February 2019: Dubai Planning – City Hotel

We wanted to end our vacation with 5 nights relaxing in the desert, but wanted to be in the center of the action for the first 5 nights. Since we want to take advantage of our Marriott points and status, we were focusing on Marriott properties in Dubai. There are a LOT of them!

Looking through the listings and checking points and price availability, there weren’t as many with availability as I would have expected, even 6 months before the trip. Of the dozens of properties there were only 4 or 5 that had award availability and fewer still looked all that desirable to stay in.

The search eventually brought us to the Dubai Marriott Hotel and Suites in the Marina district of the city. Rooms were 35,000 points per night with the 5th night free for a one bedroom suite with kitchenette. While not on the beach it had rooms with ocean views of the palm island and was within easy reach of several beaches and close to public transport.

Booking

I booked the hotel using points right away locking in the property for a reasonable number of points, though it wasn’t a spectacular value.As always, I continued to monitor the paid rate prices of the property.

A few weeks later I noticed this property had a AAA rate for a 2 bedroom suite, also with a kitchenette, with a refundable rate that was only $225 per night. This was a much better deal than using points, even with the 5th night free so I booked this new rate and canceled the points reservation and getting the points back with no penalty. While with airline programs, cancelling the ticket usually results in a penalty if you want the points back. Generally with hotel points programs you do get the pints back, although there can be penalties if you cancel too close to the date of your stay so always be aware of the restrictions!

The rate was for a city view just like with the pints booking, but we figured there was a good chance we could get upgraded to a better view due to my wife’s status. Even if we didn’t, the room appeared like it would be pretty nice based on the pictures and the reviews we had read.

I continued to monitor the rates up until we left and it continued to be the best rate I found. There was a slightly lower prepaid rate, but that was for a one bedroom room and it was only a few dollars per night cheaper so we figured we’d keep the much larger room.

While not the most luxurious hotel, it looked fairly decent from the reviews. We wouldn’t be on the beach but would be close and we’d have our luxury/relaxing portion of the trip at the end. This would mainly be our home base for exploring Dubai.

Next up, figuring out what to do!