All things Dubai

[Disney Bear]

I have stayed at that Lapita - definitely recommend half board if you can get it and they are flexible in that you can use your one meal at lunch or the evenings. The theme parks are not very busy and as well as the lovely hotel pools you will also have access to the Lego water park. There is an area outside of the theme parks - river walk - it has tones of restaurants around it including Mac Donald’s, Olive Garden, there is also a great cheap Mexican and chicken burger place as well as some nice bakeries etc - have a look on the Dubai Parks website. You’ll not go hungry . Happy to answer any questions - been to Dubai 4 times and stayed at this hotel this April. It’s very easy to go to the parks for a few hours then go back to the hotel for some pool time and the outlet mall which is 15 mins walk away is a nice air conditioned place to grab some snacks/drinks etc for the room so you are not paying hotel prices. The rooms have a small fridge in them.

Edited to add that this hotel is quite far from the main city, which was not a problem for us. Taxis are cheap but with traffic it can take a while if you want to go into town often.

[Ellibop]

Thanks Disney Bear. The half board option is an extra £600 between the 3 of us so I'm not sure whether to add it or not.

Can I ask how the parks compare to Florida? Am a bit worried we'll be disappointed...

Thanks.

[Disney Bear]

Afraid it doesn’t really compare to Florida. The parks are smaller, less crowded, and a lot less rides. You can spend 2 to 4 hours in each park and do it all, we found this to be a nice afternoon or morning activity and then back to the pool.

Bollywood was far better than we expected - lots of street entertainment. Bollywood rides are mainly screen based - one is like soaring. Lego land is as you would expect and motiongate park has the most rides and variety - we did this over two afternoons. It was also fun once we had done them all to go back on our favourites.

The theming is amazing but no evening parade/fireworks which is a pity.
What sort of rides do you like?

[Ellibop]

DS isn't very adventurous and won't tolerate proper rollercoasters - he loves Universal as is a fan of simulators. We really enjoyed Legoland Windsor and we always LOVE a water park. It sounds perfect for us really as we get bored just staying at the pool all day and need somewhere to break the days up.

What are your thoughts on the half board upgrade for £600. We're not drinkers so wouldn't be bothered about alcohol (which I hear is very expensive). Don't want to be tied to the hotel for food but the convenience does sometimes make it worthwhile. Also - the hotel advertises a laze river - is this a decent size?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Disney Bear]

Make sure you read up in the rides in Dreamworks (area within Motiongate) as some are indoor coasters - think rocking roller coaster - and you can’t tell until you go to get into the vehicle. That said my favourite one is based on How to Train your dragon and is like Escape from Gringotts but with one section up high. Avoid Madagascar if you don’t like coasters.

Ghostbusters is like Men in black; there is a cricket ride in Bollywood that is a copy of the simpsons ride. Loads and loads of simulators - we love those too and it’s all in English.

The food quality in the hotel is very very good. Breakfast is a massive buffet. Then there is a Chinese and an Italian (pizza/pasta/burgers). Food is a little pricey in Dubai so depending on how many days and how much you like to eat will depends on the half board option - you get 3 courses. But if course if you are happy to share a pizza or two between you or wouldn’t each 3 courses you can always just pay as you go and have what you want without the half board. The buffet is also open for dinner.

We were a little disappointed with the lazy river - nice and relaxing and plenty of floats but small. Nothing to compare to any water park. Pleas note the park and hotel get busy on Friday and Saturday - weekend in Dubai with local families. Still plenty of beds available around the pool (and shade).

Re. Alcohol - we aren’t big drinkers but if you like a small drink get it in duty free at the airport - in Dubai when you collect your cases but before you exit via customs - they have beer and soft drinks too and at a reasonable price.

[Ellibop]

Now I'm looking at the Atlantis - they've got free upgrade to half board!

[Geordieprincess]

Originally Posted by Ellibop

Now I'm looking at the Atlantis - they've got free upgrade to half board!

See more...

I’ve just read your first post and see you were looking at Lapita or grand Hyatt and now Atlantis.
I haven’t stayed at Lapita but did visit motiongate for the day. I’ve stayed at the other two. It really depends on what you want from the holiday.
We loved the location of Grand Hyatt for getting out and about and the hotel itself was very nice.
We also loved Atlantis and the food was very good but because the half board wasn’t flexible we missed some dinners as we wanted to go out in the evening. This is something to consider in the May heat you are more likely to go out in the evenings than day. I was less keen on the location but you had the water park and aquarium included which were great. lapita is a lot further from the city and I would view that as a theme park and pool holiday in its own right. I would probably stay there next time we went but not for a first time visit to Dubai as I wanted to see the iconic tourist sights on my first visit and it’s just too far out for me.
Here are my two trip reports so you can get an idea of what is where. Note some things like garden glow might be closed in May due to the heat so you’d need to check opening times.

5 nights in Dubai, April 2017 Atlantis
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1104715

Halloween in Dubai, October 2018 Grand Hyatt
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1106980

[Colette-S]

I’ve stayed at Atlantis in May and everything was still opening and functioning outdoors. Although I am not keen on the Atlantis half board, they have got fab restaurants and the water park is great. The rooms are amazing (particularly the bathrooms) but it is a very busy hotel

[Pixiedust40]

I haven’t been to Atlantis but I have stayed at Lapita twice, Feb and Oct half term and absolutely loved it. As a guide we paid 2500 roughly for Feb half term for 4 people flying from Birmingham and nice day flights with emirates / half board. I usually check the prices across kenwood travel/ best at travel and emirates holidays as sometimes their prices vary quite a bit it is very different to Florida but we all loved it.
Colette bless her gave us lots of fab tips and advice to us save money
I think I need another holiday too I just want to tensions in that area to ease before I book another one.

Oooh Dubai trip reports... I’m not sure if I’ve seen these...off to have a look over a coffee

[Ellibop]

Thanks. Think I've ruled out the Atlantis as just too expensive for this trip. That's a great price Pixiedust - I'll have a check around the different sites as a comparison, and am off to read the trip reports too. Thanks all