But, Dubai 7 star hotel?

Yes. Seven Star. Though self-proclaimed, since officially a 5 Star is the highest level a hotel can get, a trip to The Burj Dubai Hotel will clear all doubts that this truly is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. In fact, a 10 star Underwater Hotel in Dubai named The Hydropolis is being built. The beautiful Burj Dubai Hotel, that’s shaped like a billowing sail, has surpassed all previous records in pampering their customers. Being treated like royalty is how some people express about their stay here.

Having completely undergone a transformation from a sleepy fishing town to a glitzy, modern tourist and business destination, Dubai is now one of the Fastest Growing Tourist Destinations in the World. Having consistently grown over the past 2 decades or so, Dubai now plans to double tourist inflow by 2015. To cater to this great potential, a slew of top class hotel groups have gone in frenzy to build the most elegant and luxurious Hotels in the world. Not without reason. Statistics show that Dubai will attract the lion’s share of affluent tourists by 2015.

To be truly termed 7 star, a hotel has to have 7 star facilities like designer duplex rooms, luxurious amenities like personal spa, celebrity chef cooking, signature restaurants, and your own personal butler. In fact, service has to go beyond the ordinary & hum drum, and stretch into proactive, personalised service. Calling guests by their first name, designer chocolates, towel decoration and flower bouquets in your room, along with room service twice a day, all go in to add that special personal touch.

Live life King-size. That’s the motto of Dubai 7 star hotels.

Here’s a list of Dubai luxury Hotels, with a short description of each:

Jumeirah Beach Hotel

An incredible view from the room, overlooking the sea with the Burj Dubai Hotel in front, The Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, the most luxurious beach hotel in Dubai and popularly classified as a Dubai 7 star Hotel, has a breakfast buffet (at the Latitude) to be eaten to be believed…

Atlantis Hotel Dubai, Palm Island Resort Dubai

A superb Dubai seven star hotel on the man-made island, Jumeirah Palm Islands. The Atlantis Hotel Dubai has lovely rooms overlooking the sea and excellent food. The fantastic view of the Palm Islands at night, all lit up and glowing and the lovely Aquaventure water park with the Dolphins is an experience out of the ordinary…

Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

Located close to the DIFC, The Jumeirah Emirates Towers meets all the needs of a busy executive as well as holiday makers. A range of restaurants and a shopping mall nearby, the internal business center is professional and state of the art with the lobby and the lounge, ideal for informal meetings. One of the better 5 star hotels in Dubai, but could easily pass off as a 7 star hotel…

The Ritz Carlton, Dubai

A nice, small, personal hotel, The Ritz Carlton Dubai which is a fine beach hotel has polite, caring staff, a great kid’s pool, and a nice private beach with tempting blue azure waters where you can snorkel and indulge in other water activities…

Le Meridien Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina

One of the popular, luxurious 5 star hotels in Dubai, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina deserves to be a Dubai 7 star hotel. The pool area, beach and gardens are very well made and maintained and service is exceptional…

Grosvenor House Dubai West Marina Beach

The favorite Dubai Accomodations of lots of friends that delivers great service and thoughtful extras to pamper guests, like chocolates and flowers; The Grosvenor House West Marina Beach Dubai, with services like a 7 star hotel, is located just minutes away from Dubai Internet and Media City, as well as the world-famous Emirates Golf Course…

The Hydropolis: Underwater Hotel in Dubai

Located in the middle of the ocean, and below the surface of the sea, Touted to be the only 10 star hotel in the world. The approximate price: USD 5000+ per night. Yes, you read right. It is USD Five Thousand!

