Our RIU Dubai Christmas Vaycay!

We both had an amazing Christmas in Dubai, some well-needed sunshine and relaxation! Although I sell lots of RIU hotels & always get incredible feedback from clients, I have never stayed in a RIU hotel myself, so I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The hotel was fab, and I would definitely recommend the RIU Dubai for a great value all-inclusive beachfront hotel in Dubai. It is located in Deria but is so cheap to get into Dubai itself by taxi. There is also a metro stop located close by the hotel, but we just stuck to taxis as they are lined up outside the hotel and cost next to nothing. 

Christmas Day was our first full day there, and we had booked Christmas dinner at STK, which is located inside the Rixos Premium Hotel on the walk. It was around 30-40 mins away and cost just over £20. One night we took a taxi to Dubai Mall to see the Burj & Dubai Fountains; this journey took approx. 15/20 mins and cost around £15. Having been to Dubai a few times but never visiting Dubai Creek & the Gold Souks, this was something I had really wanted to do, and as it was so close to our hotel, it gave us the perfect opportunity. It was literally 5/10 mins away and cost £4. 

The hotel is located on the beachfront on Dubai Islands. Currently, there are only the RIU Dubai & the Centara Mirage Hotels here. As with most of Dubai, they are constantly developing, so in the next few years there will for sure be much more on the doorstep. 

The hotel is all-inclusive as standard and has a main buffet restaurant that is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and 3 speciality restaurants: Spices, which is Asian-themed; Moon, which is Lebanese; and The Palm, which is Italian. The Palm is also open for lunch & snacks. All speciality restaurants are buffet style. You are required to prebook these via the RIU app once you arrive at the resort; reservations open 2 days in advance, but we had no issues getting in when we wanted to. The food choices were phenomenal; there was so much choice at every meal that you could never go hungry at this hotel. They also serve snacks and an early breakfast at the sports bar, which is open 24 hours. Over Christmas & New Year they had a Christmas Gala dinner on Christmas Eve & New Year’s Gala dinner on New Year’s Eve. This is included as part of the all-inclusive; we were able to experience the New Year’s Eve Gala dinner, and wow, there was so much choice! They had the Moon restaurant set up, which was adult only, and then the main buffet for families. They also had a DJ set up on the beach to see in the new year in style. 

There are 3 pool areas, 2 of which have swim-up bars, and the 3rd is a family pool area & the waterpark at the back of the hotel. It’s laid out really well so you can be away from the family pool and waterpark if you aren’t travelling with children. 

The temperature over Christmas was lovely; it was around 25/26°C during the day and dropping to no cooler than 20°C at night, the perfect destination for some winter sunshine not too far from home! 

This hotel quite frequently had some really great rates and offers and is definitely worth snapping up!