A friend and i spent 5 days at the Ariabian Courtyard in early January. Having spent 4 days at the Novotel we were really pleased with the location - it was great to be able to walk to the souk and abra station and just see a little of proper Dubai life.

The main areas of the hotel seemed a little dated, but our room looked like it had been refurbished and was done out very nicely. The room was a good size and we looked directly out over the Dubai museum. There was a window in the room which we were unable to shut ourselves as it didn't have a fixed handle. On our way out to dinner we asked for the window to be shut to block out some of the street noise. On our return it was still open and it took 2 more calls before someone came to close it.

The problem with service was repeated again and again. After 3 nights of struggling to sleep due to a strange squeaking noise in the room (I couldn't work out if it was a mouse or the air conditioning) I asked to move rooms. I spoke to a receptionist in the morning before we headed out for the day about this - she told me the hotel was full, but I pointed out that it was 10am, and from the pile of prepared bills in front of her i could see that there were plenty of people checking out. We told her that our bags were packed and asked if they could be moved to our new room. On our return that evening, we found that we had not been moved and the new receptionist had no record of our request. She suggested that they send housekeeping to investigate the noise. I explained that as you only heard it in the middle of the night there wasn't much point, and again asked to be moved. We were told a room would be available in an hour, so went to shower in our old room ahead of dinner reservations. After an hour, we had not heard anything and contacted reception - it took speaking to a few people to be told that the bellboy was on our way up with the new room keys and to move our bags. 10 minutes later we were still waiting, and after even more phone calls we were still waiting. I eventually had to go and track the bellboy down before we could move. After all that we returned that evening to find that our new room was directly above the function room, where a party was going on with loud music blaring until the early hours, and that there was still a strange squeaking noise in the room in the middle of the night. On top of this, the wooden floors combined with a connecting door meant we could hear someone in the next room shuffling round half the night and hear very clearly (they may as well have been standing in our room) the conversation they were having early the next morning. If it hadn't been such a complete hassle the previous day, I'd have moved rooms again.

The pool at the hotel was a real disapointment - and you could see why there was only a very limited shot of it on the website. Although there weren't many sunbeds, we found that it wasn't busy so this wasn't an issue, but the pool itself was as hot as a bath. I'm all for heated pools, but it would have been nice if it had just been slightly refreshing when you wanted to take a break from the sun. We found that the cold water in the room was also always warm, so maybe it's an issue with the water supply to the hotel. The bar by the pool was mostly unmanned (you had to phone through your order if there was no-one there) and service could be quite slow. We were told on Friday afternoon that it would be difficult to serve us food "because it's Friday and things are all over the place" - we were also told that it would be a problem to get us drinks, again because it was Friday. We said we'd wait, at which point the barman managed wtih no trouble at all to pour us a couple of drinks - we couldn't even begin to work out why it would have been an issue in the first place, given that he was standing at the bar.

We visited the Sherlock Holmes bar one evening, which was a totally unpleasant experience - the thick fog of smoke was unbearable - even for my friend who's a smoker, and the whole bar was just very tired and dated. We ate dinner in the Mexican restaurant one evening - the food was ok with massive portions, although the service was very slow.

Checking out was another slow process - my bill had not been prepared in advance, and it took the receptionist a while to track down various bits of paper that she needed. I think I was sat at the desk for about 20mins in all which is not what you need when you are leaving to catch a flight.

I think I would have enjoyed my stay at the Arabian Courtyard and recommended it to others if if hadn't been for the service - it really let the hotel down and meant that the other issues we had were just made worse by how they were handled.

My friend and I stayed in this hotel for 4 nights at the beginning of November. From start to finish the hotel was just amazing, the staff could not be more helpful and friendly and our upgraded executive room was just perfect.

Our rate included breakfast which was in buffet style and everything you could have wanted was there. We ate in a few of the restaurants in the hotel and found no problem with these, the English Pub was comfortable for after dinner drinks and some snacks were available as well.

The area where the hotel is situated in old Dubai had so much more atmosphere than near Jumeriah. If you are looking for a beach break this may not be the hotel for you, but if you are looking to soak up some real Dubai culture this is the place for you.

I would ignore all comments on complaints that other users have given as this was one of the most memorable holidays I have ever been on and I think that the location and hospitality of the hotel and its staff had a lot to do with it.

Great things about Arabian Courtyard: Good service, Great rooms, and great value for money.

Not so great things about Arabian Courtyard: Pool area (which is a lot smaller than the pictures and which, at the time I stayed there had lots of noice and workers oogling the girls laying at the pool), location - the Courtyard is in the Bur sour area, so if you can afford it pay a little extra and get a hotel next to the beach.

Generally a good hotel if you do not mind not being by the beach and having a small pool.

You could not ask for a better "4 Star" hotel. From the time they greet you outside of the hotel until the time you get to your room; they roll out the red carpet for you in everyway. This hotel is so user friendly; they go out of their way to make your stay special. All of the food places in the hotel are excellent and the service is beyond words. I have so much fun at the hotel that I ate all my meals there. This hotel is full of a team of professionals that love their jobs. The manager is onsite at least 14-16 hours a day. They are very proactive and response to your needs or rquirements. I would stay there again in the future. Keep up the great work.

James Williams
CEO
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