Day 234 - Burj Al Arab Hotel - Jumeirah Hotel - Burj Khalifa
Monday, February 25th, 2019.
Today we took an expensive Uber ride to visit the Burj Arab Hotel, which is supposed to be a 7-star hotel. Danielito is the one who did all the research and wanted to see it. We did too, we even dressed up nicely.
When we got there, we were informed that we could only go in if we were guests or if we had reservations. Gregory of course, asked if we could make reservations for the bar. Well, the bar was only open at night and the kids could not go in, anyway. She did offer us reservations at the 1st floor cafe, where we could have coffee and a slice of cake for 250AED, about $70. Each. Then we would have to leave.
I thought to myself, what in the world do they serve in that coffee? Maybe the lady read my mind because she added, "you also get a glass of juice"!
Are you kidding me??? Of course, we didn't go in and now I understood why there was a big line of people outside taking pictures of the so-called seven-star hotel. Right there, I just gave the hotel a one star for being so snobby!
We were disappointed and not sure what to do. The lady, whose job is not fun turning people away, told us that we could go next door to the "village" where there were many stores and restaurants. We did! It was supposed to look like the traditional markets we had visited, without the harassment of the merchants.
We walked, we watched and then sat, tired and disappointed that everything is overpriced, even ice cream or a cup of coffee. Again, it felt just like Las Vegas, fancy stores and all.
We walked into another 5-star hotel, used their fancy bathroom and sat on the terrace overlooking the manmade pond and the beach beyond it, trying to decide what to do. By then, the kids just wanted to go back home and use the pool.
We took advantage of the hotel's free shuttle and took it to their downtown hotel. This hotel was very nice and fancy as well, and the best part was that it was closer to where we live. We walked to the metro station and went back home. I made a delicious chicken with the Indian sauce we had left over. After lunch, the kiddos ran to the pool and Gregory and I stayed home reading and napping. [Gregory's note: no, really!]
At night, we took an Uber back to the Dubai Mall because we had a 9:30 reservation (pending) to go up to the 125th floor of the Burj Khalifa! We arrived close to our reserved time, but our reservation wasn't yet confirmed even though the ticket was non-refundable. Well, since they hadn't confirmed the reservation, we couldn't go in. Tension started to form in the air. Gregory got upset with good reason, the lady at the front desk was unhelpful and even rude. She told us that there were completely booked for the night without even bothering to check her screen.
Gregory first called TripAdvisor [Gregory's note: I hate and have been avoiding TripAdvisor for months, now I remembered why] and canceled the pending tickets. Then he went online to check directly in the official Burj Khalifa website to see if we could reserve for 10pm. Yes, we could! When he tried to pay, the credit card transaction threw up a red flag and we had to call Visa. I wanted to scream. Danielito's face was sad and I told him that we were going to do it no matter what!
We called the credit card's number, I wanted to yell at the lady asking me all the stupid security questions, for my protection and blah, blah, blah blah. I told her that I didn't understand why I had to do this almost every month since I had given my travel itinerary to the bank and the credit card company. Anyway, several minutes later, we were able to complete the transactions and got the tickets. We walked to the entry gate with the QR code on Gregory's phone. When Gregory showed the code, the lady sent him back to the main entrance to get the paper tickets! Of course, he made sure to tell the rude woman that he had tickets!
We walked through security and down a few hallways until we came to the elevator banks. There were about a dozen other people waiting, which was a pleasant surprise since we had been warned that we might have a long wait.
The elevator whisked us at 10m per second to the 124th floor. There was a panel showing the floor number and speed. Our ears were popping! When the elevator opened and we saw the view, we were breathless. It was a very impressive view and an amazing sensation to look up and see the clouds moving so close above our heads.
We got there just in time to watch the water show from 124 floors up, it was amazing and beautiful, especially with the Puccini piece they played! [Gregory's note: they played O Carino Babbino Mio. For those of you who don't immediately recognize the title, you heard it in the movie Room With A View.] It was a short song but super fun. We took a ton of pictures, walked 360 degrees to look at the different views of the city. When we were leaving, one of the staff told us that we could walk up one more floor. By the way, the staff (with the exception of the rude ticket lady) were all super friendly!
TIP: If you come to visit the Burj Khalifa, come late to see the view without the crowds!
The 125th floor was almost deserted. There is no outdoor platform on this floor, but there were some fun activities to do like clear plastic egg-shaped swinging chairs, virtual reality games, telescopes, and of course a souvenir shop. We spent almost 2 hours in total and then we finally decided to leave.
Coming down was super fast and on the way out, there were explanations of how they had built the skyscraper, photos and bios of the team, how they clean it, and a lot more information that we were too tired to read.
We found the exit faster this time. We left at midnight when the shopping mall was closing.
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bxXdxMjZt8ZG4cAG7
Today we took an expensive Uber ride to visit the Burj Arab Hotel, which is supposed to be a 7-star hotel. Danielito is the one who did all the research and wanted to see it. We did too, we even dressed up nicely.
