6 DISTRICTS OF DUBAI - WHERE DID WE LIKE IT? PROS AND CONS

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Author: Igor

Where is the best place to stay for a vacation in Dubai? I will tell you which area I liked for 4 trips, I will also give the reviews of other tourists.

Usually we go to Dubai for a week, so we choose the place very carefully - there is not much time. In the text I will describe 6 districts of the city, the most popular and with the most hotels. I will add information about Sharjah - in fact, it is a suburb, although it is officially considered a separate emirate.

What hotels have we stayed in?

Our room at the Hilton Al Barsha hotel

I understand that sometimes it is lazy to understand the structure of the districts and the intricacies of the infrastructure. I would like a simple human: to rely on a hotel recommendation from someone who has already been to the country and was satisfied. And it is advisable that the person recommending not rest on luxury, but down to earth.

Therefore, I will start with a list of hotels where we stayed and would definitely return for more. They are not super expensive and will be of interest to those with average budgets:

4 * DoubleeTree by Hilton Al Barsha
(Dubai, al-Barsha) is NOT a beach city hotel that wins the following: it is located next to the large shopping center Mall of the Emirates, where the Ski Dubai amusement park, cafes and cu-u-cha shops are located, and from where there is access to metro station (which is an important point for Dubai), and the station itself is equidistant from both Burj Khalifa and Dubai Marina with an excellent beach (20 minutes on the way). Well, inside the hotel everything is as it should be in the Hilton - clean, great breakfasts, modern design, pleasant service.
Marina View Hotel Apartments (Dubai, Dubai Marina) - one of the most inexpensive options in the expensive beach area of Dubai Marina. By the way, this is a serviced apartment - that is, a full-fledged apartment, but with cleaning and meals in a restaurant, just like in a hotel. Located close to the metro and 15 minutes walk from the beach. Species rooms, there is where to walk and eat, a heated pool on site. Of the minuses - general wear and tear, since the hotel is not new, and the lack of its own zone on the beach (you have to sunbathe, like everyone else, on a towel).
5 * Avani Hotel (Dubai, Deira) - here one could joke that this is the only five-star in Dubai that a Russian can afford, but in fact there are many of them in the Deira area. This is because it is a "working" outskirts of the city, but since there is a subway, inexpensive restaurants, and one of the best beaches in Dubai - al-Mamzar - it is also a tourist destination.
3 * Centro Sharjah by Rotana (Sharjah) is a synonym for budget vacations, but in decent interiors. This is a business hotel from the Rotana international chain, which means that quality standards are at least maintained here. Almost everything is good here: from breakfasts and an outdoor pool heated in winter to surprisingly low prices for such a hotel. And a completely unprofitable location - near Sharjah airport, where there is nothing around for a couple of kilometers. Compensated by a free shuttle to the beach and Dubai Mall. I advise the hotel to those who are going to rent a car (there is parking) and go for a drive to Dubai on their own, or to those who are resting with a company of 4 or more people (then you can skip the transfer, order an Uber at any convenient time and share the trip for everyone - the Burj Khalifa will go to 85-100 dirham).

There are many hotels in Dubai, as befits a city with a focus on tourism. In the old days - and in the future post-pandemic times - it is more profitable to go on tour in the UAE. This is proved by our example: with a flight from the region, we were vacationing in Dubai and Sharjah on a voucher for 40-60 thousand for two in good hotels.

I look for tours online on aggregators - it's more convenient for me, there are both fresh reviews and prices directly from tour operators, and comparison, where is cheaper (you can also count on a discount):

Travelata
Level.Travel
Onlinetours

But now the situation is different., and it is easier to travel to the Emirates on your own: an air ticket with Aviasales (it is convenient to track it through a mobile application) - while airplanes fly to Dubai from Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Grozny, and a hotel reservation with RoomGuru (this is also an aggregator, compares prices from Booking and 10 others booking systems).

General advice, regardless of whether you are traveling on a tour or as a "savage": see the location of the hotel using maps inside the services. Less transportation costs will come out if the hotel is located near a metro station. Or you can choose a hotel with a free transfer "away from civilization" and save a decent amount of money. Or just take a room in the Dubai Marina area and not sweat it. But look at the maps :) So, in which area of Dubai is it better to stay?

Areas of Dubai - where is the best place to relax?

Well, now there will be a story about specific areas of Dubai, where it is better to stay for us, tourists. First - the three most expensive ones, where it is impossible to resist and not write down stories to the song "Mom, I'm in Dubai", after them - three with an adequate price tag.

