Raffles in Dubai (Part 1, The Lobby and Suites)

The newest 5 star hotel of Dubai, Raffles takes great pride in being one of the best hotels in the world. Raffles has 11 restaurant outlets, and in 2 months, will open a two story bar/disco at the tip. Although the hotel is not yet fully functional as of the moment, what I have seen is breathtaking and might, JUST MIGHT be worth going back to Dubai for.

This Pyramid inspired hotel shows how the owner, one of the Sheiks favors Egypt and its architectural structure.

Jul B. Dizon Jewellery has always been interested in expanding its network to other countries. At one point, I informed my friend CW of this and he took the chance and was kind enough to show us around the hotel to see any possibility of a store inside Raffles.

After seeing the hotel, there is no doubt that this is the place where JBDJ belongs if it does go to Dubai but knowing now what this city is like, I think we should head to a nearer Asian country instead.

Nonetheless, check out the beautiful Raffles Dubai.

The Beauty of Dubai.

It wouldn't be fair if I write only about the bad side of Dubai because there are also some good points to this dessert of a country. What amazed me is how much money rolls into this place to make it as one of the fastest progressing cities in the world. Huge mega structures, infrastructure, dozen new hotels to be opened in the next few years, a Dubailand (Disneyland kind of theme park) and malls are sprouting like weeds in this place.

Apart from the only thing to do in Dubai which is hotel hopping, mom and I visited 3 malls.

The Wafi Mall. Philippines' version of Shangri-la Mall.





Mercato Mall. Beautiful Venezian theme mall that's small and has only a few expensive shops. Our version of The Power Plant Mall in Rockwell.




Souk Madinat Jumeirah, to me is the winner of all malls. Although there were still quite a few that I didn't get to go to, this one obviously stood out because of the way it was built. It also has an amazing view of the Burj Al Arab.








Burj at night.

Your bloggerina in Dubai.


It's not cheap to shop in Dubai. I think the best place to shop is still in Singapore, Bangkok and Manila.

Splurge at Burj.

A very exclusive and the most talked about hotel in the world right now is the Burj Al Arab, a 5 star deluxe hotel in Dubai. As soon as we arrived, the first thing we did was call the hotel and ask for reservation for lunch/dinner or high tea because this is the only way you can get inside the hotel. I was told that all restaurants were fully booked and that the next available seat in any of the outlets is a week after.

We almost lost hope in seeing this magnificent structure when my mom decided to express her desires to see the hotel to my friend CW. After he made a few calls, we were given the name L. Aquino who welcomed us at the entrance and graciously gave us a tour of the outlets and even a suite which had an elevator, 2 bedrooms, an office, 2 dining areas, living room, kitchen, 2 huge walk in closets, 2 bathrooms with jacuzzis each, Hermes toiletries in the bathrooms and a magnificent view of Dubai. Take note, staying in the hotel means you can take home all the Hermes products, towels, the bathrobes and just about everything that's not furniture. Cool huh? But actually, you just paid for all of it because staying in this suite is going to cost you $8,000/night.

Here's an exclusive ticket to see what's inside Burj Al Arab. My special thanks to CW and L. Aquino who made it all happen.







A restaurant which has a huge aquarium with 300 different kinds of species including a shark. This body of water is in the center of the restaurant and the tables surround the aquarium for all to enjoy the tranquility.






























This is just one of the toilets around the hotel. So luxurious even just in the washroom.


The afternoon high tea which consists of sandwiches, pastries, scones, tea or coffee costs around US$180.00 (P8,000) for 2 people. Pretty pricey since the food was not at all delicious. Although service was exceptional, of course, by Angelic, a Flipperina.