All Jumeirah hotels have amazing architecture and are worth a visit for this alone. This, together with their famous customer service values, makes them a great choice for visitors to Dubai. For a true taste of Arabia, visit the Madinat Souk, part of the Madinat and Mina A Salam complex located on Jumeirah beach. This resort offers 42 restaurants overlooking the Burj Al Arab and each is situated on the edge of their very own canal. Watch the dhows transport the hotel guests around this vast complex on their waterways and lagoon. It really is a beautiful spot for a sundowner or a meal incorporating food from all over the world.

There are many other famous branded hotels in Dubai, from The One and Only Royal Mirage to Hiltons, Sheratons (both beach and airport locations), the Kempinski Group, Shangri La Group and Crown Plaza among many others. Most hotels are at 5 star standard, however there are some lower cost hotels such as the 4 star Al Manzil hotel, located behind the world’s tallest building the Burj Dubai nestling in its own Arabian style architecture and complementing the huge sky rise buildings surrounding it.

The Grosvenor House hotel located in Dubai Marina is a fantastic venue for staying or visiting their restaurants and bars. Have a drink in Bar 44 located on the 44th floor of the hotel and offering amazing views of the Marina area, and then take the express lift down to the fabulous Buddha Bar for a fusion of Thai and international cuisine.

All 5 star hotels in Dubai have pools, gyms and restaurant facilities with many offering spa areas as well. Of course the crème de la crème of spa facilities has to be located within the 7 star hotels of the Burj Al Arab, where reservations are recommended and the environment is so much part of the treatment you will never want to leave!

Many hotels also offer apartment facilities so if you are here longer term and want to experience more of the home comforts, these are a great option.

Other companies capitalizing on the huge tourism market here are with their Versace Palazzo hotel and the Trump Towers hotel (located on the famous Palm Island). Versace should be opening its doors to the international elite during 2008 with the Trump Tower hotel opening scheduled to be around early 2010.

Ranging from amazing desert hotels, luxury beach hotels and fantastic corporate hotels in the city, Dubai offers an eclectic mix to choose from. However, all are within close proximity of all tourist facilities, shopping malls and attractions as well as its fantastic beaches – you can’t go far wrong with any location. Most city business hotels located along Sheikh Zayed road also have affiliations with beach hotels and will transport you to the beach during your stay.

The United Arab Emirates, or UAE, is 32,000 square mile political union of seven sheikhdoms, formed when the British left the Gulf region in 1971. The total area of Dubai is approximately 1000 square miles, and it is the second largest emirate in the UAE, after Abu Dhabi. In addition to a federal president and prime minister, each emirate has a separate ruler who oversees the local government. Dubai, a small fishing settlement, was taken over around 1830 by a group of Bani Yas tribesmen from the Liwa oasis, led by the Maktoum family which still rules the tiny nation today. For most of its history, main economic activities were agriculture, fishing and pearl production.

The ruling clan of Dubai was exceptionally progressive, and did their best to make their tiny nation attractive to traders from nations including India and Persia. These businessmen settled in the growing city of Dubai and made it a leading entry port for trade goods. In 1971, the independent emirate joined with the other small sheikhdoms of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and, in 1972, Ras Al Khaimah to create the federation of United Arab Emirates.

The discovery of oil in 1966 transformed the region by providing funds for the development of a modern, western infrastructure. The Maktoum family, unlike many middle eastern rulers who hoard oil wealth for their private use alone, ensured that the oil revenue was deployed in national development. Much of the modernization is due to the efforts of Sheikh Rasid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who ruled from 1958 to 1990.

Well informed of the risks of oil-dependency, Sheikh Rashid actively promoted industrial ventures to build his nation’s infrastructure. The Aluminium and Cement factory are the result of this endeavour. He also establised the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, the fifth largest free trade zone in the world. Within 10 years of its inception, it attracted over 900 international companies that include global giants such as General Motors, AEG, Aiwa, BP, Ciba, Geigy, Daewoo and Heinz.

Dubai is appealing to tourists as well as business executives. Like the rest of the U.A.E., it has also been actively promoting itself as a vacation destination. In June 1996 World Travel prizes ceremony held in Las Vegas, USA, it won the gold prize for the best destination in the Middle East.

Dubai features the annual Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai World Trade Center which hosts innumerable international events and fairs, the Dubai Air Show, the Dubai Summer Surprises, the world’s tallest skyscraper, an undersea hotel and even indoor alpine skiing at the Ski Dubai Dome.

