Hotel Coral Beach Resort

The beach was directly inside the hotel garden. Dubai and Ajman were the nearest cities. Depending on the traffic, it was a 20-minute ride to the airport. During rush hour, it could take up to 90 minutes. There was the Mega Mall in Sharjah, the Blue Souk, the City Center, and a few smaller ones. There were free shuttle buses running several times during the day from the hotel to the Blue Souk, Deira City Center (a Dubai neighborhood near the airport), and Mega Mall.

Everything was perfect. There was a laundry service. A so-called general manager was always there, and one of them was a young woman from Germany. English works always. Some were also able to speak a bit German. Any disruptions were immediately attended to. (We had a squeaky noise coming from the hot water boiler in the bathroom that was fixed by letting the air out).

The main restaurant, an Italian one, and a new fish restaurant, the pool bar, and the cafes. Everything was very clean. The food was organized according to the themed evenings: Asian, salsa, Arabic, European, and International. Good salads, lots of fruit, and delicious desserts. The staff was very nice. That's why (we had half board accommodations) we immediately paid for our drinks, so that we could make sure to tip the waiters right away. Soft drinks 0,33 cost 8 Dirham, a bottle of natural water 1,5 l between 12 and 15 Dirham, a 0,5 l water 8 Dirham. One should take into account the fact that being in a different country also meant different cooking and eating habits. That's why some food did not necessarily taste bad, but just differently. The food was generally eaten lukewarm, and that's why not being served hot food should not immediately imply something bad. One should get well-informed beforehand, rather than spoil the holidays for other people with one's constant nagging.

There were two swimming pools that were cleaned very well. The water samples were taken regularly, and there was not an intense chlorine smell as in some hotel pools. There were always life-guards in the pool area. The somewhat smaller pool was located directly on the way to the hotel gardens, where swimming lessons were offered for local kids. The other pool was further in the back, but a bit higher up, so that one could look out directly to the sea from the pool. The beach was clean, and there were also showers there, just like at the pool. There were also tennis courts, a fitness room, and a small baby pool. One could do other sports if there were enough people around. There were many people who lived there and paid the hotel (just like we did to use the fitness center for example) for the use of the pools and the private beach. These people were very eager to play soccer.

A large bed, a table with two chairs, a desk, the closet was sufficient, a free safe in the room, an electric water kettle for tea and coffee was available, a TV with German channels ARD, ZDF. The others (RTL, SAT, VOX) were locked according to the manager, supposedly because of the improper commercials. The air conditioning was alright. We never used it though. The rooms were clean, and were cleaned daily. There was liquid soap and shower gel in the bathroom, including bar soap, hair conditioner, and body lotion.

Instead of a city tour, the organizers did the big bus tour. Those were the red double-decker buses. They had two different routes. The red route included the Gold Souk, Old Souk, Dubai Museum, and a ride on a dhow, etc. The blue route included the Dubai Mall (the biggest shopping mall with ca. 1000 stores and cafes), Mercado Mall, Mall of Emirates (ca. 400 stores and cafes with ski paradise), Jumeirah Beach directly next to Burj Al Arab Hotel, and to the Palm to Atlantis Hotel, etc. It was possible to get on and off the bus at every bus stop. The buses were running every 30 minutes. It cost 220 Dirham (ca. 44 Euro) for adults, 100 Dirham (ca. 20 Euro) for children age 5-15, 540 Dirham (ca. 108 Euro) for families 2+2. If you have never been to Dubai, you should buy a two-day ticket. It does not cost much more and one can see a lot for two days. One can purchase the tickets on the bus or at the bigger boarding locations, for example Deira City Center, or bigbustours.