Mina A Salam Madinat Jumeirah

With beautiful views from most rooms of the sun, sand and sea, The Mina A’ Salam Madinat Jumeirah is a lovely beach hotel in Dubai. Exquisite food, spacious rooms, and great service, that I would sum up as a Dubai 7 star hotel…

Whether you enjoy your stay in one of these seven star hotels or not, one thing is certain. It isn’t going to be cheap. Now everybody has different likes and dislikes. So how do you determine, what’s good for you and what’s not, simply by viewing the hotel on a website, or reading a few reviews? You need some crystal clear tips along with the important do’s and don’ts that you won’t find on the booking websites. Then you’ll make a calculated decision.

Visit Dubai 7 Star Hotel for the complete list, including information to travel in and around the hotel vicinity and great restaurant info.

Shabbir Kagalwala

http://www.dubai-forever.com

A couple shares their passion and real-life experiences for the beautiful city of Dubai. Dubai has been, is and will be FOREVER!

Tourists who come to tour Dubai on cheap holiday packages are usually impressed by its architectural grandeur visible in the new-age buildings that make the city look like a chrome and glass fantasy. The city’s primary tourist attraction, The Palm Island, built out of reclaimed land draws tourists in hordes. Each year millions of tourists search for cheap holiday deals for Dubai on the web to see this incredible residential and resort complex that is even visible from the space.

On your next holidays to Dubai take time out to explore the ‘Internet City’- the IT- hub of Dubai. Next on the Dubai Government’s wish-list is an International Financial Centre that will give well known stock exchanges like the Hangseng, Nikkei and Dow Jones a run for their money. But perhaps the most significant development that has taken place is the conceptualization of a ‘Media City’ that will enable Dubai to replace Cairo as the media capital of the Middle-East.

Tourists who have visited Dubai in the past decade testify that the city’s demographic composition has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Only eighteen percent of the population of Dubai now consists of original inhabitants and the rest are migrant workers who have been brought in as part of Dubai’ government’s grand strategy to promote a ‘Knowledge Economy’ comprising of special economic zones dedicated to each industry. Dubai has made a strategic decision to branch out into various industry verticals like shipping, finance, transportation & media instead of just relying on hospitality. Limited oil reserves are supposed to be the main trigger behind such a strategic move.

Unlike other nations which have relied primarily on rapid industrialization and export surpluses to promote GDP growth, the Dubai Government has followed a slightly contrarian approach and adopted tourism as the main engine of economic development. It has created the right infrastructure and put in place a robust law and order mechanism for tourists to enjoy and feel secure in the Emirate.

In fact, Dubai’s law and order machinery is so stringent that it is often called as a ‘Police State’ by its detractors. However these initiatives have increased the confidence of the international community and made holidays in dubai the destination of choice amongst discerning business and leisure travellers worldwide.

Away holidays is the best travel agent and provide you the best & holidays in dubai. For more details about the holiday to dubai, cheap holidays in dubai visit our site http://www.awayholidays.co.uk/dubai/

At a time when Dubai is still embroiled in a debt crisis, Beijing travelers are ready to check in at the most luxury hotel in Middle East, the Emirates Palace Hotel. Dubai has witnessed 50 percent more Chinese tourists in 2009.

Travel agencies in Beijing are promoting various Dubai trips for the coming Spring Festival holiday, including staying in the eight-star hotel Emirate Palace Hotel.

“During the five-day, three-night luxury tour, travelers can experience the Emirates Palace Hotel for one night,” said Huo Jing, from the Top View Holiday and Tourism, a business partner of Dubai Tourism Bureau. “This is the first time that we included such a luxury hotel in our tour programs. There have been many inquiries recently.”

The tours include trips to local jewelry markets and Dubai museum. The packages cost no more than 20,000 yuan, Huo said.

“January and February are the sales season in Dubai, and many famous luxury goods are sold with huge discounts. Under the pressure of debt crisis, they have already started the sales,” she said yesterday.

Because of the crisis, many top hotels in Dubai lowered their prices in order to attract more customers, the Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

The cost for Dubai tours is about 40 percent less than in 2008. The China International Travel Service Co Ltd is promoting a five-day Dubai tour for around 6,000 yuan, compared with more than 9,000 yuan last year.

