My name is Dooly and I make unsponsored and honest video reviews of flights and hotels all over the world. I try to stay positive because not everyone can afford the expensive 5 star hotels so its important to point out where great value can be found! Discover the Best Hotels, Flights, and Culinary Delights! Join me in exploring the world of travel, where I share insights on utilizing Airline, Hotel, and Credit Card points - and of course, sometimes opting for cash. Delve into diverse cultures, indulge in the thrill of fishing, and savor the rich tapestry of global cuisine. Let's make every travel experience unforgettable! See you there😀
Nice to know there's a kind of budget hotel.. I've watched this vid. few times already, well explained and your replied to comments quite a guide.. Im just wondering if you have free access to their pool?
Definitely 100% Ginza because it is in the Thai restaurant and so you get a choice of 3 breakfast sets, Thai, Continental and American style. Portions were big too!
Ginza East was maybe one of the simplest and blandest breakfasts I've ever had at a Japanese hotel. I mean everything was cooked well but there was no flavour explosion like the Thai breakfast set at the older Ginza ibis
@@doolyb the continental breakfast or american has pancakes? i love those , and only the east has a onsen right? i will be going on january i think it maybe good to relax from a day walking in the cold
@@valdemirsonni only east has onsen! I can't remember if it had French toast but I don't think it had pancakes. Check my other video j think there is a picture of the menu maybe. If not then maybe email the hotel to be sure
@@valdemirsonni also don't forget the east also has foot massagers in the rooms! Also nice after a long walk. It's really not easy to choose between the 2😅
Thanks! That's exactly why I did it! My my plan was jsut the new hotel (because I had been in the older one before) but I thought for sure people want to have a 1 to 1 comparison! In my opinion east is better because of the room size! You should not underestimate the amount of bags, conbini food and shopping you will have!
In my opinion the breakfast is better in the millenium but location and quality of (the renovated) rooms is better in conrad. Pools and lounges are equally cool in their own way. I would day both are equally good once cost is factored in but for us the location of the Conrad wins out
We got the King Heritage Room with Creek View. Not much of a view to be honest but was happy to be in that location as the rooms are spaced out across several buildings.
@@wolfgust7973 not at all on the creek side. Also as it was really hot there wasn't much going on at the souk even at night. The shops open late and close reasonably early. I've been at the souk during a festival and then it was busier but unless it's that or Ramadhan and shops close extra late I doubt you wil get disturbed. But I can't speak for the rooms in other areas, for example nearer the road etc. Just ask specifically for a quieter room on a higher floor and not facing the souk. Then you should be ok!
This was a month and a half ago when it's still super sunny and dry but right now I believe it's raining a lot! Best to check the forecast but I believe it will be raining foe the next couple of weeks. Hopefully it will stop. But even when it rains it's not all day at least in our experience
I alwys worry that there's too much repeated content (my previous video was the outbound flight) but I'll try make the videos longer next time as I realise now some people only get to see one of my reviews and have no idea I have another uploaded!
The problem with Marhaba Lounge is that even lower-level credit cards (Mastercard - Platinum and Titanium, Visa - Platinum) give access to it which makes it crowded most of the time. You were lucky to find it that empty. Also, the food options are less in Marhaba. Whereas for Ahlan and the others, only the higher-end cards (Mastercard - World and World Elite, Visa - Signature and Infinite) give complimentary access and are, therefore, more exclusive and less crowded. My favorites are the Ahlan Business Class and First Class lounges in Terminal 1 (Concourse D).
I agree with you about the Biz Ahlan Lounge but I haven't been to the First Class Ahlan Lounge yet! apparently 100 AED for the upgrade so maybe next time I will try it out!
Yes, the website still says : "you’ll also enjoy complimentary access to one park per day for each night of your stay". And during booking it will specify that each person in the booking receives this ticket. So you will get a ticket each per day from the concierge but you have to go and ask for them. they wont just be lying in the room for example.
This hotel has such an amazing diamond breakfast! BUT I believe there is no lounge. But pls email them because neither of us can remember why there was no lounge! Perhaps we simply never asked
I'm sure there are but I doubt I will enjoy a better whiskey than this in the air and for free 😅 or do you know which airlines maybe have a better whiskey?
