We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights on a points and cash rate. Considering that the going rate for the time we were there was near $500USD/night, the points and cash rate was a steal. However, I wouldn’t pay anything to stay here again and would not recommend this hotel. From the time we checked-in to the time we checked-out everything was problematic or difficult for the staff.

First of all the area is a nightmare. If you have never been to the Dubai Marina area before you are in for the shock of your life with the construction. The sheer amount of construction in that part of Dubai is unbelievable. The hotel is barely accessible at all with all of the construction. If you don’t want to leave the hotel then this will not be an issue for you.

When we checked-in the room wasn’t ready and it seemed to take forever with the agents going to a back room to make any kind of decision on anything. We asked if an upgrade was available and it was not. They were full that night but told us to check back the next day. After waiting about an hour for the room we were given a room that faced the back of the hotel that had a view of the huge buildings. The room was nice enough, but nothing special. Our room was on the first floor, which is really the third floor, and the room was a wheelchair accessible room that had no shower stall. There was just a curtain and a nasty shower seat that pulled down from the wall. The floor was slight sloped so that the entire bathroom floor didn’t flood.

The hotel offers a free shuttle to the Mall of the Emirates only in the morning and Ibn Battuta Mall in the morning and afternoon. This is probably the best feature of the hotel besides the spa. There is a separate Wafi Bus to Wafi City mall three times a day.

The hotel has a liberal smoking policy and it seems that people are smoking everywhere.

On the second day we asked the front desk people about changing to a better room. The man acted as if we asked him the most difficult question in the world and had to go to the back room before giving us a decision. He said to call the front desk when we were ready with our bags and he’ll send someone up with the keys. Once we packed up we called and made sure that the room was a club floor room. He said it was. A bellboy came with the keys and luggage cart. The room was on the 6th floor, which was not a club floor but a preferred floor and it had two beds instead of a king like the first room. We were tired of the run around and just accepted the room especially since the bags were brought up already. We made airport transportation reservations with the concierge on our way to the spa. The transfer costs 125AED. The spa was really nice and empty. The staff were friendly and courteous. That evening we wanted to eat at the Chinese restaurant called Peacock. When we went up there a waitress asked us if we had reservations. When we told her that we didn’t have any, she said that they were full and couldn’t seat us and then turned around and left. She never told us that we could wait or go to the bar or anything. It was quite rude. We left for a minute and then decided that we would ask to wait no matter what the wait time was. No one ever came to ask us anything after about 5 minutes, so we left and ate downstairs at the seafood buffet. It was in the same place as the breakfast buffet.

On the third day we had breakfast at the buffet. The service there is not good. Both mornings we were seated right next to the servers’ station and they never offered to refill the coffee even though we were right next to them. We always had to ask and getting their attention was sometimes difficult. We went to the front desk to ask about a late checkout since our flight didn’t leave until 10:45pm. The man went to the back room before giving us the decision. He said the latest they could do was 4pm. This was expected because as Starwood Gold members we are entitled to a 4pm checkout, but we were hoping for something a little later.

We went to the business center to use the internet and they charge ridiculous rates. You can pay by either purchasing a card with time on it, or by charging to the room. They didn’t sell the card with the minutes on it, so we had to charge it to the room. The system would not let me log on. I asked for help and because we were checking out that day, they system would not allow the charge. The woman said to ask the front desk if they could alter the checkout day to allow the log on. As expected, there was nothing the front desk could do, so we were not able to use the overpriced internet in the business center. That whole system and circumstance are ridiculous.

When we finally checked-out we thought our car to the airport would be waiting for us. We asked the transportation desk and they had no idea we needed a car or that we had reserved it. They made calls and told us to wait. Meanwhile the hotel’s 2 BMWs are sitting right there doing nothing. We waited about 20 minutes before our car came, which was a Lexus.

Overall, this hotel is not bad, but it is not good. I would not stay here again because the service was terrible and everything was a chore for the staff. They missed so many customer service opportunities that would have been easy to fix, or at least leave with a good feeling about the hotel. I guess they know that they will get business no matter what, so why should they care. The rates they charge there are outrageous and I expect more than what we got for that amount of money. Even without the construction, the hotel is nowhere near anything. Also in Jumeirah the taxis cost a lot more than they do in Dubai. We also walked down to the Hilton, which is the next hotel up the strip and it is really nice and has a better beach area. I would absolutely stay there over the Sheraton. But I would avoid that area entirely until the Marina is finished. If you want a nicer, less construction-overloaded Jumeirah experience, then stay north of Le Royal Meridien.

I stayed at the Sheraton for 3 nights on a stopover whilst going to the Far East. The Hotel arranged a car to pick us up at the airport and although I have been to Dubai before I settled for this option rather than getting a taxi. The return taxi cost half the price of the Hotel car. Check-in was speedy but with the clerk only muttering three words “passport and credit card” we were then pointed in the direction of the lifts. Not exactly a five star welcome.

The room was fine, quite large and nicely furnished, with the bathroom being okay but a bit worn and dated. During our stay we found the front desk to be particularly unfriendly, again no conversation at check-out, and bar staff too busy chatting to come over and take drink orders even though they knew we had just sat down. At one stage it was clear that the bar staff at Azure were arguing over who could be bothered to take our order. The poolside and beach staff, however, were very friendly and always said hello and chatted. The hotel gardens were nice but as a previous reviewer has also said some aspects of it are very dated and are a little shabby. I guess with occupancy rates so high in Dubai this hotel really doesn’t need to go out of its way on the service front or amenity upkeep. Overall a really disappointing stay, poor value for money and I would only go back if really desperate.

I stayed at the hotel from the 16 dec'07 - 20 dec and i found the hotel to be quite nice.

i was staying at the deluxe room and found the rooms to be quite spacious and big for dubai standards..

the beach is quite good..and with not too many people...

the hotel is 11 years old and looks like one...it needs to be refurbished now and especially the bathrooms look very sad...

i would recommend the hotel only for its beach..i cant think of any other hotel offering such beach at this price...

there is lot of construction around the area but the hotel is very peaceful...

overall a decent hotel

We stayed for 3 nights at the Sheraton in a Towers sea view room. Despite all the building work going on nearby, as the hotel was the first there it does have decent grounds and direct acees to a good beach. The room was reasonable and the food ok but our main gripe was the activities put on in the grounds. We arrived in the evening and there was a large company party going on in the garden which was very noisy and continued past midnight keeping us awake. On the next day there was a childrens Christmas party in the grounds which didn't help with trying to relax by the pool.
Overall a reasonable place to stay just wish it hadnt been so noisy.