The Dubai tours are also available in other major travel agencies including China Comfort Travel and ctrip.com, the largest online travel agency in China.

“About 150,000 Chinese tourists have visited Dubai,” said Gao Zichun, from the Dubai Tourism Bureau’s Beijing office. She said this is a 50 percent rise from 2008.

She also said Dubai signed the tourist destinations agreement with Chinese authority on Sept 15, 2009. They have promoted many tour programs since then.

“The debt crisis has made Dubai more famous around the world and has generated a lot of tourism interest,” Gao said yesterday. “There are direct flights from Beijing to Dubai every day. It is very convenient to travel to Dubai now.”

The world’s highest building Buri Dubai which has been under construction for more than 5 years will be open on Jan 4.

“Tourists can see beautiful views in Dubai on New Year’s Day from the top of the new building,” Gao said.

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Many travelers who travel to Europe and Mediterranean envisage Dubai as a stopover point. But this is a wrong assumption Dubai is a holiday destination by itself. Dubai tourism is observing a remarkable increase in the number of people opting for modern Dubai tour. Along with Dubai shopping tours and famous architectures UAE has lot to offer to its visitors.

There are numerous touring options available in Dubai. Sightseeing tours in Dubai preface people to the imperial Arabic culture. The exotic activities and adventures of Dubai are adored by tourist around the world. Other cities of the Emirates are also worth visiting. A halt for few hours will not be sufficient to explore the compasses of Dubai. Recently Greece and Mediterranean Travel Centre has intensely embellished touring options of Dubai for 2010.

It has increased number of hotels and touring facilities in their latest Dubai brochure. This shows that Dubai is not only a stopover point but also a heaven for vacation. Different travel companies offer different tour packages. Online booking has made arrangements very simple and quick. There are many resorts and luxury hotels in Dubai which guests would like to book for their stay.

Dubai Tour Company by One World Travels and Tourism LLC is in the touring business since last many years. The company endeavors to provide business and leisure travelers with exceptionally priced Dubai tour packages and hotel bookings. The service provided is superior and more affordable in comparison with other operators and it has won hearts of many customers. The company is one of the strong contenders to be a market leader because it offers best tours in Dubai.

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Over the past years, Dubai has been steadily modeling itself as an upscale tourist destination. But it is already pressured by the global economic downturn and the major tourism projects are already defaulting.

According to this article from the Wall Street Journal , Dubai World, the emirate’s investment and holding arm, is on the edge of defaulting.

In addition to the major projects they hold in Dubai, they also own about 6% of the outstanding shares of casino giant MGM Mirage and 50% from the CityCenter project.

More about Dubai

The laid-back emirate has had some success in attracting visitors who seem drawn by what this exotic location has to offer: indoor ski slopes, horse races, famous property on the man-made islands and many more. As opposed to its neighbors, Dubai has a relaxed approach towards what tourists like: freely available alcohol and common beach attire.

Of course, such an approach towards tourism and attracting visitors has led many chains to open hotels here. Hilton Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC and Marriott International Inc all have properties here.

So far things held quite well during the recession so far in Dubai. The arrivals went up by 5% in 2009 but at the expense of slashing hotel rates and aggressive marketing campaigns. According to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, 3.85 million visitors came to visit Dubai in the first 6 months of 2009. Ten years ago the emirate received 3 million visitors annually while 20 years ago only 600,000 visited the place during an entire year.

However, with more and more hotel rooms available in Dubai, the occupancy rate went down to 70% during the last part of the year. From January to June it stayed at a comfortable 87%. The reason? Dubai ended June 2009 with about 58,000 more hotel rooms than last year (a 17% increase) and the plans are for even more rooms to open within the next years.

Even worse, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 36% in October alone as the rates were slashed even more. Right now even 5-star accommodations offer rooms for about $100 a night.