100%! Hilton yas island was my favourite hotel of the lot! And there are actually as many children in the WB you just can't see it on the video because we took videos very early. Definitely choose the yas island one, alone for the crazy breakfast and the cafe del mar! It's also more convenient in my opinion for day trips etc
Hi, I've booked a surprise 50th holiday for my other half to Dubai. I have booked on the palm for the retreat. But looking to change hotels. Which did you prefer, the hilton or sofitel please ?
I really don't know about the full board rates as I never book them and when it comes to drinks I usually just buy my own at the shop in the mall at the Palm and take them with me. Of course we sometimes have drinks at the hotel beach for example but they aren't cheap! As for the hotel I think I prefer the sofitel for a real resort feeling and the rooms are much bigger. But if you want to explore dubai a bit more then hilton is more convenient and cheaper. Personally I didn't like the retreat as much as sofitel or hilton so both are an upgrade in my opinion. What you might want to look into is booking the hilton via hilton impresario agent to get extra benefits like lounge access and breakfast plus some spending credit if it makes sense.
Hi thanks for your reply, can you tell me how much drinks are from the mall please ? I've been reading people's posts stating that cold drinks & water is £10 😮 I can't book via hilton as I've already booked with a company, but they're asking double the price to amend hotel to what it actually costs to book a holuday with them. Bloody disgraceful really.
We were there at the beginning of September and it was maybe 35 or so? too hot to walk long distances but for normal stuff was totally fine, waterpark was a great activity. And really most indoor stuff is anyway air-conditioned as are the taxis. Only in the middle of the day was it a bit too much to be in the direct sunshine
I stay in most of the hotels on Soi 11😊 the Mercure, Eleven Hotel, Ambassador Hotel, A Loft , and Solitaire Hotel... they are all good in their own way....
Do you have a favourite? I thought aloft was good and now I heard the club in the ambassador opened again so maybe it's a bit livelier because it seemed so dead last time!
Indeed gold members also get free breakfast, but no lounge access! I didn't even make it to the lounge because I was out all day each day. But the breakfast is worth just don't go as late as I did!
I'd say breakfast is good and no nothing has been renovated. It was as close to just swapping the sign outside as you can get. Of course amenities, in room menu ( also most dishes are the same as before) and some branding around the place has changed but nothing else. It was nice though to see the same staff! Location is pretty convenient so I would probably stay there again if the price was right, despite the age!
I agree! Breakfast is fantastic and especially the view of the river! Rooms could be nicer and the lounge view I though was amazing too! Thanks for watching!
It cost £560 + 100K avios + BA credit card voucher that reduces the avios needed by half. If we take the cost of the 2 credit cards needed to get the avios (annual fee) it comes to about another approx 500 so let's say the absolute total money cost to me was less than £1100. Hope that helps!
Just one thing. At 11:06 you talk about the lavatories and the size of them you mentioned that the other one is bigger for "retarded" people!!?? Might want to do something with that🙈Just sayin.....
Well basically it is 100% possible just not allowed or not promoted. A very good example from 2022 is I had a flight from mombasa to Frankfurt and a separate flight from Frankfurt to zurich. At the Airport mombasa it was absolutely no problem to get the bags sent through to zurich and it took them 2 mins to do. So capabilities are there!
I'll tell you after my trip in autumn when I fly JAL for the first time Internationally on their new route from Doha to Tokyo! I've flown JAL domestically and they used a wide body long haul plane with the lie flat seats. I only flew eco cos it was a 1.5 hour flight only, but it was fantastic in every way!
Hey Dooly, we are traveling to the lang co properties next month. We were conflicted between the Ansagna and Banyan properties. The Ansagna is significantly cheaper even for the best 2 bedroom loft rooms. What do you recommend ?
Hi! Unless you want to be in absolute privacy due to honeymoon etc and in a villa (or prosecco for breakfast) , I would 100% choose the Angsana! After staying in both places I can definitely say that we preferred the Angsana not only because of the price (very important to us) but also because the pools were nicer, staff are more chatty, the restaurants are a bit cheaper and AC in room stronger! Now it's important to know that if you stay at banyan you can use all Angsana facilities but not vice versa. But all the fun activities are anyway on the Angsana side. To cut it short when we go back, we will stay at Angsana for sure and that's our recommendation!
