Review: Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre

You love the Waldorfs now I disagree with your Amsterdam Waldorf assessment but it's true this one is super nice.
The base rooms are also super big and luxurious (though to be fair, common in the ME for this to be the case)

The breakfast is one of my favorite anywhere in the world, and agree the service is really 10/10. When we arrived, they greeted us by name when welcoming us out of the uber (they didn't arrange it, so it's not like the Ritz Paris or others where they know which car has which guest) which I can't remember any other hotel doing -- we had never stayed there so they just found our pictures or something.

The breakfast is my favorite anywhere in the world (at least for hotel breakfasts, free or paid).

supposed to be a laughing emoji between "Waldorfs" and "now" in the first sentence, but the blog doesn't like it I guess 🙂

I stayed in the Conrad Dubai a few years ago, and that by far exceeded any hotel experience I have had. You should give it a try.

Outstanding review Ben. I’m certainly going to switch over to this hotel for 80K pts per night plus the 5th night free. I’m currently booked at the Conrad Dubai this fall for 55k pts a night. Even better if I get the AMEX Hilton Honors Aspire. When will I ever have the opportunity to stay at a Waldorf Astoria ? The Waldorf NYC is delayed indefinitely and the hotel will be an afterthought. Focus will primarily be on selling luxury residences.

"... though as you can tell, there are fewer than a dozen rooms were floor." Is there something missing here?

Almost $15 USD for Heineken???? Are things usually this expensive in Dubai or is this WA just really expensive for F&B?

Alcohol taxed through the roof in Dubai $15 seem about average

The Conrad Dubai is every bit as nice as this, but doesnt have the walkability to the Downtown area. Getting a cab is easy though. Where the Conrad outshines this is definitely in the pool setting. The pool setting at the Conrad was spectacular. I've stayed there a number of times and loved it every time.

Thank you for the tips, Lucky! I hope to visit DXB and this is the exact type of hotel I want to stay at.

I noticed that on the breakfast meats they don't offer ham is this because it's the Middle East? It's another way of intolerance on their part as a gay man Ben how do you feel supporting me so people that are so intolerant to the gay people and to people who eat ham or pork? There's all kinds of people here who get canceled for being intolerant or the perception of being intolerant I imagine if you went to a city and they were very intolerant towards the gay people or the lgbtq community there would be backlash against it why don't you show any backlash against the Middle East? Thank you for your time

I hope this is better than the Waldorf Dubai beach property it was a horrible experience no upgrade even though 50% empty iblack water in shower the morning before I left
With no warning and the compensation they wanted to give was Italian buffet!!!!
Always dreamed of staying there big disappointment!!!!!

Was going to say the food prices seem very reasonable for a hotel of this class but that beer price is insane. Makes sense UAE taxes alcohol extremely high.

Highly recommend the FS at JB next time you’re in Dubai. Skyline view rooms are incredible (and less expensive than the sea view), you can see all of downtown and difc from the room. Very fun scene as well with Nammos attached. We sat next to Lindsay Lohan by chance at the other beach restaurant.

Thanks Ben, you’ve definitely upped the anticipation for our forthcoming first visit to Dubai. We’re starting our visit by staying here - 1st WA for us (Impresario 4 for 3 rate), and the staff have already reached out for arrival info/preferences and the App is showing the same upgrade as you got which looks awesome! We’re also staying at Al Maha and the WA at The Palm, so it will be interesting to compare all three.

Stayed at Mandarin Oriental in Dubai pre-pandemic. Service was good and hotel room was quite lovely. It's on the beach but away from crowd. Straight shot to the Dubai Mall via Uber/ taxi. Spa is also quite pretty. I would recommend this hotel.

What did you think of the hotel’s sense of place?

Best to hit the Dury Free before leaving the airport for you favorite in room or poolside drinks to soften the shock!! Then your dining beverages can average out things.

Thanks for a great review! During your previous visits (with Ford) to Dubai, have you always reserved a room with a king bed? I’m headed to Dubai with my partner in three weeks and not sure what we should do.

Also, do tourists wear shorts there?

Thanks again!

My eyes appreciate the amount of what appears to be marble. Are the floors in the bathrooms glossy marble? That is a safety concern peeve of mine.

@ Donato -- Indeed, it was that glossy type of marble. Personally I put a towel on the floor after showering anyway, since I'm a bit clumsy, and that solves the problem. But I do remember it being a bit slippery, now that you mention it.

@ Rob -- Yep, we've always booked one bed, and have never had an issue of any sort (though we generally stay at western chains that have training and policies regarding how to treat same sex guests). You'll absolutely see shorts in most places, though if you're looking to visit a mosque or select other cultural sights, you may have to wear long pants.

@ Ian Snowley -- Sounds like an amazing trip, enjoy!

@ Daniel -- Correct, you generally won't find pork in the Middle East. As someone who doesn't eat pork, that's one policy that works out for me, since I never have to wonder if there's bacon in anything.

And $18 for a cider! Although Thatcher's Gold is excellent cider.....

I wonder if there is a cultural difference ex-USA. I have noticed ex-USA marble and glossy marble look floors in bathrooms. I have not seen that in the USA, either legal reasons or I stay in lower class accommodations. The general rule is that glossy is slippery when wet. make no mistake, less slippery will never have the smooth finish and shine of high gloss.

I totally do not condone any intolerance or discriminative behavior of any type towards a gay person.
I do not see food choices as intolerant, at all. It might have to be a long skinny supply chain to support only hotels, not a good idea with perishable food. I am not familiar with Halal rules, it might contaminate other items and be a fiasco in the Food and Beverage department.

A suggestion for your website layout: now there is so much horizontal bands (header, and multiple ads, and videos...), the usable space for reading is such a long horizontal rectangle. Meanwhile, your content is a vertical triangle, wasting a lot of precious space on left and right sides. For a long post like this, it is especially painful to scroll through all of them on a small widescreen that most laptops use nowadays. Is it possible that you can place your header vertically?

Always enjoy these detailed reviews. Did you really roll your suitcases across that beautiful marble floor to get to the elevators!? I would have been terrified to scuff it. Or does the hotel have bellhops at the building entrance?

One extra thing I would appreciate you mentioning, and which I think everyone struggles with, is when do you tip or not tip? Does Sanjay get a tip on the restaurant bill or is that billed to your room? Do you leave tips for housekeeping or is that forbidden by WA at their hotels? Thanks!

Ben-I’m a Hilton Diamond and Hyatt Globalist making my first trip to Dubai (and Abu Dhabi) later in the Summer and trying to decide where to stay among the ‘nicer’ hotels in each portfolio. (I’m eliminating the Garden Inns, Doubletrees, Hyatt Place/House, Etc.) While I’ll vet where I can stay whether I’m using points, free night certs, etc., my biggest question is location and accessibility. It may not make sense to stay at hotel X if it’s out of the way and inconvenient to get to. Any thoughts on which hotels are preferable for location, amenities (e.g. pool, executive lounge, breakfast buffet) access to sites and/or transit? While I tend to prefer Conrads over WA, this review was helpful. Maybe we split our 3-4 nights between 2 places if getting around is easy by Uber vs. walking. Thanks.

Hi Ben,
How is the transportation from the hotel? Is there a metro station nearby?
How is it compared to the Conrad?
Thank you.

Wrapping up a 2 day stay on March 2023 & this all very much still applies. Diamond got the same great suite upgrade, breakfast is excellent & staff even decorated my room & left a small cake for my birthday. $3.50 cab ride to the Dubai Mall yesterday, so very close. Thanks for the recommendation Ben!