Dubai question - Burj Khalifa

[frlcb]

The Mall of Emirates is huge, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is open til 1. It is a very americanized/british mall. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt and really liked it.

[gtkim]

The Burj is actually at the Dubai Mall.

The mall is worth a look if even just a walk through.  I've never been to a mall big enough to have an Olympic ice skating rink inside

The trip to the top of the Burj will eat up a couple of hours of your time in itself.  You can expect 30-45 minutes in line to get to the top, then time at the top, and there may even be a queue to come down.  There are plenty of great restaurants across the lake that you could go to where you have a view of the fountains.  There is a hotel there called the Address that is also supposed to have a nice happy hour, but I'm not sure of the price point.

[jennybee1018]

Yep, MOE is definitely open until 1 AM (on the weekends I believe). The GCC is a big mall culture, possibly due to the heat, so malls are always open because people go there to hang out, shop, see a movie, grab dinner, etc. There are even grocery stores at the mall - so they are open late.

And gtkim is correct, the entrance to the Burj is at Dubai Mall, not MOE. I do like Dubai Mall a lot - it's good for shopping, the aquarium is there, and there is also the Platinum Suites to catch a film. It's a theatre with about 16 recliner seats, and no children under 18 are allowed. You can order food before the movie, and then you can also order food during the movie. It's always something fun to do when I'm there! I also normally hit up Magnolia for a cupcake or two, and La Duree for a yummy macaron :-)

Here is the info for happy hour at The Address, and we also looked into doing a happy hour at the bar at the top of the Burj Khalifa on one of the higher floors. It's called Atmosphere, and you can make reservations online. We ended up not going b/c it was a Friday, and they did high tea until 4 or 5, so maybe next time. But we had friends who did it and said it was cool. Here's the info for that!

My current favorite hotel is the JW Marriott Marquis. It's brand new, and they have a 24 hour french bakery/restaurant that is fantastic!!! I stay there when we go to Dubai, and it's in Business Bay, which is less than 10 minutes from Dubai Mall. It's also the worlds tallest hotel :-P

I also have stayed at the Ibis Mall of the Emirates - cheap, and you can walk to MOE from there. They have free wi-fi in the lobby, and it's not a bad place to spend the night. Dubai Mall is a short ride away via taxi, since everything is off of Sheikh Zayed Road.

We drove past this hotel last time, and it's literally across the street from the Dubai Mall, so I may look into it for next time! It's the Oryx Villa Rotana - Dubai. Oryx brand hotels are usually good quality, and you can't beat the location on this one!

Let me know if you need more hotel or general Dubai recs - I've been there often and have stayed at quite a few places - but these are the ones I keep returning to!

[ErinExpat]

I've also stayed at the Ibis MOE a few times and it's great. But PP's are correct that the Burj Khalifa is located by Dubai Mall.

[thebulldog]

Have not been yet but going in oct. From what we have read, buy your observations tix in advance to save time.
We have dinnet reservations at atmosphere so curious if you go there how it is....have a great visit.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[gtkim]

Sunday when you come back definitely try to hit the souks.  I think that might be good in the late afternoon or evening.  MOE is worth a look just to see Ski Dubai even if you don't actually ski. 

We didn't do the cultural breakfast while we were there, but we did take the SMCCU tour of Jumeirah Mosque (arrive at 9:45am) and it was very interesting and worthwhile.  I think either of those options would be good.  Maybe leave the early afternoon open just to see what you feel like doing.  We were staying at the beach so when we had down time like this we usually just walked around a little bit outside.

We did go to Abu Dhabi.  It was ridiculously hot the day we went.  It was around 106 and I think that contributed to us not being overwhelmed by the city in general.  But it was completely worth it to see the Grand Mosque.  I was blown away.  It is one of the most incredible buildings I have ever been in.

Hope that helps!  I can't think of anything major you are missing.....

[lb2006]

My in-laws visited dubai in April and went to the MOE for ski dubai, did a desert safari (which they loved!) and burj khalifa.

They also spent quite a bit of time in Abu Dhabi at the embassy having mercy meetings with a consulate...but that's a whole different story

[thebulldog]

i love this board! I did not know about this!

198.252.78.251/index.php/ouractivities/cultural-meals

[thebulldog]

We are there Oct 22 through Oct. 29.

Here is how things are shaping up for us so far:

DAY 1, Tuesday - Depart USA and get to Dubai DAY 2. Dinner at Atmosphere in the Burj Khalifa that evening, see the fountains
DAY 3, Thursday - Burj Khalifa observation deck, Atlantis the Palm Hotel (DH wants to head here to get a look at the Dubai skyline from the water), the Dubai World Trade Center, spice and gold souks.
DAY 4, Friday Jumeira Beach in the morning, Desert Safari in the afternoon/evening
DAY 5, Afternoon tea at at Burj Al Arab, Check out Mall of the Emirates and whatever else we have missed, Dhow cruise for dinner.
DAY 6, Sunday - Abu Dhabi, Grand Mosque tour.
DAY 7, Monday - head home.

[jupiter2311]

Just popping in, JennyBee always does such a great job wrapping up things to do in Dubai! We go there a lot and she definitely has it all down. I just wanted to comment on Atmosphere. I went there for my birthday last year and the food.was.ah-maz-ing. It was seriously one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life, I hope you have the same great experience that I did!

[gtkim]

Aug 11, 2013 17:15:58 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

We are there Oct 22 through Oct. 29.

Here is how things are shaping up for us so far:

DAY 1, Tuesday - Depart USA and get to Dubai DAY 2. Dinner at Atmosphere in the Burj Khalifa that evening, see the fountains
DAY 3, Thursday - Burj Khalifa observation deck, Atlantis the Palm Hotel (DH wants to head here to get a look at the Dubai skyline from the water), the Dubai World Trade Center, spice and gold souks.
DAY 4, Friday Jumeira Beach in the morning, Desert Safari in the afternoon/evening
DAY 5, Afternoon tea at at Burj Al Arab, Check out Mall of the Emirates and whatever else we have missed, Dhow cruise for dinner.
DAY 6, Sunday - Abu Dhabi, Grand Mosque tour.
DAY 7, Monday - head home.

For Day 3 - I'd leave your plans to go to Atlantis up in the air and base it on how the weather looks that day.  When we were there in May it was so hazy you couldn't see very far at all.  When we went to tea at the Burj Al Arab we couldn't even see Atlantis due to the haze.

[thebulldog]

Great to hear about Atmosphere and excellent point about atlantis. Good tip!

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.