Nice! I hope you enjoy it! If you are not vegetarian there is also a very tasty bbq meat a d sausage cart just outside the compound! The location of the hotel is also very good because it's near the em sphere mall!
I don't think I went to the gym so I cannot answer that but remember this hotel is connected to 2 other hilton hotels and in the habtoor palace hotel they had a free bar. Now I'm not sure how easy it is to use a different gym but I'm sure the gym in this hilton must be good too. Best is if you email them.
Me and my wife will be in Abu Dhabi for up to 6 nights and plan to stay there for at least 2 nights. Will this hotel offer FREE tickets to nearby attractions? If yes, WHERE & HOW MANY?
1 ticket per person per night. The ticket is valid for one of 4 different attractions. Ferrari World, WB, yas waterworld and another I can't remember. So basically just take the ticket with you and go to whichever attraction you want. We went to Ferrari and waterworld, both were great!
I don't get how people can say the lounge food at BA "amazing"...? And food on the plane incredible... Sometimes i think it's either paid advertising, or flyer have never had good food before... as I'm sorry but I've flown business, first many many times through work and have NEVER found any airplane food to be good.
The roast beef was actually amazing! And how can you go wrong with rice, chili and chicken 😋😅 another thing that is guaranteed to be amazing is the Arabic mezze on Qatar and their biryani! and I can promise you that the food I had on ANA in first class was easily good enough for a restaurant! And most unfortunate of all is that I was not paid a single cent for this review or any other review 😢🤣
@@doolyb I'm sorry, but I've flown business or first on all those airlines, and unfortunately I disagree, I wouldn't pay $10 for those meals at a restaurant. Each to their own. But all these videos pop up on my feed and always say how amazing it is... and i just find it untrue. Even when i didn't pay for any of the flights (business expense) i still find it hard to eat airplane food.
@@den_525 I can't deny that the fact it is free might make it tastier for me😅 also the fact that I love chili and I always have it on hand might improve many of the dishes too. Perhaps if I flew more often (especially paid for by work) or ate out more often I would be more critical. I also find it hard not to be positive about stuff especially when I'm so excited to travel! Dont get me wrong I wasnt impressed with the filthy cutlery on my previous video but at the end of the day it's just cutlery and I can ask for a new set. The stain on the pillow would probably put many people off too for example and I could have made a dramatic video about how horrible the experience was and try get views like that which many yotuubers do. But I just can't because soem people can't even afford to take a bus on holiday and I am sitting in business class flying half way around the world so I have to try and be grateful. It might come out a bit over positive but I can't help it 😅
@@den_525i’ve had some beautiful food in business class on emirates, BA, Finnair even Lufthansa wasn’t too bad there are definitely varying levels of quality but when business class food is done well it’s definitely as good as I’d expect from a nice restaurant on the ground!
My wife and I both are Hilton Diamond members. We visited Dubai in 11-2023 and will back to UAE again in 11-2024 so your videos are REALLY HELPFUL! 👍😊 We will arrived DXB early so need to decide if to stay in WADIFC or Conrad (or unlikely else). It seems WADIFC does NOT have Lounge so we might go Conrad. Please comment if you have any!
Hi! That's great to hear! Indeed there is no lounge at WADIFC and there is one at conrad. I also feel like early check in is more likely in the Conrad and possibly, and more importantly, should you not get an early check in, you have more options at the Conrad to take the metro to go and do something. Also I feel like the pool area at the Conrad is more exciting in case you need to wait for your room to be ready. So perhaps it's a good and cheaper choice for your first night. But if you get guaranteed early check in at the WADIFC (email them) then that could be more convenient to go there directly and not change hotels. (but then again I love trying out different hotels 😅😅
Thanks for the tips! 😄🙏 Unless there is a good reason, we prefer to prevent staying only 1 night in that hotel so to save time moving. I’ll share the plan with you when finalized.
To be honest I didn't find it to be far away from anywhere really apart from the Palm, but the dubai mall, Deira, souks, Dubai frame, al seef heritage village and La Mer beach and nikki beach are a reasonably short taxi drive. Not to mention that there is a metro station nearby too. And I would say there is also a lot of nightlife too nearby. But if you want to visit the Palm and jumeirah beach then this is quite far. I think I paid about 75 AED from obelisk to the sofitel palm and it took around 35-40 mins (if not rush hour)
