There are wonderful, far off places we all dream of traveling to: Hawaii, Thailand, New Zealand, Fiji, to name a few. Lush, verdant, mountainous places with waterfalls and grass skirts.

Dubai is not one of those. It is definitely not lush or verdant…and sand doesn’t make a very good skirt. It sure wasn’t a place I’d EVER dreamed of traveling to. And yet, there it was, on my lists of 101 Things I Want to Do in 2016. Why? Simple. Because Melanie wanted to go.

And so we flew…in a plane…for TWELVE AND A HALF HOURS. But, WOW, is it worth it! There is not a cleaner, shinier, sparklier place in the world! (That I have been to to compare.) It’s like Vegas without the “sin” and way more room. If you want to feel like you’re wealthy this is the place to be.

Let’s talk accommodations first:  It doesn’t seem to matter what hotel you go to, the customer service is, across the board, the best I have ever received. North America take a lesson. We were fortunate enough to stay at three different hotels during our week so we got an excellent cross-section of the city. If you have the means stay at Raffles for a few days! It’s the top-rated hotel in Dubai and for good reason. It’s like walking into an Egyptian palace with sky-high ceilings, massive ornate pillars, and even a waterfall. The service at this hotel is unbelievable from the moment you walk in. They even give complementary turn-down service in the evening just in case you have troubles fluffing your own pillows! Oh, did I mention the views? Get a room with a city view and you’ll never want to sleep again. The view of downtown at night is like Vegas meets Vancouver meets Disney World. (https://www.instagram.com/p/BFMXBxTPBvr/?taken-by=travelblogcouple) The only drawback to this hotel is it’s closer to the airport than downtown where all the fun stuff is. But the hotel is SO incredible people often don’t even leave.

Our next stop was Fairmont Dubai. This one is right downtown and can offer much closer views of the night lights. If you request early enough, be sure to get a room with a view of the Burj Khalifa (currently the world’s tallest building); it is quite magnificent. One of the more endearing features of the Fairmont Dubai is it’s pools! They have a Sunrise pool that catches the sun on the eastern side of the building and a Sunset pool that gets the sun in the afternoon. But the coolest part is they’re both on the 9th floor! You can swim with a view! (https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFg2epvBjp/?taken-by=travelblogcouple) They don’t offer quite the grandeur of Raffles, but they are more affordable and the location is superior for shopping and nightlife.

Our final stay was at Fairmont The Palm. (Clearly, we were Fairmont people this trip.) This was my personal favorite! If you’re more the social butterfly then this is your hotel. The two-tiered deep blue pool right on the beach with views over the bay of the skyscrapers at the marina make this the ultimate venue for tanning and relaxation. We even took a cruise around the bay on a catamaran! I mean…just go look at this picture (https://www.instagram.com/p/BFAmZNrvBmP/?taken-by=travelblogcouple)…tell me you don’t want to be there RIGHT NOW! I don’t think I need to say anything else about this hotel other than look at this picture too: (https://www.instagram.com/p/BFAbm_GvBhU/?taken-by=travelblogcouple). Seriously? This hotel made us want to stay in Dubai for another three days. Drawbacks? Ummmm…..it’s not close to other things to do but a $15 cab ride will get you to the marina and the nightlife there. But LOOK AT THIS: ( https://www.instagram.com/p/BE9KCVyvBlx/?taken-by=travelblogcouple ).

OK, now I want to go back…I’m gonna go simmer down…on the next blog post I’ll tell you all about where to get food (SOOOOO GOOD!), and where to focus your time while you’re traveling in Dubai!