Dubai gets only 6% of its revenue from oil and gas. In the early 1990s when it started marketing itself as a commercial center, there was a lot of development and high end hotels started to be build.

Right now it’s hard to predict what would happen. The added hotel rooms will definitely put pressure on all operators. It’s expected, all over the world, for the occupancy to stabilize but the room rates are likely to stay low.

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Financiers may be bogged down in debt worries in Dubai debt crisis shaking global financial markets, it has had little effect on its tourism market.

The annual “Shopping Festival” has started in advance in Dubai. After the debt crisis erupted, vendors began to give out hefty discounts. The moves have attracted a lot of tourists.

Since September of this year, Dubai became a tourism destination for Chinese citizens, boosting the number of visits. The recent debt crisis has not had a significant effect on the status of Dubai as a tourist destination.

Market insiders say that the debt crisis will lead to further price drops for commodity products. Analysts expect that in the long run, Dubai will be able to attract more Chinese tourists, providing good news for China’s high-end tourism market.

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Dubailand, an astonishing and ambitious tourism project in Dubai, is set for a grandeur start in 2010. It is the most ambitious tourism and leisure theme project ever undertaken in any part of the world. Dubailand is all set to play a major role in the financial growth and the tourism industry in Emirates.

The way of thinking which resulted in materializing such a wonderful project started with the ‘Vision of Dubai’ announced by Sheikh Maktoum many years ago. His vision was based on the Dubai’s potential as a major player in tourism industry. The doors of breathtaking views of Dubai land are now open to the outside world. Splendors of modern Dubai, artificial luxuries, superb designs and engineering marvels, super malls and shopping bonanzas, delicious multi cuisines, easy to reach destinations and what not, all factors catalyzing the tourism sector are in favor of Dubai. Dubailand add these features as a crown in the glory.

Dubai is lucratively capitalizing the increasing tourism market through mega projects attracting foreign as well as local travelers. Annual revenues from tourism in the emirate have grown more than 6bn AED. It is expected that till 2015, the earnings from the inbound tourism is to grow by 7.2%. In fact, as per World Travel and Tourism Market reports, such a sustained growth is the result of careful planning and due to the mega tourism projects. Crowning all these mega projects is at Dubailand, the three billion square feet along the busy Emirates Road. This is perceived as the world’s largest tourism and amusement project.

Dubailand when opened will have World standard theme parks, spaciously and luxuriously built entertainment venues, state of the art sporting facilities, most modern techno savvy meeting complexes and all infrastructural facilities required for a self sufficient tourism project. It is expected to cost an incredible $65 billion. There will be 45 mega projects containing many amazing themes. A 5 million sq. ft. theme park designed and developed by world renowned Dreamworks studios and Aqua Dunya, one of the biggest water theme parks in the world are the key attractions in Dubailand.

Apart from amusement and water theme parks, Dubailand will house Dubai Sports City with world standard sporting facilities. Four giant well equipped sports stadiums perfectly ideal for cricket, hockey, football and rugby tournaments are the major facilities in Dubailand sports complex. It is estimated that over 40,000 people visit Dubailand in a day making the way for about 15 million tourists to this inviting Dubailand.

Dubailand will be breathtaking and inviting for you to make your vacation tours to Dubai Emirates. You will absolutely enjoy the visit and will never forget the amazing experience Dubailand offers you.

On thing we didn’t touch on in the first two articles is how to pay for stuff. Yes, you need money here. Good news on this front. There are many local and international banks in Dubai that offer the standard commercial banking services. Banking hours are a little odd though if you’re used to US banking. Banks are open from 8 AM to 1 PM Saturday to Wednesday. On Thursdays, they’re open from 8 until noon and that’s it. Hope you’re an early riser.

Business hours in Dubai are nothing like in the US. So if you’re planning on doing any business there at all, you need to know this. The Dubai weekend, traditionally, is Thursday afternoon and Friday. However, some places now close on Friday and Saturday. Office hours in the private sector are all over the map. Some places are open from 8 to noon, reopen at 1 until 3 or 4 and others are straight 9 to 5. Some shops stay open until 10 PM at night, so if you’re a late night shopper, these will do just fine.