This photo was taken on an excursion from a helicopter.

Downtown Dubai

Understandably - the very center of the city. The modern area of Dubai, where the most notable achievements of developers and the bulk of tourists are concentrated. Finding yourself in Downtown is not difficult, the landmark is the tallest building of the Burj Khalifa.

Central Dubai is distinguished by 2 things:

Outrageous prices. And okay for housing, FOOD is also crazy - in the center it is unrealistic to find an institution cheaper than McDonald's, but even there a combo lunch costs from 25 dirhams (500 rubles). A cup of cappuccino in a coffee shop costs the same.
There is no beach within walking distance. So this is not the best place to stay in Dubai for a beach holiday. The tourist's options are either metro to Dubai Marina, or a 20-minute taxi ride to La Mer beach.

For a novice tourist, in my opinion, it makes little sense to stop here - unless the purpose of the trip involves shopping (near Dubai Mall), luxury restaurants (and they are right there) and photographs against the backdrop of skyscrapers. From infrastructure benefits, Downtown also has walking spaces - for example, at the Citywalk mall or around the tower along Bin Rashid Boulevard - and a metro station that will take you to the airport and Marina. But do you need it if you are staying in downtown hotels, which are not cheaper than 6,000 rubles / night? You should be able to rent a Porsche! :)

Pros:

+ entertainment and shopping
+ luxury everywhere and in everything
+ metro line
+ you can watch the fountain show every day

Minuses:

- no beach nearby
- wild prices
- it is never calm

Dubai Marina

One of the best activities is a speedboat ride (link to the excursion below)

This is the sa-a-am family district of the city, and at the same time it is not inferior to the center in ... here I want to say "prestige" (in the old way) or "lucidity" (in a new way), but I do not like both words, but the essence is you I think you got it :)

An ideal area of Dubai next to the sea - I would even say that this is a city within a city. It is favorably separated from the main noisy highway by skyscrapers and hides its full-fledged world inside:

with excellent beach line and sea,
with housing options for any request - from hotels on the first line to apartments for rent in the very skyscrapers,
with entertainment - from the embankment and boat trips (cool excursion, I advise!) to the world's largest Ferris wheel,
with shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies.

All this is located compactly (there are only 5 km between the extreme points of the Marina), here you can spend your vacation and not protrude outside the area. But if you want to go out into the world, there is a metro station nearby. It is clear why this is the # 1 choice, where is the best place for tourists with children to relax in Dubai?

Pros:

+ here is one of the best beaches in Dubai
+ metro
+ beautiful around
+ everything is there (okay, there is no Burj Khalifa)

Minuses:

- prices, city within city is expensive; accommodation from 5000 rubles / night
- a lot of people in the season

The Palm Jumeirah

Also a photo from a helicopter flight over Dubai

If there is anything more expensive than the center, it is Palm Jumeirah. An area of Dubai with its own beaches, a whole artificial artificial island in the form of - you guessed it - palm trees.In addition, the status "not for mere mortals" is determined by the Atlantis hotel-favorite of all-children and a scattering of villas with a price tag of 50,000 rubles and more per night.

There are no grocery stores,
few independent (not at hotels) restaurants, inexpensive and out of the question,
and there is no public transport - a monorail connects with the mainland with tickets for 20 dirhams one way (400 rubles) or a taxi for the same cost.

In a word, everything is arranged for existence exclusively in local beautiful hotels - there they will feed, and entertain, and deliver where necessary. It's a shame that you can't see and admire the shape of a palm tree from the ground. Therefore, we booked the best excursion of our life - a helicopter flight over Dubai, from where you can see the island and much more.

Should you go here as a sightseeing? Well, if only to visit the Atlantis water park ... or take a helicopter flight.

Pros:

+ really secluded beaches
+ the coolest water park in the UAE Atlantis
+ bad hotels are prohibited here as a phenomenon
+ about 10 all-inclusive hotels - that's a lot for Dubai
+ where else can you live on the palm-shaped island?

Minuses:

- beaches are available only for hotel guests
- hotels from 7000 rubles / night ……
- weak infrastructure

Deira

In the Deira area, you can inexpensively ride public transport - these are the boats

And now - about the areas of Dubai that DO NOT cause a nervous scratching of the wallet.

