Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, Dubai, UAE

Location

Located in the Residential area (Al Mankhool) part of Bur Dubai, this 3* hotel chain offers budget accommodation at a reasonable price. It is in close proximity of the BurJuman Shopping Centre (5 minute walk and also near many local restaurants which serve a wide array of cuisines. All of these are within a few minutes walking distance.

There is no beach within walking distance. Jumeirah Beach is approximately 10 miles away. Taxis are readily available outside the hotel but we advise to cross over a few roads and pick up a taxi yourself rather than the hotel pick one for you. This is a cheaper option as you don’t pay the extra service charge. Taxis are generally very safe in Dubai. They are all metered so no haggling needed. EVERY taxi should be metered. If you somehow find one where the meter is off, don’t use it.

Overall the location is suitable for those who want to see the Dubai culture and taste the local cuisine. If you like the up market tourist areas with sandy beaches – This is not the area for you. In this case, you should go for Jumeirah Beach. See the review for Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach for a great hotel in a brilliant location.

Amenities

This hotel offers the usual amenities you would generally see in a 3* hotel with the bonus of a small roof top swimming pool. There are around 5 Golden Sands hotels all within close proximity and they do share pools between them so just check when booking, your hotel has its own pool. We had to cross over to the next door hotel for our pool (from inside). We stayed at Golden Sands 3.

This is a no frills, budget hotel that offers guests a value for money stay in Dubai. We stayed with Room only so didn’t taste the hotel food on this occasion. There are some great local restaurants nearby which you should take advantage of. If you like steak, there’s a Yoko’s Steakhouse nearby which is pretty famous in this region.

Other Amenities include:

• Free parking
• WiFi
• Fitness Centre with Gym (small)
• Restaurant
• Business Centre with Internet Access
• Baggage storage
• Concierge
• Outdoor Rooftop pool
• 24-hour front desk
• Dry cleaning
• Laundry service

Value For Money

A 7 night stay would cost you in the region of £400 which is fair. Not the bargain of the century but fair. (Family of 2 adults and 1 child)

Service / Staff

The service is pretty much standard. Nothing really to shout out about. Rooms are clean and tidy. Staff are friendly enough. The service probably won’t win any awards but get the job done all the same.

Lastly – Would we go back

YES – If we were looking a holiday again on a tight budget, we would.  Generally if you have an extra £100 or so, you could upgrade yourself to a 4* or maybe even a bottom end 5*.