Golden Sands Hotel/Apartment - Dubai

I made it back to Accra in one piece, although there were times yesterday when I thought I would seriously just pass out where I was sitting. Just when I think I am getting too old for this shit I end up pulling off a real rockstar weekend that takes the lifestyle to a whole new level. Again, as much as I dislike Dubai, I had a great time there, mostly because I was spending time with my buddy Amit who I probably will not link up with again for another year or 2. We spent our first night in Dubai at the Marine Resort and Spa which totally winded our finances so we spent the next 3 days at the Golden Sands Hotel and Apartment Complex. And though less expensive than the Marine Resort, the Golden Sands is by no means cheap either. I guess I am just too used to the killer rates we get in the Far East. But nonetheless we managed to hook up a 2 bedroom studio apartment for about $250. Which compared to other rates in the city is really not too shabby.

The Golden Sands resort is part of a complex that is in the city area called Bur Dubai that consists of over 9 buildings as far as I can tell, some of them apartments and others hotel rooms. The satiation creates quite a bit of confusion for cab drivers and space cadet tenants like me. There is not too much life on the streets around here but there are some bars and clubs located in the hotels around the area that are worth checking out. Plus most of the touristy shopping shit is a stone’s throw away from there as well. The rooms are clean and contain 2 bathrooms, a good sized fridge, kitchen storage area, washing machine, and a stove cooker even.

Dubai can be a pretty expensive place for families travelling on holiday and having a kitchenette at your disposal can really shave quite a few bucks off your expenses. And although we were only there a few days it was fun to get out to the market and pick up a few goodies we could snack on at home. Spiney’s, the local supermarket carrying western produce is just a few blocks away, What does truly suck though is the fact that it is close to impossible to purchase booze in the city for personal consumption unless you are in a bar or hotel with a liquor license. So if you are coming into Dubai and plan to do any drinking at home you had better buy as much booze as you can carry from the duty free.

Overall the Golden Sands in my opinion is a very fair choice for a place to stay in Dubai for those who are not seeking the resort atmosphere. It is a very kosher atmosphere for families where as some of the cheaper joints in the city might be full of hookers and businessmen. Not that I have anything against either of the two. The Golden Sands actually does allow guests to bring company, male or female to their rooms but impose a charge of DRM 150 between the hours of 10pm and 10am. This is quite frustrating when you just wanna have a few drinks with your mates before hitting the club scene. That being said, the staff at the hotel is very accommodating if you are equally pleasant to them. I booked my room through Expedia and got a pretty good deal. I would totally recommend the Golden Sands Hotel in Dubai to any traveling on a fair budget with their families or just in a group of friends.