MidEast 3-5 2/11/09 14:22 Page 64
knowledge gold medal winners
ttglive.com
JANE WRIGHT. ANGELA DIXON.
APPLE TRAVEL AGENCY. YORKSHIRE TRAVEL.
Dubai round-up
A Dubai overview Dolphin experience
I suppose before I went to The dolphins were so cute, I The Arsenal Soccer School, sponsored by Emirates,
Dubai I thought it would be can’t think of anyone who kicked off this month at 7he Sevens sports venue in
too commercial. But if you take wouldn’t like this experience. Dubai. The school is open to locals and visitors.
it for what it is, a place with It’s a good one for families ■
arsenalsoccerschooldubai.com
fabulous hotels and sunshine, then it’s great. but I would recommend it to everyone going
If you want to stay put, and not go out and to Dubai. Everyone who saw them was going The world’s longest fully-automated railtrack, the
about too much, it’s perfect. “Ahhh” – even those in our group who Dubai Metro, opened in September. Linking city
The thing to do there is the water park weren’t sure about it to start with thought it hotspots such as Burj Dubai, Emirates Towers and
at Atlantis – just amazing. I’d also was good. the marina, 1.2 million people a day are expected
recommend visiting the gold souks and The dolphins seemed really well looked to use the service.
experiencing the malls, not necessarily to after, and their American trainers were very ■
dubaimetro.eu
buy anything as it’s quite expensive here, friendly too. I had a dolphin called Alice, she
but just to see the enormity of them. was more than 10 years old. Apparently they A new cruise terminal will open in Dubai next
The food is good too. We went to the Mall live a lot longer in captivity. January. The terminal is expected to increase Dubai’s
of the Emirates and ate at a restaurant at the It was a very interactive experience. We appeal to cruise lines, and 99 ships are expected to
bottom of the ski slope. We had a Thai meal, stroked them, hugged them and kissed use the facility in 2010.
including starters, main courses and wine them. They also went through hoops for us ■
dubaitourism.ae
– it came to £30 for two. We watched and we were able to massage them if we
skiiers coming down the piste as we ate! wanted. The dolphins are very appealing Dubai Update, the online travel trade newsletter, has
There are loads of options for clients to eat animals, they’ve got lovely eyes. They were been revamped and now includes training presenta-
out in Dubai – as the food in hotels can be also very intuitive and seemed so sweet. tions and sample itineraries. The tourist board said its
expensive. Doing this can make for a very We had the shallow water experience, website had received double the number of hits in the
reasonably priced holiday. lasting about 20 minutes in total. I would most recent quarter compared with the previous period.
I think what makes Dubai stand out is the like to try the deep water experience too. ■
dubaiupdate.co.uk
weather, the safety and the cleanliness. We It was a really nice experience overall and
are definitely getting more people going on not scary at all. Initially when you first go Government-owned no-frills carrier Flydubai is
holiday there. You could go to Tenerife, but towards them you do feel a bit nervous, claiming to be one of the fastest growing start-ups
for just a few hundred pounds more you can but they were lovely. on record, following the addition of its fifth aircraft
guarantee the sun. My husband went to Some people found the experience quite in five months. The aircraft is being used for the new
Tenerife with our son a few years ago and it emotional – not enough to reduce them to twice-daily Dubai-Doha service.
rained, you don’t get that in Dubai. tears, but definitely emotional. ■
flydubai.com
Coming soon… Gold Medal Travel’s agent recognition programme continues with its second The Jebel Ali Hotel reopens next month with
annual VIP trip to South Africa, again in partnership with Emirates. A hand-picked group of improved restaurant and conference facilities. The
10 agents will be staying at the One&Only hotel in Cape Town. 260-room property now features a dive centre,
riding school and nine-hole golf course.
■
jebelali-international.com
Armani is due to open its first hotel in the world’s
tallest building, the Burj Dubai, next month. The
hotel consists of 160 rooms and suites over the 38th
and 39th floors.
■
armanihotels.com
Another fashion house due to open a property in
Dubai is Versace; its Palazzo Versace Hotel is set to
be unveiled in 2010. The 217-room property will be in
the Culture Village on Dubai Creek.
■
palazzoversace.com
Emirates Tours has expanded its portfolio of hotels
in Dubai. New additions include The Palace, The Old
Town and The Address, which is situated next to the
main tower in Downtown Burj Dubai.
■
emiratestours.co.uk
The shark attack ride at Aquaventure, and (inset) Dubai Creek
64 06.11.2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80