While Dubai wasn’t high on my list of options for a weeklong vacation, I found myself sucked in by Emirates’ marketing of the city as a stopover en route to any of the airline’s numerous international destinations. When considering my flight options to Cape Town for my three week stay in February 2020, I decided Emirates was the perfect option. I could break up the long flights (12+ hours from NYC to Dubai, 9+ hours from Dubai to Cape Town) with a relaxed stop in a city/country new to me. I was curious to see the modern Middle Eastern city that boasts the second highest number of five-star hotels in the world (although that is a somewhat dubious data point from 2017, it seems believable). Finally, I could transfer Amex points to fly business on Emirates, with no additional charge for a stopover. Win-win-win.

First Flight Experience with Emirates

Just to set expectations, this is not going to be a step-by-step review of my Emirates business class flight a la The Points Guy. Over the past week my schedule had been the following:

• Tuesday morning – Fly from Santiago, Chile to La Guardia (layover in Atlanta)
• Thursday morning – Fly from Newark to Medford, Oregon (layover in Salt Lake City)
• Saturday afternoon – Fly from Medford, Oregon to Newark (another layover in Salt Lake City)
• Sunday night – Fly from JFK to Dubai

Needless to say, I was just a little exhausted and more than a little ready for a respite from flying. Fortunately, I had three weeks in Cape Town to look forward to – the longest break I’d had from traveling in the past year. All I wanted to do on this flight was chill the fuck out and not think about any of the plane’s features, the in-flight entertainment offerings, or the “soft” product.

Staying at The Mandarin Oriental Dubai

I evaluated a few different hotel options in Dubai (there really are so many luxury hotels, one is spoilt for choice in this opulent city). It’s the kind of place where you feel obligated to ball out, as it’s just part of the experience of visiting. First I looked at the Armani Hotel, which was unique because of its location in the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building. However, I preferred the idea of being on the beach, and I knew I’d be visiting the Burj Khalifa regardless of where I stayed (another thing you feel like you just have to do when in Dubai).

Next, I checked out Burj Al Arab, the dramatic sail-shaped hotel that is often referred to as a seven star property (BS – that just doesn’t exist). While Burj Al Arab is undoubtedly Dubai’s most iconic hotel, I found myself turned off by reviews from snobby visitors that were pissed off when the staff didn’t remember their names, dietary restrictions, forgot their luggage, etc. It was hard to tell if the complaints were legitimate or not (I didn’t care if nobody knew my name, or if I had to remind someone I was a vegetarian, but I certainly didn’t want to pay $1000+/night to wait hours for my luggage).

Ultimately, I decided to go for the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira. A brand new property in Dubai, the MO was on the beach like Burj Al Arab, but much closer to downtown Dubai. The reviews were overwhelmingly glowing and the price was more than half that of Burj Al Arab. I was sold.

Since I landed in Dubai late at night, I tried to force myself to go to bed right away in an attempt to adjust to the time difference. It kind of worked. I found myself wide awake at 5am, so I decided I may as well check out the hotel gym.

After breakfast on my only full day in Dubai, I was determined to hang out on the beach. I had chosen to stay at a hotel on Jumeira Beach so I could lay out by the ocean, not just look at it from afar.

All of the staff members at MO were incredibly friendly, offering extra towels to help me stay warm and commiserating with me over the oddly cool weather. I found myself looking at the Arab women walking by the beach in their long flowing abayas and hijabs and felt a bit envious as I shivered in my swimsuit and multiple layers of terrycloth towels.

Visiting Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall

As I mentioned, going to the top of Burj Khalifa was one of those experiences that I felt like I just had to do during my visit to Dubai. Because it’s located in the high-end Dubai Mall, these attractions are a two-for-one package deal (no joke, the Dubai Mall is one of the top-rated things to do in Dubai on TripAdvisor).

While researching options to visit Burj Khalifa I was initially overwhelmed by the variety of options, but ultimately decided to upgrade one level above the basic access ticket. My “At The Top Sky” ticket got me access to both the 148th and 125th floors, (basic access is only the 125th floor), plus I was able to gain entry with just a small group to minimize crowds and wait times. Definitely an important perk when visiting a popular attraction. I ended up skipping the 125th floor since I couldn’t really see anything else at that level, and it was also more crowded.

The other option would have been to book tea or sundowner bubbly at the “world’s highest lounge” on the 154th floor. This definitely didn’t seem necessary as a solo traveler, but perhaps could have been fun if I was traveling with friends (albeit at 2x the price of my ticket, which was already 2x the price of a standard ticket).

Generally, I was glad to see the Burj Khalifa and check it off the list, but it wasn’t really anything that mind-blowing. It felt more like a big marketing ploy than a cultural experience, complete with displays of Sheikh Mohammed’s newest book for sale as we walked out of the elevator from the 125th floor. But maybe the marketing is just part of the culture?

As I waited for my Careem driver to arrive (no Uber in Dubai, although Careem is actually owned by Uber), I watched numerous locals getting into their Range Rovers, BMWs and Mercedes, toting shopping bags from Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel. If it hadn’t been for their long robes, I easily could’ve been in Southern California. I was finding myself getting more and more disillusioned with Dubai by the moment. If I visit the UAE again, I’ll make a bigger effort to experience some of the unique culture and not just the sensational “must-do” attractions that are marketed to tourists.

My plan for the evening had been to check out Zuma, a high-end sushi restaurant that also happens to be one of the 50 best cocktail bars in the world (ranked #23 as of 2020, and #1 bar in MENA). However, jet lag was catching up to me and I decided to just order room service back at MO and call it an early night. Onward to Cape Town!