We stayed here as the reviews were excellent and we thought it would be nice to stay at a golf resort. However - we were disappointed at the hotel in comparison with our previous experiences of hotels in Dubai. The Jebel Ali is in need of a re-fit!! Its very 80's inside, although clean and serviceable - the 'elevator' music follows you throughout and gets on your nerves after a while. The decor is tacky and very dated. The location of the jebel ali is a bit too far out of town, although there is a free shuttle bus that is provided by the hotel. We enjoyed our stay and will return to Dubai not the Jebel Ali.

Just returned yesterday from the Jebel Ali and had a great time, the hotel was very clean and the staff very friendly at all times.

We had a standard room which was ok, it could do with some updating but it had everything you wanted which included tea and coffee making facilities. We had clean towels every day and nice complimentary robes & slippers. They also did a lovely turn down service every night and gave you two complimentary small bottles of water which is a nice touch!

We had a sea view room which overlooked the pool and the marina. It didn't ever seem to get the sun but the balcony wasn't big enough to sit out on anyway! There only seemed to be a few rooms where you could do this which seemed to be on the ground floor, although didn't check this out?

The hotel provides a good bus service to the major malls i.e Mall of Emirates and the Ibn Battuta Mall as well as to the Gold & Diamond Park and the Wild Wadi water park.

The Malls are huge and have all the shops that you have over here (Debenhams, Next, BHS, etc) plus every other type of shop too!! The Emirates mall also had the ski slope in it, you can go into the restaurants and watch them skiing while you eat! Beware though: don't have the Ribs if you go into TGI Fridays, they were awful!.

The hotel taxis are resonable as well, it cost us 150 Dirhams (about £21) for a return trip to Al Karama shops which was a good 40 min run at 7pm.

The shops are good for bargins if you are prepared to haggle well!! We did find that got pestered outside every shop to look at "genuine fake" designer bags or watches or jeans, etc, etc, so be prepared for lots of "No Thank You s!!". Some were pretty good copies, I suggest you haggle as the first price given is always well over the top.

Back to the hotel, the beach was very nice, they even brushed the beach every day with a huge tractor. Never found that we couldn't get a sun bed , the beach guys were always helpful and would lay your towels on the beds, turn them towards the sun and put your umbrella up. A little tip each day goes a long way! There were also lots of beds available around the three pools which were the warmest I've ever felt! 31 degrees in the one outside the Spa!! Beautiful!

The Captains bar was always nice to go for lunch or a drink as the sun went down, with very pleasant staff who always remembered your order!

We only tried the main restaurant (where you go for breakfast -which by the way is also fantastic - freshly cooked eggs, pancakes and bread,etc, etc) for a buffet dinner which was really good value at 160 Dirhams per person. You could have soup, salad, main course and the most wonderful desserts! Say hi to Hari if you see him!! Wonderfully helpful staff here, they do a really great job! Always smiling whatever time of day you saw them. The main restaurant is also open throughout the night in case you get hungry from a long night's shopping!

If you like a drink then it's a little pricey , but that was to be expected . It cost about 28 dilhams (about £4) for a pint of lager at the hotel. But I belive thats the norm in Dubai, they do have happy hours in most of the hotel bars so if you like a drink and you time it right then you could have a couple of hours drinking cheaper most evenings.

If you like Golf then the course at the hotel is very challeging, it's pretty cheap and you can hire everything from golf shoes,clubs etc .

A round of golf with a buggy and hired clubs is about £39 for 9 holes .

I hope my review gives you a better view of the hotel, I would recommend this hotel to my friends for a hotel in Dubai away from the busy city centre & building sites but if you want to get to the city then it's easy.

If you want a good relaxing beachside hotel with everything you could need for 7 days away you can't go wrong with this place. It may not have the glitz and glamour of the Jumeirah Beach hotel but it sure makes up for it with the personal touch, you feel like a real guest and not just a room number! Also, as soon as the Metro is finished you'll be able to get around town much easier than you can at the moment, so there won't be any reason why the Jebel Ali can't be your first choice!

By the way, also try the massages in the Spa, a lovely tranquil setting! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

My girlfriend and I stayed in the Jebel Ali Hotel for 1 week at the beginning of February.

To keep it simple we thought the place was fantastic.

The staff were lovely and friendly.

The restaurants were of good quality.

The beach and pools were very well kept and the surroundings were very beautiful.

There is construction going on nearby but can not be heard from poolside. And in noway spoils your relaxation.

With regular buses to the main centre in Dubai it doesn't cost you a fortune to go sight seeing.

Would definitely recommend.

This was the first leg of a 2 centre holiday, and for this half, we were 2 families - 4 adults and 2 teenagers. This was UK October 'half term' week, so 1 family was returning to the UK the following week, whilst my partner and I went on to Thailand.
It was our first trip to Dubai, and it's probably a mix of what everyone says! Yes, a huge building site, but impressive by its own standard - so many buildings, and everything so...well, big and shiny!
From the airport, we got a taxi to the hotel at a cost of roughly £15, far cheaper than the equivalent journey in the UK. (We used taxi services on a number of occasions during the week, this time prebooking the minivan-type from the hotel to accommodate all 6 of us, and this worked out cheaper overall)
The Jebel Ali is about a 40 minute drive from the airport, but the journey does give you a view of Dubai before you experience it for yourself, including a distant view of the famous Burj.
Our flight had an early morning arrival, which meant that our room wasn't available straight away. This was what we expected, the hotel stored our luggage, and we were invited to have juice and fresh fruit in the breakfast restaurant.
Our room was a standard one in the main hotel and when we were eventually checked in, I could sort of see what some people meant about the rooms benefitting from some refurbishment, but in fact, it was comfortable, had everything we needed, bathroom was fine, everything worked and the view across the golf course was very peaceful, so no complaints.
So, the hotel amenities....
Our first call was, of all things, the Sports bar (sports enthusiasts present, needing satellite TV!!). For a drink, and maybe a snack, fine, but the one evening meal we had here was dire, so can't recommend based on our experience.
All other evening dining experiences were great, hard to choose a winner amongst the Jebel Ali's restaurants, although the Wild Orchid's Teppanyaki table was most fun!
Our favourite bar was the terrace with the Bedouin-type tents and seating (I think it was the Plantation Bar, but not sure). Only open in the evening but what a great place to chill, have a drink and a chat, loved it!
There are some lovely pool areas, but we preferred the garden area just by the beach. The palm trees give some pleasant shade, and the breezes are cooling, there's no problem with sunbeds, and food and drink are nearby.
The service was good thoughout the resort, everyone was very helpful and courteous, as you would expect.
In Dubai itself, we shopped at the Mall of the Emirates, checked out the Burj, and 'did' the Wild Wadi water park, but we actually liked the fact that we were staying outside of the hustle and bustle of the centre of Dubai, and the Jebel Ali seemed like an oasis to us.
The golf at the Jebel Ali was good, reasonably priced and enjoyable, but hot, so pick your time carefully!
Didn't use the SPA.
From here we moved on to the Hyatt Regency, Hua Hin, Thailand and I have reviewed this separately, as this review is too long already!