When we got there, we were informed that we could only go in if we were guests or if we had reservations. Gregory of course, asked if we could make reservations for the bar. Well, the bar was only open at night and the kids could not go in, anyway. She did offer us reservations at the 1st floor cafe, where we could have coffee and a slice of cake for 250AED, about $70. Each. Then we would have to leave.
I thought to myself, what in the world do they serve in that coffee? Maybe the lady read my mind because she added, "you also get a glass of juice"!
Are you kidding me??? Of course, we didn't go in and now I understood why there was a big line of people outside taking pictures of the so-called seven-star hotel. Right there, I just gave the hotel a one star for being so snobby!
We were disappointed and not sure what to do. The lady, whose job is not fun turning people away, told us that we could go next door to the "village" where there were many stores and restaurants. We did! It was supposed to look like the traditional markets we had visited, without the harassment of the merchants.
We walked, we watched and then sat, tired and disappointed that everything is overpriced, even ice cream or a cup of coffee. Again, it felt just like Las Vegas, fancy stores and all.
We walked into another 5-star hotel, used their fancy bathroom and sat on the terrace overlooking the manmade pond and the beach beyond it, trying to decide what to do. By then, the kids just wanted to go back home and use the pool.
We took advantage of the hotel's free shuttle and took it to their downtown hotel. This hotel was very nice and fancy as well, and the best part was that it was closer to where we live. We walked to the metro station and went back home. I made a delicious chicken with the Indian sauce we had left over. After lunch, the kiddos ran to the pool and Gregory and I stayed home reading and napping. [Gregory's note: no, really!]
At night, we took an Uber back to the Dubai Mall because we had a 9:30 reservation (pending) to go up to the 125th floor of the Burj Khalifa! We arrived close to our reserved time, but our reservation wasn't yet confirmed even though the ticket was non-refundable. Well, since they hadn't confirmed the reservation, we couldn't go in. Tension started to form in the air. Gregory got upset with good reason, the lady at the front desk was unhelpful and even rude. She told us that there were completely booked for the night without even bothering to check her screen.
Gregory first called TripAdvisor [Gregory's note: I hate and have been avoiding TripAdvisor for months, now I remembered why] and canceled the pending tickets. Then he went online to check directly in the official Burj Khalifa website to see if we could reserve for 10pm. Yes, we could! When he tried to pay, the credit card transaction threw up a red flag and we had to call Visa. I wanted to scream. Danielito's face was sad and I told him that we were going to do it no matter what!
We called the credit card's number, I wanted to yell at the lady asking me all the stupid security questions, for my protection and blah, blah, blah blah. I told her that I didn't understand why I had to do this almost every month since I had given my travel itinerary to the bank and the credit card company. Anyway, several minutes later, we were able to complete the transactions and got the tickets. We walked to the entry gate with the QR code on Gregory's phone. When Gregory showed the code, the lady sent him back to the main entrance to get the paper tickets! Of course, he made sure to tell the rude woman that he had tickets!
We walked through security and down a few hallways until we came to the elevator banks. There were about a dozen other people waiting, which was a pleasant surprise since we had been warned that we might have a long wait.
The elevator whisked us at 10m per second to the 124th floor. There was a panel showing the floor number and speed. Our ears were popping! When the elevator opened and we saw the view, we were breathless. It was a very impressive view and an amazing sensation to look up and see the clouds moving so close above our heads.
We got there just in time to watch the water show from 124 floors up, it was amazing and beautiful, especially with the Puccini piece they played! [Gregory's note: they played O Carino Babbino Mio. For those of you who don't immediately recognize the title, you heard it in the movie Room With A View.] It was a short song but super fun. We took a ton of pictures, walked 360 degrees to look at the different views of the city. When we were leaving, one of the staff told us that we could walk up one more floor. By the way, the staff (with the exception of the rude ticket lady) were all super friendly!
TIP: If you come to visit the Burj Khalifa, come late to see the view without the crowds!
The 125th floor was almost deserted. There is no outdoor platform on this floor, but there were some fun activities to do like clear plastic egg-shaped swinging chairs, virtual reality games, telescopes, and of course a souvenir shop. We spent almost 2 hours in total and then we finally decided to leave.
Coming down was super fast and on the way out, there were explanations of how they had built the skyscraper, photos and bios of the team, how they clean it, and a lot more information that we were too tired to read.
We found the exit faster this time. We left at midnight when the shopping mall was closing.
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bxXdxMjZt8ZG4cAG7
Your comprehensive blog on the Burj Al Arab has piqued my interest. Dubai has been on my bucket list for a while. It is time to get a Dubai visa online and visit this global city with my wife to celebrate Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThe Burj Al Arab Hotel is indeed fabulous. It has some of the most expensive rooms & suites in Dubai. I would love to apply for a Dubai Visa UK & lavishly celebrate my wedding anniversary with my lovely wife.
ReplyDelete