Superb! Fresh and very friendly.

Stayed for 5 nights during March 2005. Although the hotel is business looking we used it as the perfect pied-a-terre between the beaches and the city center. The service was world class and the airport limo pickup was 5*. Rooms very nice with great showers. The pool is quite small but again the service (pool bar) is up there with the best. Had dinner in one of the hotel restaurants (Vietnam style) - good but expensive. However, the "Buffet" breakfast/dinner was outstanding! 25 euros all inclusive for amazing quality food. We loved it! The hotel has an arrangement with a beach hotel about 30mins away. Quite a drive but much better than the noisy beach hotels near the palm. You will not regret staying here if you don't mind the city location.

Business or leisure

this is a great business hotel. poor holiday location though. reviews about this hotel on tripadvisor have been misplaced i feel. if you go to dubai to stay in your hotel room all the time then this hotel is great, but giving it five stars for having nibbles and little treats misses the point of a holiday in dubai. it is in the business district so is not good if you want a bit of relaxation by the beach etc. also it is not really in the arab quarter or near the shopping resorts.

big draw is that prices are very competitive. can't fault that but if you are on holiday staying in the jumerah beach area is paramount. would recommend al qasr and mina al salam in the madinat resort. you will probably be spending several evenings there anyway when you go to dubai.

Great business hotel

I stay in the Shangri-La Dubai twice a year and it is a great hotel, the only thing I miss is a nice dancing/night club, but I have heard they are making one at the 41st floor ! Any business traveller but also leasure traveller will be very happy in this hotel.

Was I in Dubai?

After staying earler in February at the Al Qasr on Jumeirah Beach the character and ambience of the location was sadly lacking. The hotel is on a busy road but within walking distance of other bars and restaurants. The hotel is very much a business hotel and lacks character, you could be anywhere in the world in a typical boring hotel. Having said that it was all perfectly manicured, the staff were friendly and helpful, it just had zero personality!

Absolutely fabulous

Our greatest regret was that we had only two nights to spend in a Horizon Room at the Dubai Shangri La.

From check in on the 41st floor until being ushered into our airport taxi, ours was an experience of superlatives. Kenneth in Horizon Club reception was the epitomy of courtesy - every document we handed over, even the Visa card, he stood to return with both hands and a small bow.

Our room on the 40th floor was stunning - every extra was provided in toiletries, fruit, robes etc. The view was incredible. As soon as staff knew we were honeymooners, we were presented with a specially made celebration chocolate cake. Nothing was too much trouble. As Horizon Club guests, we received complementary evening cocktails and canapes between 5.30 and 7.30pm - again of highest quality from nibbles to deep fried giant prawns - a meal in themselves.

Buffet breakfasts were delicious and we were told by one Dubai resident expert in these matters, he thought them the best in the city. All facilities are first class, from the Horizon pool and fitness suite on floor 42, to the main pool on level four. This hotel is one of the best !

First class hotel

stayed here for 3 nights this january and have to say it was one of the best hotels i have ever stayed in.large rooms,helpful staff,excellent restaurants and spa facilities.the only fault for me was that the hotel bars were quite dull for such a lively destination.I will definetely stay again.

Very little to fault.

Arrived via Emirates airlines limo at 6am. Prepared not to get room until 2pm (standard practice) but they gave us the room straight away. Shangri La is about a 50 level twin tower building - hotel services on ground, 1st and 2nd level then rooms above level 30 (approx) - rest of building below apartments (i think). Our room on level 37 faced inland - standard room. Very nicely appointed with safe, minibar, tv (55 channels), large bed. Room done in blond and dark woods with bed surronds in a padded velour. Never seen so much stored space - ever wall had cupboards and draws that opened. Bathroom, glass and marble. Separate bath and shower - nice toiletries. Toilet and bidet through bathroom behind a glass sliding door. Pool area very nice - tropical with palm trees and looks towards the sea (about 4 kilomtres away over lowrise buildings). This is on a separate podium reach via a skybridge on level 4 underneath which is the carpark. Hotel in a long street (really a freeway) consisting of office blocks and apartment buildings about 10 kilometres from downtown and 8 kilos from the Jumeriah beach hotels. There is a limited free hotel shuttle bus (3 or 4 times a day) to a large shopping mall (Deria City Centre) and a beach hotel. Plenty of places to eat (walking distance) and little grocery shop just around the side of hotel (in adjoining building) that also does drycleaning. No large shopping centres within walking distance (need taxi). Hotel lobby grand and has around 3 or 4 restaurants and bars. Breakfast (buffet and incl for us) was one of the best I've seen - a huge table just for different breads and danishes, fresh fruit (rarely do you see fresh cherries and grapes in hotel buffets but they did here) and a egg station plus other usual stuff. Room service fast (at 10.30pm) and average costs (45 dirham for a club sandwich and fries - approx AUD$18 or GBP 7 pounds). Nice touch - set up on a wheelin table with linen and all just for 2 small meals. Staff courtesy good and prompt. All in all - wonderful hotel and right inline with the service one expects from a Shangri La chain. One downside is the location as mentioned above - to go anywhere of real interest does require a taxi (but these are relatively cheap). We did walk to the Mercato mall (small but done in a spanish??? style) down on the beach about 4 or 5 klms away and this took 1 hour (Dubai is not overly pedestrian friendly - pavements start and stop or change levels). For sight seeing do recommend the Open top bus tour which leaves from the Wafi City Mall. Also stayed at the Hilton Dubai Creek on journey home from the UK (see separate review).

