Short UAE Trip Review (Abu Dhabi/Dubai)

I just returned from a brief work visit to Abu Dhabi. I don't have a ton of information to add, but since there wasn't anything in the sticky, I'll share a little.

We had meetings in Abu Dhabi, but the flight options were much better for us to Dubai, so we flew to DXB. I arrived a day early and got in around 11pm, so I just picked an airport hotel to crash for the night - The Millennium Airport Hotel. It's a decent enough place, with several restaurants, a big pool, etc. The included breakfast was actually pretty good. Since it's not a heavy tourist time, hotels were pretty cheap for us. This one was ~$120/nt total.

The next day I had to head over to AD. I took one of the public taxis (tan & red cars) and the 1.5ish hour trip was right at 300AED ($80). My boss took one directly from the airport and it was a little higher. I'm guessing a special airport fee was added. We also took one back to the airport yesterday from AD and it was only ~250AED.

Our hotel in AD was the Le Royal Meridien and was under $300 for 3 nights. I assume it would be a good bit more expensive, when the outside air doesn't feel like the surface of the sun. I really liked this hotel. It's quite modern. There are several restaurants, an Irish Pub and a rotating restaurant on the top floor. Of course, in UAE, about the only places for booze are at the hotels. Drinks are also quite expensive. I think a Guinness pint was ~$12. We ate breakfast there and only one dinner. Dinner at the rotating restauarant, Stratos, was great. On Monday's, which is the night we went, they have 50% off all steaks and wine. Even at the high UAE prices, it was a good deal. This is especially true when you include the views (26th floor) and the atmosphere.

One thing I wanted to get a good look at was the famous Etihad towers. I took a taxi to the Emirates Palace hotel to take a peak around and I also thought it would be a great place to see the towers, etc. The Emirates Palace Hotel is very impressive - $3B hotel, with so much attention to detail. I couldn't take many pics inside as there are a bunch of security guards to keep people moving along. It's supposed to be a great place for afternoon tea, but I was alone at this point and not paying for it all for myself.

View of the Etihad Towers from the Emirates Palace Hotel


The Palace Hotel


Our host was an Indian that has lived in UAE for over a decade. He did most of the restaurant selection, especially since we mentioned Indian food. A few of the better places we ate in Abu Dhabi were:
India Palace - amazing Biryani dishes
Lebanese Mill
A South Indian restaurant that I can't recall the name

We finished early one day and went back over to Dubai to see a few of the sights. The Burj Khalifa is impressively tall and the Dubai mall is also as impressively large. We also drove out on the Palm Island. It was cool to see, but I'd rather see it from above.

The Burj


The fountains at the mall, below Burj khalifa


Huge aquarium in the mall where you can cage dive with sharks


View of the Arabian/Persian Gulf (depending on who you ask...ha) from the man made Island


Overall, the food is great and there's some over the top things to see in both. The amount of exotic cars and never ending skyscrapers is unreal. Due to the very diverse population, there's a load of great food from all over the world. DXB was also a breeze to get through, coming and going.
It's hot though, damn hot. Of course, September is a bad time to visit. I will likely be back in the near future and will add some more. Maybe Ferrari World and some sort of desert tour/ride.