The Dubai International Airport is reputed to be the world’s second best transit airport. It currently handles 7.3 million passengers per year with a growth rate of 12% that is double that of any other airport in the world. The emirates, which will begin receiving Airbus A380 superjumbos starting April 2007, will hire 8,000 new staff members as cabin crew for its rapidly expanding air fleet. It is investing $20 million to expand its crew training facility at the Emirates Training Center in Garhoud.

I spend a lot of time in Dubai so it is only fair to list it as a separate page as I have enjoyed many a long session in the massage establishments there. As with most things in  Dubai there is no real distinctive style to their massage, they take what is best elsewhere, copy it and end up with a product that is not bad but you would not travel too far for.

The Dubai massage is loosely based on the Thai traditional massage, although not so ubiquitous as in Thailand, it is not difficult to find a massage parlour in Dubai. Much of the time they call themselves Spas and offer treatments as well as massages.

The actual massage itself normally uses oil and involves a fair amount of needing and stretching, but not to the extent of the Thai traditional massage, where the object of the exercise is to inflict pain in order to gain the benefits.

Many ladies hair salons also provide massage services, mostly in a room above the premises. These establishments are clean and have all the facilities required such as showers and air conditioning, if you are male you may also be offered a pedicure as part of the massage package, strangely enough it is always a pedicure and never a manicure!

Most of the beauty parlours that offer massage services are run by Chinese and offer many services massage and medical as well as the previously mentioned beauty treatments. Some of the massages are given whilst you sit up, for a true Dubai massage though I like to lie down as the barber chair form of massage is not so relaxing.

Dubai massage services are also offered in many of the main hotels; however they may be on the expensive side so beware. There are also plenty of visiting massage services that advertise all over town, these services provide the massage in your room and I suspect do not dwell too long on the massage side of things, if you wish to have a “proper” massage in your room it is always best to ask reception and let them sort it out for you, you will end up with a registered service and with someone who arrives expecting to give you a massage.

The Dubai massage scene cannot be described as the best in the world; however it will waste away a couple of hours and should not be too expensive if you agree the price in advance.

Also on offer is The Dubai barber massage, these take place in normal, barber shops anywhere in Dubai, the format is always the same, the barber shops are attached to a ladies beauty parlour. If you ask for a lady massage and are known to the chaps in the barber shop they will call through a little gap in the wall and 5 minutes later a girl will arrive with a variety of creams and liquids. There is absolutely no privacy involved, you are sat in a barber’s chair in front of a mirror and the world goes on around you.

Your next door neighbour will be having a shave and the bloke three down having a trim of his beard, no one bats an eyelid and everyone gets on with their own thing.

The Dubai massage in the barbers itself is not unpleasant as long as you can put the noise to the back of your mind, Dubai barber shops without exception play musical CDs on full volume from when they open until they close. Some form of facial cream is used to give a 10 minute facial massage, the girls are not especially gentle, however it is quite pleasant as long as you keep your eyes shut as the damn stuff stings if you get it in your eyes. Once the face is finished with the strange part starts, you will already be wearing the traditional barber’s gown that it tied up to the neck. The girl will loosen this, undo your shirt and use a handful of what maybe moisturising lotion to rub around your chest. This can be a very pleasant experience and I am convinced that the girls know exactly what they are doing, as with a lot of things in Dubai there is a suggestion of something more, without that something more materialising.

The other option for a Dubai massage is not quite so pleasant but will test your manliness to the extreme. After a haircut, the man who has cut your hair will give you a complementary 5 minute massage. If you survive the full 5 minutes without asking him to stop or shouting out in pain you are indeed a man. I am convinced that especially rough treatment is served out to foreigners. The fewer foreigners that use the salon the rougher the treatment as it is more entertaining for the chaps who work there.

The massage if indeed it can be called that consists of hitting you very hard in the back of the head, scrubbing the top of the head with knuckles, taking handfuls of neck muscle and squeezing as hard as possible, repeat the process even harder and finish with a sort of double handed karate chop to the top of the head. Two types of Dubai barber massage, you choose!

To sum up, the Dubai massage is not for the gourmet, however most of the time it will be a relaxing and pleasant experience.

If you have any experience of Dubai massage please mail us from our contact page and we will be pleased to include your stories.

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