Hotel Madinat Jumeirah - Dar Al Masyaf

The ride with the taxi from the airport took about 40 minutes and 20 minutes to the old town parts of Dubai. Alternatively you could also use the cheap public transport (bus and subway). A climatised stop was located directly in front of the Mina a Salam.
The white private beach with a lot of lifeguards was reached in a few steps. There were always enough beach chairs and you were immediately supplied with towels. In regular gaps you also got lemon ice cream.
There were free shuttle buses available to go to the bigget malls which departed regularly from the entrance of the Al Qasr. Further the Madinat Jumeirah had it's own Souk (market) which was very layd out for tourists though.

The staff from the buggy driver over the butler to the service was always very friendly. Requests were promptly dealt with.
The check-in after registering yourself in the Al Qasr took place directly in your own room/suite. A deposit in the hight of about 500 Euros was requested for coverage (for example credit card).
With English you didn't have any problems communicating even if the English of the staff wasn't always faultless like for example often words were forgotten or mumbled. German was hardly spoken but in parts understood by the staff.

We additionally booked half board and beacause of the high prices in the single restaurants we would recommend it on. With half board you could chose between 4 restaurants, Arboretum, Al Muna, Beachcombers and Latitude. breakfast though was only possible in the first two. A reduction or debiting of the half board in the other restaurants was in comparison to before not longer possible.
Except the Beachcombers we liked all the restaurants very much whereas the buffet was bigger for dinner than at lunch. In the Latitude and Beachcombers soda drinks were included in the price. We prefered the Latitude as it offered the biggest chouce. Especially the sushi was great.
Tips weren't self understanding and already included in the price. With especially good service you should still give something though.

The entertainment offer was very extensive and therefore should have something for everyone. In the summer the ocean was very warm and not refreshing but like a big bath tub :-) Therefore the bigger, chilled pools were a welcome change. Also we never had problems getting beach chairs. Further in our package the free of charge entrance to the Wild Wadi Waterparc was included. Towels respectively money should be taken with you because they also cost something for hotel guests. The same thing counted for the food and drinks.

We had booked a gulf summer house. The room of the villa directly at the beach was very big (60 square meters) whereas the bathroom took up half of the space. The single beds were good, each about 1.20 meters and very comfortable. Cushions in different variations and available to abounds.
The room was always very clean and drinking water was re-filled every day free of charge.
Also the tap water had drinking water quality.
The air conditioning was very pleasant as it wasn't too loud but still effective.
A very big LCD TV (international channels) as well as a well filled minibar, coffee machine, safe was also available.

In two time slots per day you could look at the public area of the Burj al Arab. Well worth seeing even though we expected more and therefore were a bit disappointed.
Desperately book a desert safari. Sadly they were very routined and layed out for tourists but definitely an experience. Best to be booked through the onsite travel agents.
If you really needed internet during your holiday could use the free of charge WLAN of the Burj al Arab which could be recepted at the beach. Alternatively you also got internet access in the room for quite a high charge.
In the evenings between 6.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. in the lobby of the villa there were free drinks.
Here you quickly got in contact with the other occupants.
The end of August, beginning of September belonged to the off-season and was therefore cheaper. The weather was always sunny and hot and humid with 33-40°C. At the beginning it took a lot of getting used to and not to be recommended for people with circulation problems. Additonaly this year was Ramadan. In the hotel we didn't notice anything of it though. In town and the malls though the restaurants with very few exceptions were closed during the day. In the evening then there were also marquees with buffets.