on the bed, this room was the same. The windows are very nearly floor to ceiling, except for a knee-high window seat that overlooks the city. We made good use of this, often spending every waking minute in the rooms perched on here. Whether we were watching the city whizzing beneath us, or having karaoke sessions screaming to our hearts content at the skies or watching the world in silence as night fades into darkness, it served more than its purpose for us.

Breakfast is served in the Baÿty restaurant on the 3^rd floor of the building, between 6AM and 10AM. The buffet-style food served hails from both authentic Arabian and international cuisine and quite frankly, has everything your heart desires.

You want traditional English toast and beans? Here you go. French Toast with dripping syrup but your weird and add avocados to yours too? Here you go, take it. Fresh fruits? Here. Or a full-on Egg Fried Rice with Mushrooms, Sweet potato and Shrimp? They had a whole section for you too, boo. Safe to say most of us got a second round every morning. The staff are accommodating, chefs are at every station’s kitchen to keep food piping hot or readily stocked.

My French toast was a rock to my disappointment, it had been sitting under the heat for too long. I only realized after I had sat down, wiped down the cutlery and put the napkin on my lap. Super frustrating. I opted for Nutella and fresh toast but when your hearts set on something… the disappointment doesn’t go away.

Everything else was good though- the fruit stored in ice, the beans piping hot, the juices a variety. We missed the special theme night dinner buffets though, featuring live cooking stations with orders prepared to my specifications.

Thursdays are Seafood nights, with fresh lobster, crabs, oysters and even tiger shrimp cooked right infront of you.

Fridays are Surf and Turf nights and for the steaks, and lambs and chickens and lobsters and high rollers and big spenders. My type of people. Your looking at roughly £30-£50 per meal on one of these nights… but you can get it sent to your room or onto the rooftop terrace and enjoy a meal on the 47^th floor of the building instead.

Probably my second favorite place in the whole hotel was the Zephyr Rooftop lounge and swimming pool. It is one of Dubai’s highest outdoor restaurant and lounge, playing chilled house music and donning stunning views of Dubai and the Burj Khalifa.

We’d spend most times between activities lounging in the sun here, in the pool or grabbing some downtime before bed. It’s a well-known fact now that I can’t swim (yet), so I kind of bobbed up and down in the water for a few hours at a time.

At one point, I looked up and could’ve sworn the sky looked like something out of a cartoon… one of those road runner episodes in the desert with scorching heat and a dry, baked earth. It was hot.

My favorite place ever though, has to be the Citrus Spa- a female’s health & leisure facility with jacuzzi, steam room and spa facilities. I mean, when on earth do i ever get time to go and delight in the pleasure of a whole jacuzzi?!

I’m telling you, this stuff is the beez kneez. It’s the real shizzle.

I regret not spending a lot of time up there, but it’s on the 45^th floor of the building and open daily 10am to 10pm. My friend surprised me with some treatments, and I opted for a Deep Tissue massage and a full body scrub. Came out feeling like a whole new slippery woman.

Shamefully, at my big age, it was also the first time I’d ever been to a spa that didn’t involve my siblings practicing their skills on me, so admittedly, my scope of comparison is limited. It was amazing.

KFC is a few doors down, so snacks weren’t too hard to get ahold of. Dubai International (DXB) airport is 12.3km away, a short 7-minute drive. The closest metro station is the financial centre station which is within view of the hotel, a mere 0.3km away and the property allows for a free shuttle service to the beach and shopping centre as well as the airport.

The hotel forever has a swarm of valet parking attendants outside the hotel, opening taxi doors for you and greeting you upon arrival, and are super useful should you decide to rent out a vehicle during your stay.

The hotel check-in time starts at 2PM and ends at 3AM and check out time is at noon.

One thing we should’ve known really but totally forgot what that they require a deposit on the room (incidental charges) when you arrive. Before you even go upstairs, they’ll require you pay 500 AED for anything used or taken from the room. A little frustrating, since we’ll only get the AED back once we check out and then they’ll be no point spending it on our way out… but we negotiated he take £100 GBP instead from us, roughly translating to 468 AED. Close enough. We could then at least have the GBP safe during our stay and use it for later.

Tourism fees are of course charged as well, which they later just took out from the room deposit. The city imposes a fee of 15 AED (£3.25) per night- a total of 45 AED for us, translating to £9.65 in total.

