Raffles Hotel Dubai & the Many Reasons Why

Vacation is one thing everyone is looking forward to, especially those working here in the Middle East for 6 days a week.  EID Al Adha is set on a fix date unlike the Eid of Ramadan which depends on the moon, so planning your vacation for Eid of Hajj is more feasible.

I searched the all time reliable online booking site Booking.com for hotels. It will be our first time in Dubai and I want our short stay to be a stress free and memorable one.

My criteria for this particular trip are:
1. A Five Star Hotel
2. A Hotel near the airport
3. A Hotel with a bathtub and free wifi
4. Breakfast Inclusion
5. A Shopping mall beside the hotel.

I run search and put all the filters and only 7 hotels appeared on the list. What caught my attention are the Grand Hyatt and The Raffles Hotel so I booked them both. I checked out the pictures of the rooms of both hotels, I refuse to compare the rooms but I guess the pictures in the website will show the differences. However allow me to enumerate the reasons why I chose the Raffles Hotel.

I know I did not give justice to Raffles in this Hotel Facade Pic, sorry I am in a moving cab.

1. A picture paints a thousand words and so they say...the room offered by Raffles are all with private balcony and with enough space. I arrived at Raffles with all my expectations met. Nice wide room, balcony overlooking Burj Khalifa from afar and the Raffles swimming pool down below. A nice corner tub and a separate shower room with candles to set the mood.  An executive desk and a sofa bed, being in this space makes you want to stay there all day and not leave the hotel room.

Executive Desk

Raffles Club Room

Raffles Swimming Pool viewed from our balcony

2. Raffles is interconnected with the Wafi Mall - one of the stations of the Big Bus Tour and the only station that one can access both the Blue Route (Beach Tour) and the Red route(City Tour).

3. The Wafi Light and Sound Show which is one of the highlights of the Big Bus Night Tour can be easily accessed and just a walking distance from Raffles.

4. There is a library inside the hotel, the very first hotel that I have been to with a library, not to mention the SPA, the pool and the gym.

Raffles Library

5. The International Buffet Breakfast at Azur Restaurant offers a wide variety of foods.

6. Lastly and which I consider as Raffles best asset is it's friendly staff who always have a smile on their faces and make you feel at home.

If you book directly at their website you will have an option to choose between hypoallergenic pillows or feather ones, sparkling or non sparkling complimentary bottled water, and your choice of daily newspaper (I chose Wall Street Journal)

There is a complimentary fruit basket and Raffles Signature Toiletries.

I booked the Raffles Club room and some of the perks included is the access to the Club Lounge which serves daily continental breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails and canapés which we really enjoyed.

French Macarons, Salmon Ceviche, Mushroom Tarts

enjoying cocktails with the persons I love

and they have the best wines

My rating for this hotel is 5 stars and a 2 thumbs up!!

I will definitely go back and stay at Raffles whenever I am in Dubai.