Before choosing the Jebel Ali Hotel, I've read some of the reviews here. So I've seen that some people were not satisfied at all with this Hotel. Let me tell you: this Hotel has no problems, but the people who wrote these bad reviews do have problems!

The location of the hotel is very good: it's 20 minutes by car from Jumeirah Beach area (Mina Seyahi area), 30 minutes from the Burj Al Arab area (Madinat Jumeirah area), and 40 minutes from Downtown Dubai (Burj Dubai and Dubai Creek/Deira areas).

So now you ask yourself: "why this guy is telling that the location is very good, while you can't reach any important sight, except by car ?"... Well, believe me: don't even think of staying in downtown Dubai or Jumeirah beaches areas!!! These areas are VERY crowded, and there are too much construction sites!

There is so much construction going on in these central areas that there is a continuous dust cloud everywhere!!!

By contrast, the Jebel Ali area is peaceful, and the Jebel Ali Hotel is a wonderful oasis in the middle of nowhere. The gardens are very nice, it's really amazing that they managed to have a so nice garden in the middle of the desert, you can even feel you're on some kind of tropical island!

The only construction site right now in Jebel Ali is the "Palm Jebel Ali", which is being built 500 meters offshore, just in front of the hotel. You definitely hear the construction works from the hotel's beach and sea-facing rooms, but it's not too loud, so we didn't found it too annoying.

The hotel itself is one of the oldest in the Dubai area, it can't compete with, say, the Mina A Salam or the Royal Meridien, but the Jebel Ali is still a solid 4-stars property, and it costs around half the price of the other luxury hotels in Dubai...

Rooms are good, good size, all standard amenities available, bathroom is small but nice, the balcony is too small and you can't seat there. We didn't plan to spend much time in the room, so we booked a garden view, which was very good.

You definitely must book the Half Board plan, as meals are really expensive in the hotel restaurants. That's what we did, and we were really happy about it.

Hotel grounds are really 5-stars: there are three gorgeous swimming pools, fantastic gardens by the beach, and...THE BEACH!!! One of the best I've been to (and i've been to almost all tropical islands on earth, from the Maldives to Hawaii...). The beach is private and very big, the sand is white, and the sea is crystal-clear: FANTASTIC!

Most guests were russians, and, well, they have a different kind of education from the western countries...We would have prefered a mix of british/french/italian/german, but it was not a big problem...

Very good advice: make all day trips and excursions on fridays and saturdays, because fridays and saturdays are week-end days in Dubai, and the hotel's beach gets *VERY* crowded during these two days. In fact a lot of Dubai expats come to the Jebel Ali hotel's beach during the week end (they pay a fee for using the private beach). It's really a sign that Jebel Ali's beach is much better than those in Jumeirah area !

We booked a desert safari to the Maghram desert with Arabian Adventures (office in the lobby), and it was absolutely amazing !

We've booked airport transfers with hotel, absolutely brilliant: both journeys super fast and on BMW 750 super luxury...

Hotel's staff the best I've ever met, always smiling, always helpful, they are really happy to work at Jebel Ali, and they let you know it !

All in all, we will definitely come back to this amazing resort, but we will look carefully the developments of the Palm Jebel Ali, and of the Dubai Waterfront, which will be build near the hotel.

I was a bit apprehensive about the hotel after reading some of the reviews, but I can say that , in spite of the somewhat dated bedrooms, the total experience was very positive. There is a good choice of restaurants ( I particularly liked the Italian and Oriental restaurants), the staff could not do enough to look after us, there are plenty of loungers and the cost of the food and drink was not exorbitant.
The location is a big bonus, if you want R+R and not to be in the centre of Dubai.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. Good 4 star rather than 5 star, but none the worse for that.

Arrived at the Hotel en-route from OZ just after 6am for a 2 night stopover. We were delighted to be shown to our room immediately rather than having to hang around for the traditional 2pm check-in.
Breakfast at 7am was excellent with a first class selection on an international basis. We booked room only but the cost was very reasonable for the standard of service and selection.
The Italian resturaunt on the lower ground floor is well worth a visit with a good menu choice and again the costs are very good.
The only 'downside' depending on your needs was the distance out of town but there are complimentry coaches to shopping malls for the dedicated retail types.
All in all an enjoyable and pleasant 2 day stay in restful and pleasant surroundings. Didn't have the opportunity to try the golf course, horse riding or the various water sports on offer - maybe next time!
John Macd

Read these reviews before we went and 50/50 good and bad. We only found good. Hotel very high standard including rooms service food and facilities. Great setting away from busy centre. Own beach, never crowded. Fabulous relaxing grounds to wander round. Three pools, well managed...no hassle with german towels! 7 restaurants all good. 30degC every day. Beautiful beach front, marina. No need to be golfer to get best out of hotel. Not too many brits, lots of Russians and germans...always a good sign. Children friendly, but not too many. Great luxury courtesy bus takes you everywhere for free. BMW750 back to airport. Will go back. Totally brilliant.