The location, rooms and service at this hotel was fantastic. The rooms stayed clean 24/7 and it was definitely great value for money. The facilities available to you are abundant in number, and if you ever find yourself bored in your room… you don’t search far to find something to do- something I rarely see in hotels.

The food was a little disappointment, but perhaps a slight one-time oversight and not regular for their chefs. The interior of the building synchronizes with Dubai’s famous gold motifs and makes you feel boujee on a budget. I’d recommend this hotel over and over, make sure you at least spend a night here to get a taste of Dubai.

I was in Phuket, Thailand, to celebrate a whirlwind of a year in 2018 with a friend of mine. We’d arrived the day after my 24^th Birthday and stayed at the magnificent Hyatt Place Patong Beach Hotel. I’d like to believe and call myself a frequent flyer, but although recently occasional, I’m super nosey and explore everything and anything I can to milk my money’s worth. If you listen carefully to the wind, you can already hear my friends saying “Ain’t that some truth” haha!

We booked a Superior Twin Room with Ocean Views at a hugely discounted (I mean, chunk change) rate through a friend of mine. It was recommended as one of the best rooms in the hotel, aside of the Royal Specialty King Room which to be fair, we didn’t really need the whole separate living area. This put us on the highest floor of the hotel, in room 2552, with the most scenic panoramic views I’ve ever seen of an ocean, in all the hotels I’ve ever stayed at.

The windows are all floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors, the flat screen is a 42” HDTV and we have our own snug cosy corner to melt into should we choose.  The room is roughly 26 sqm, and I cannot lie to you, it was a lot smaller and a little packed in for the star rating the hotel has. Should we have been very messy and untidy people, the room would have very quickly looked like something out of a pigsty or George Butts American rendition of Hoarders.

The room is big, but because of the size of the bed (not complaining!) and the storage and bathroom space (again, not complaining!), the walkway becomes one-way. Not the end of the world, but definitely a noticeable red flag for me and so different from Carlton Downtown in Dubai that we had just left.

To make up for it, Hyatt Place offers impressive angled sliding doors that entirely open up the room to the most enviable view of the Andaman Sea. If you look over the balcony, the room overlooks the outdoor swimming pool and the greenery planted abundantly everywhere in the hotel.

We can also see the breakfast bar in the distance down below, but not close enough to see what people are eating or who they are. Pro’s to this is that your well away from the main road, so you’re not disturbed by noise of busy streets and local bars. In fact, the hotel itself, if you choose to drive, is almost certainly somewhere you’ll miss if a local doesn’t show you where it is.

Hidden between cobbled streets of local laundry shops and dry cleaners, the very grand and contemporary hotel is on a hilltop, constructed amongst buildings made of dusty bricks and dated design. Dare I say, it’s even in a poverty neighbourhood. It did look quite odd to have a stylish building in the midst of such contradictory milieu, to anyone else it would.

It was cool for us to see though, it meant we got to see the lifestyle of natives at our doorsteps, without having to trek too far to find them. You should’ve seen the friendly smiles on their faces, watching us stroll up and down from a totally different life, and yet they’re still waving with passion and authentic beams. They looked happy- sitting on brick balconies at late hours in the heat; men in cotton shorts and soot-covered vests conversing with women sitting at sowing machines, talking, laughing wholeheartedly. They looked genuinely happy. Enviously happy.

Back to the point. The hotel was the only modish thing nearby. If you’re after immersing yourself in abit of rich Thai culture, this hotel is the one. Its not so much in a secluded location that you can’t walk down the hill to the main road. Perhaps 5 minutes from leaving your hotel, you come to a roundabout with a gigantic sculpture, leading you to the entrance of Patong Beach. The roundabout has three exits, follow the road round in towards the city and you’ll find massage parlours, restaurants, spas, art exhibits, currency exchanges and masjids. So, no fear- you’ve got everything at your fingertips. The hotel is secluded enough for privacy but in the most perfect location to have everything at your fingertips.

We ate breakfast at the hotel- an array of colourful options every morning. We had dinner and lunch outside every day, and there is no shortage of halal restaurants and diners. We ate somewhere different every night, and all within walking distance too. Dinner is also available here but we only ate here when on our last day. Make sure to let the chef know your only eating halal- the waiter forgot to mention it and they made the mistake of adding bacon to my order without seeing who i was. Simon saved the day.

