Sleeping on the "Dubai Palm," free upgrade from basic room to suite at Dubai Hilton Jumeirah

You say Dubai and think of a big city, but if you have never been there you have no idea how infinite the distances are. There is no such thing as a "Manhattan" as in New York or a historic center as in Rome.

That's a lot of cities under one name, crisscrossed by a road 558km long: yes I spelled it right, just under 600km, because Sheikh Zayed Road is a single road connecting Abu Dhabi with Ras Al Khaimah running parallel to the coast. So saying I have the hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road is not very helpful.

There are definitely bigger megacities, But the difference here is that every city within a city has something attractive. A skyscraper, a museum, a hotel, a mall ... something.

Moving to the "Palm" also takes time. The Atlantis is on the tip, Sushisamba one of the most renowned restaurants is on the "log" and it takes a good 20 minutes by car and at least 5 to go to the base of the palm tree where this Hilton is located.

Reservation

In Dubai you are spoiled for choice in terms of hotels. You can sleep in a 4-star and spend 40 euros or 4 thousand, not to mention 5 stars. In our wanderings at the expense (or nearly so) of Emirates I chose to focus on this Hilton because it is the newest facility Of the group here in Dubai.

In Dubai I have already stayed at the Conrad, which remains in the vicinity of the Museum of the Future, at the Atlantis, which is perhaps the most iconic facility along with the famous Burj Kalifa and at Nikki Beach, renowned beach club which is now also in the hotellerie market.

The cost for one night was 240 euros, considering that we are in a 5-star hotel an absolutely average price. If we then consider that thanks to the American Express Platinum, you can have free breakfast and room upgrade Is a very good deal. The status Hilton's Gold is in fact included in the card fee e no matter how many stays are made each year, it is always renewed.

Location

We are at the base of the "trunk of the palm tree" facing west, in this area there are dozens and dozens of facilities, from all the major hotel chains.

This hotel is part of a mammoth construction project which has created twin facilities, side by side. One operates under the Hilton sign, the other is a Marriott.

From here there is quick access to the entire Dubai Marina, but if you want to go to the Burj Al Arab area, you have to take a cab or uber and have a trip of about 20 minutes.

To go to Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping mall, takes at least 30 minutes. And to those who think, "figure I'm going to a mall," I retort by saying that it's like not going to Macy's in New York, it's one of the things to see.

Check-in

We arrived directly from the airport, took advantage of the Free chauffeur for Emirates first and business class passengers. From the airport to the hotel door in a BMW 7 Series, For the series, we scrounge everything that can be scrounged.

In fact to be precise first we had the Emirates golf car take us from the gate where we arrived to immigration.

Then Once we have retrieved our yellow trunk., which on this trip left that it was empty and arrived weighing three times as much, we headed to Ek's cars.

When we arrived, the check-in desks were definitely crowded; we diligently queued up to wait our turn.

Operations at the desk flew by, and as soon as the document was shown the attendant picked up the phone and said, "I've Diamond checkin in." A few seconds later a new attendant appeared who informed us that we had been upgraded from a basic room to a one-bedroom suite on the top floor of the hotel.

To be Diamond you have to make 30 stays in a year, but to be Gold and have lots of benefits such as Free upgrade and breakfast just be an American Express Platinum holder

The same attendant then escorted us to our room and in the process explained all the features of the facility.

Suite

Our suite was on the 13th floor, the same one that houses the executive lounge and Butterfly by Buddah Bar, one of the hottest rooftops in all of Dubai.

90% of the rooms have views of the sea and Dubai Marina skyline, including Ferris wheel: only a small number of rooms, located at the ends of the building, have views toward the Palm or Dubai.

In our case the view was of the palm tree, although little palm tree, a smattering of Atlantis, a lot of concrete and a tiny bit of sea could be seen.

Honestly, the suite did not make me say wow. Of course, we booked a basic room and found ourselves in a suite, so it doesn't seem nice to complain.

The first room is the lounge, with mega TV and bar area. A second bathroom is also hidden in the hallway in case there is a queue in the main one.

The room is a classic Hilton room, king-size bed, mega screen and all. Considering that this hotel opened in November 22, however, it does not seem so new, quite the contrary.

The bathroom is equally large, with a bathtub and separate shower. There was also a second service (or guest) bathroom in the hall.

Nothing is missing, but it could be a hotel in a German fairgrounds or New Jersey. Nn the rooms you don't perceive that you are in Dubai until you look out the window, or rather until you go out on the terrace and breathe in the 40 degrees of the desert.

The structure

If the rooms do not let you know you are in Dubai, the rest of the facility does. Marbles and opulence reign undisturbed in the hotel's huge lobby. It is a hotel but could easily be called a resort, as there are a dozen bars and restaurants to feed the guests of the more than 600 rooms.