As for credit cards (who doesn’t have one?) most of the common ones are accepted including American Express, Diners Club, Visa and Mastercard. These cards are taken by most of the larger shops in the area, though you may have a problem using them in the smaller establishments. So it’s good to have some cash on you. The monetary unit in Dubai is the dirham. The exchange rate, at this point in time is one US dollar for Dh3.67.

Tipping in Dubai is pretty standard and actually less than the going rate in the US which, in many places is up to 20%. In Dubai, a 10% tip is considered acceptable. If you want to be a big spender, you can up it to 15% but it’s not required or expected. Here’s a tip. When treated to excellent service, tip accordingly. You’ll feel a lot better about yourself.

Naturally, these three articles just scratch the surface. For a complete tourist guide that will give you everything you could possibly want, check out the resource in my signature.

For more useful tips about Dubai Tourism, please visit All Things Dubai

Let’s begin with language concerns. A lot of people worry about going to a foreign land because they don’t speak the language and wonder if they can communicate with local people. Well, this should put your mind at ease. While the official language is Arabic, English is widely spoken and understood by most of the people there. So you should have very little trouble communicating there. Bring an Arabic/English dictionary with you just to be on the safe side.

I know a lot of people like to drink, so let’s get this issue out of the way so that you don’t get into any sort of trouble. You can get alcohol in any hotel club, restaurant or bar. However, restaurants outside the hotel are NOT allowed to serve alcoholic beverages nor are you allowed to bring any inside. These laws are STRICTLY enforced, so you should keep this in your mind.

Photographs are a big thing with tourists. Who doesn’t bring a camera with them when they go and visit a foreign land? Well, here’s what you need to know about taking pictures. It is normal and acceptable to take common tourist photos of the area with these exceptions. But it is considered offensive to photograph Muslim women. Don’t do it. Also, if you’re going to photograph men from the area, ask permission first. Photographs of government buildings and military installations are a big no-no.

What about getting around in the area? This is no problem. You have a choice of a number of transportation modes including taxis, car rentals and even water taxis. This is a great way to travel between Dubai and Deira. Water taxis will take you right across the creek from one place to the other. There are also fully air conditioned water buses.

In the last article in this series, I’ll go over some more great tips. In the meantime, check out the resource below for all your Dubai tourism needs.

For more useful tips about Dubai Tourism, please visit Dubai Tourism Guides

For starters, and I know this isn’t a glamorous subject, but it is important that you are aware of certain medicines that are NOT permitted to be taken into Dubai. And I’m not talking about just a few. A PDF that is supplied by the Ministry Of Health Drug Control Department is 49 pages long with over 200 controlled substances that are not allowed in Dubai. It is important that you carefully go through this document BEFORE planning your trip.

As for the weather, you can’t find a better place in th world. The climate of Dubai is sub-tropical. Most of the year you will find nothing but clear blue skies and lots of sun light. There is very little rain throughout the year as well. Temperatures can get a little on the hot side however, peaking around 118 degrees. The good news is that it rarely drops below 50 degrees. So don’t even think about packing any clothes more than a light jacket.

If you’re worried about what airline is going to get you to Dubai, get it out of your mind. There are over 80 airlines that fly directly into the area. Major cities such as London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong are only six to eight hours away. So we’re not talking about a very long flight, relatively speaking that is. And if you are handicapped or have any kind of physical disability at all, Dubai airport is equipped to handle all your needs.

There is a lot more to cover, which I’ll be doing in a followup article. In the meantime, if you really want to know how to get the most out of your Dubai experience, check out the resource in my signature. It will provide you with everything that you need so that your trip to Dubai is the best that it possibly can be.

For more useful tips about Dubai Tourism, please visit Review of All Things Dubai