We met an expat called Simon, who as soon as we walked in, gave us the “d-low” on the best places to get halal food, directed us to places we didn’t know about and advised on how to get about the safest and best way. Totally unprovoked, we didn’t even need to ask. He made sure we had a good room, our bags were taken upstairs before we got there, arranged for portable chargers when reception staff refused to give us some.

Knowing you have an ally in a hotel, in a foreign country, who knows the city well and can understand the Thai language, is one of the most gratifying feelings in the world. A lot of the time, he really went over and beyond and made sure our stay was without issue. He’d spend some time with us during breakfast and ask us about our colourful night out, give us tips, places to try before he moved onto another table. He’d be the first to sort any request we had and drop everything until it was done. He was a legend. Turns out this whole time, he was also the General Manager and never mentioned it once or made it a big deal. He was hands on, stuck in and available to everything we needed- a perfect example of putting us first.

Another honourable mention is my homeboy, my favourite driver and the nicest bellhop ever- Bank. Ask for him, ask about him. Just a legend.

The distance from the airport to the hotel is gruelling though. I wish someone had told us beforehand. Already extremely hot and sweaty, we landed during the cities peakiest hour and got into a cab from the airport. We’d booked a few excursions from the airport for the next day, which additionally offered free rides to our hotel as a benefit. Once we got in, the driver, understanding no English at all, started driving. The journey, which should’ve been 32 minutes, took 1 hour and 12 minutes to get to our hotel- a road distance of 32.8km. No motorway, no dual carriageway, no freeways. Just weaving in and out the busy city streets on a Thursday afternoon.

They would’ve charged us around 800 baht, which translates to roughly £20. The private transfer car was spacious & had a clean and fresh cream leather interior with white crosshatch stitching. Looked good in all honesty. As we drove, listening to some foreign language with the bass up high, we went up and down what seemed like mountains, narrowly showing us glimpses of the sunset on the Andaman Sea.

We noticed other luxury resorts pretty close by, and market stalls of rich Asian cuisine. Bangla Road is a short 6-minute ride away and the north entrance to Patong Beach is at your doorstep. Taxi journeys for the whole stay to get from or to the hotel from anywhere averaged to 250 baht, translating to 6 British pounds. All in all, good location and fairly cheap.

We didn’t watch much of the TV, so I can’t comment on the quality of the options one is given. The mattresses *satisfied eye roll*, the MATTRESSES THOUGH. Honestly felt like it was being changed every day- instead of the bed-sheets. Its much softer than the Dubai bedding, and super easy to just knock out when you get in. My friend is a testament to this- I’m not sure if she was just tired or liked the bed, but every chance she got she was napping. And she doesn’t do this normally. It didn’t feel like anyone had ever slept on the bed, which felt amazing.

The pool downstairs is just as it appears in the photos on the website. It’s a fibreglass pool, with plenty of deck chairs. I am disappointed however, that it doesn’t come much with a view. Unless you are sitting in a particular deck chair, your only view is minimised to other people’s balconies on all four corners. It would’ve been perfect if the block of buildings just below the pool weren’t towering over you, but lucky the buildings height didn’t come close to our room floor. Your better off just waddling down to the beach but even then, locals charge 100 baht (£2.50) for an hour on the deck chairs.

Unless you’re staying with a loved one or a good good good friend, the bathroom might be a problem. The room we stayed in seems to not have a door for the bathroom. Although quite good in size, the shower is glass without any means of discretion, and there is no door. Advice- don’t do a dump if the other persons in the room. They’ll smell it. The room also has no means of a wardrobe, just a wall-mounted clothes rail to hang some clothes on with– I kid you not- just 10 hangers. You’ll quickly realise this isn’t enough for two people.

Even though the shampoo and conditioners weren’t great, and the swimming pool didn’t have much of a view, the overall standard of the hotel and exceptional service of the staff was second to none and nothing short of amazing from the moment we arrived till the moment we left. Leaving was truly the hardest part. The hotel is beautiful, rooms are great, and service is outstanding. I will certainly be staying here again- if not for Bank and Simon alone. Very highly recommended!

Check out the time-lapses I managed to capture on my phone, from our enviable balcony window!

Sunset on 25th November 2018

Sunrise on 24th November 2018

Sunset on 23rd November 2018