I found out through the promo that this hotel falls under Hilton resorts. Thanks to this stay I thus accumulated 4 thousand bonus points, as per the current summer promotion, and not the 2 thousand I expected to get.

I must say that in this hotel the spark did not go off, and certainly if I return to Dubai I will not choose it again. However, I know very well that other people might like it instead.

Beach and pool

The hotel overlooks West Palm Beach, that is, the best view of Skyline and Tramoto. In front of the huge barracks is the swimming pool. "The longest pool in all of Palm," so the bellyman who delivered our luggage to our room told us.

Having said that to me it looked identical to the one at the Marriott next door, I wonder if he ever saw, or heard of, Of the pools at the Atlantis, which among other things also houses the world's largest water park.

The pool is cooled, but it is nothing more than a pool with nothing special except a bar in the middle. Given that for 5 months of the year the Dubai sea is off limitis, unless you like it  swim in the soup, this is the only option at this "resort."

The bathhouse, if not for the view, could be in Romagna. Loungers, cabanas, and a sea that is not exactly that of the Caribbean, but then again I don't count, since I don't like lying on a lounger for hours.

In any case, as in a cruise ship if all guests decide to go to the pool or "to the beach" as we say in the west coast of Liguria, there would not be room for all guests and this is not the best considering that In Dubai you come to get a tan and get warm in winter, if, on the other hand, you get it like we did in June you do it to atone for a fault  and ours was that of having carried out a juggling theft against Emirates.

The lounge

Being a Diamond Hilton has significant advantages. Upgrades, pampering, little gifts, but. the most important benefit is access to lounges in hotels Who offer this service. In a facility like this I value this benefit over 50€ per person per day.

The reason is simple: they are open almost all day long, and there are three times here: breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening apericena. Basically, you eat and drink mooching all day long. Because, at times when there are no special services, refrigerators can still be looted.

We went around for breakfast, but unless you prefer to have a light breakfast I strongly advise against having it in the lounge instead of the main restaurant, the choice is narrow and the catering is also inferior.

In the afternoon at tea time it was taken by storm, difficult to find a seat. Between the classic sandwiches and various cupcakes, one could have a hearty snack, not forgetting that alcohol was also flowing.

After the afternoon shift is over, just enough time to clean and polish everything that the evening shift kicks in. Varied finger food menu, We had dinner there without major problems and that is also a nice savings when traveling, especially when there are children.

If it is not too hot, the terrace is definitely the best spot to stand to enjoy the sunset and watch the Dubai Marina skyline light up.

Nightlife

Actually. we were tired and we were not very intent on going out, baked by the Dubai sun, tired from the flight and overwhelmed by the heat.

But When you happen to sleep on the same floor as one of Dubai's hottest rooftop bars. without forgetting that every drink, if put on the hotel bill, turns into points to be used for the next mooching vacation, it is hard to stay in the room and sleep.

So we couldn't resist the opportunity and got in order and walked all the way across the hallway to the door of the Butterfly.

From a distance it looked closed but instead as you get closer you hear the music and once inside you are drawn into the party. In this case, the best place is a stool at the bar, from here you can see everything and you can chat with the bartender, who in clubs like these is the only friend you must have; tipping is dobbled.

Trendy venue, full of beautiful people, good music and circus performances. It is Dubai but could be Las Vegas or Miami. The cocktails are nice to look at and good to drink, we didn't try anything from the kitchen so I can't judge that aspect.

Food & Beverage

Breakfast is the classic Hilton offering. The room is on the ground floor and is large, but not huge, so there are traffic light model signs to let guests know what will be the busiest or least busy times for breakfast.

However, the room is huge and in the "cool" months you can even enjoy breakfast outside, not in June when it is already 38 degrees outside at 5 a.m.

The offerings are the usual, large and varied buffet, and since there are travelers of all nationalities in Dubai, the gastroniomics range from ice cream to savory, from Indian to croissants.

Lots, messy and average quality. Even the "poor" omelet maker alone cannot meet guests' demands.

Unlike the rest of the express cuisine that is incorporated into the buffet, he the stoic "omelet man" has to satisfy the hungry hordes who order omelets as if it were the last lunch before the end of the world. And between "egg white and onion only" and "double cheesy" he can't make a decent omelet (to the eye and of course to the palate), but the buffet barbarians seem to care little, all that matters is eating.

In conclusion

Beautiful soulless, expensive and definitely not 5 stars. This is my assessment of this Hilton. This is Dubai, the competition is huge and at this price (in low season) you can really find better. It is a resort, but it is not a resort, personally I would go for other facilities not this one for my next visit. I definitely would not choose it for a week-long stay in Dubai.