Deira is located on the border with the emirate of Sharjah, that is, it is the outskirts. But don't rush to flip through. Deira is the most budgetary and very touristy (in terms of the number of tourists) area. This is facilitated by the prices of hotels and food.

Plus, from here it is close to the airport and all metro lines intersect - which means that almost all of Dubai is at your disposal. There are no beaches, but in 2 dirhams and 30 minutes by bus (or 15–20 dirhams by taxi) you can get to the good beach of al-Mamzar. Or in general, stay in Deira not far from it.

Yes, the working class of Dubai lives here, but they are here the same as tourists, because of the cheapness. The area is historic, well, or was it before, here you can still find a share of Middle Eastern authenticity. There are enough minuses: garbage, a bunch of shops, cafes "At Ali" (where you can eat for only 20-30 dirhams) - it seemed to me that the area consists of them and residential buildings. All this "gold", shops with fakes, noise, markets - I DO NOT like it, so lively, but terrifies me. There is also the famous "Gold Market", where I was once and never returned :)

A good portion of the tours to Dubai from tour operators - and a pretty price tag for self-booking accommodation - come from Deira hotels. This is a great way to save money on the trip, but you need to be prepared for the cons.

Pros:

+ adequate low prices (hotels from 3000 rubles / night)
+ atmosphere of the Middle East (comparable, for example, to the Old City in Jerusalem)
+ good beach nearby
+ metro stations from each line (there are two of them in Dubai)
+ near the airport

Minuses:

- almost half of the hotels have a rating below 6 out of 10
- noise and dirt
- no attractions

Bur Dubai

Across the bay from Deira is Bur Dubai - and the earliest. In the distant, distant years, when there was no Burj Khalifa and skyscrapers in the Emirates yet, and the locals drove not on Ferrari, but on camels, Bur Dubai was the center of life, a kind of Downtown.

There is still something from the bygone days (at least buildings), along with noise and color. Migrants also live in Bur Dubai, but, according to conversations, there are more Europeans - however, I did not compare so closely, I cannot confirm. The metro also passes here, and geographically the area is closer to the center of Dubai. Bur Dubai differs from Deira in fewer markets, more real attractions. Here is the al-Bastakiya quarter, the Sheikh's House, Zabeel Palace and the fort.

Pros:

+ low prices
+ there are attractions
+ closer to the center
+ hotels from 2500 rubles / night, and there are already more than half of them - with a good rating

Minuses:

- no beaches
- noisy area
- not luxury

Al Barsha

Al Barsha is the budget tourist's gem between Downtown and Dubai Marina. This is no longer Deira, it is more an industrial area with faceless gray buildings and high-rises.

The area does not border the sea and beaches, and stretches inland - the Mall of the Emirates shopping center is of interest to tourists, because there are a handful of hotels near it (many chains for a good price), and there is a metro station in it. Al Barsha is equidistant from the main attractions of Dubai and from Dubai Marina.

Most local hotels provide a free shuttle to the beach, so distance is not a problem. In the first section, I talked about our hotel in al-Barsh, I highly recommend it. The area is ideal for those who want to live close to the center, but are not ready to overpay.

Pros:

+ still affordable hotels - from 3000 rubles / night
+ excellent value for money
+ huge shopping center with all the infrastructure and "ski" Ski Dubai
+ metro station

Minuses:

- no beaches
- nowhere to walk except in the mall
- there is nothing "alive"

Dubai or Sharjah - should you choose a hotel here?

Al Mamzar Beach - included in the TOP-3 of our favorite beaches in Dubai

Is it better to stay in Dubai or Sharjah? Sharjah is a neighboring emirate and the border between L and III runs through the Sahara Mall (no surprise). Here the tourist stops, as it were, close to Dubai, but very inexpensively. Prices here are like in Deira or Bur Dubai.

Yes, you will have to get 40-60 minutes to Dubai, but in Sharjah you can take a good hotel on the 1st line for 5000 rubles per day. Therefore, if you are looking for a budget vacation, then you can consider this emirate of the UAE. You can get from Sharjah to Dubai by buses, taxis and free transfers from hotels. The third option should be clarified, usually in normal hotels it is.

Where to look for accommodation in Dubai?

Travelata and Level.Travel - if you are traveling on a tour.
RoomGuru - if you are traveling on your own and book a hotel separately. There is also Booking and many other services.
Booking is just in case for comparison with Rumguru.

A little aside, but also on target: if you want to "live" at least a few hours in a convertible, Ferrari and Lamborghini, then the Russian-language service Myrentacar will help you.