Heaven in the desert

Make this your home away from home in the desert city of gold that is Dubai in the UAE. The first Shangri-La outside Asia, the classic Shangri-La touch and attention to little details shows here without a doubt. The best Tagine restaurant I have ever eaten in, called Marrakech is here. The wonderful, happy and jovial lady chef cooks as good as she looks. The marvellous tagines are so incredibly good that when you dine here, you just do not want to go away. Every morsel of delight pleases and seduces your palate like only good food well cooked and presented, can. The resort stye pool is nicely chilled so you'll cool down after a day dune bashing in the desert. As for the huge spa, it is the last word in no expense spared luxury. Whatever stresses you have will vanish in about 15 minutes as you work out in the gym, swim in the pool and relax in the jacuzzi. Located just 15 minutes from the airport, you are fara way from the maddening trafic jams of Deira and the Gold Souk. It is safe to stroll about the hotel and you'll be amazed to find Delifrance and Quick of France here too. As The Travelling Gourmet, Dr. Michael Lim, I travel professionally to taste good food and great wines and I know a great place to stay when I see it. In the lobby, I love too the circular wooden blocks with hole in the middle all perfectly aligned so you feel like shooting an arrow through the holes. For golf, the hotel is very near Nad al Sheba and also there is a complimentary shuttle to Jebel Ali by the beach where you have a 9 hole golf course to frolic on. Businesswise, the ladies at the Business Cnetre are not only goodlooking but efficient too! Come here soon. You'll be glad you did.

Fantastic hotel

I have travelled to various countries in the middle east, europe and africa and this is by far THE BEST!!

I was there in Feb04 for 4 nights.

The staff were excellent - the rooms impeccable - the meals were out of this world...i really dont know what else i can say!!

There were shops that we visited along Sh Zayed Rd and taxis were easily accessible outside the hotel, as well as getting to the city centre being a very simple feat.

Had a brilliant time.

Paradise in Dubai

The Shangri-La group has a reputation for service excellence and this hotel is no exception. We stayed for four nights in October 04 in a standard room, although it felt more like a suite. The hotel is very new, and the rooms are beautifully and tastefully furnished. The marble bathroom had a separate toilet, enormous bath and top class shower. In the bedroom there was subtle lighting at floor level should you need it in the night. The large resort style out-door swimming pool with a swim-up bar has been built on the 4th floor on top of the garage, and feels like paradise, with the gazebos complete with cushions, sun loungers and palm trees, not to mention the jacuzzi. The attendants will find you a space even at the busiest times, and even if all the loungers have gone, will provide beanbags... ! The well equipped spa is also on this floor. They also have a daily complimentary courtesy bus to Jebel Ali Beach Resort where you can use the beach facilities.

As you would expect in a Shangri-La, all the staff are very helpful and courteous. It was my husband's 40th while we were there, and we returned to the room to find a delightfully light chocolate cake, they really do think of everything!

We only had breakfast there, but it was superb, with everything you could imagine, including an egg 'station'.

The location on the Sheikh Zayed Road is ideal, only a short (very cheap) taxi ride from all the action in town. There is building work, but not noticeable from the hotel, and in no way as overwhelming as on Jumeirah Beach, which incidentally is much further from the city centre than we had imagined. We felt that Sheikh Zayed Road was a much better location all in all, unless you want to spend all day on the beach and not explore the city.

This was one of the most stunning hotels I have stayed at, could not fault it, and would not hesitate to stay again, or recommend it to anybody.