On my way back from my fabulous trip in the Maldives on Emirates Airlines, I was scheduled for a long layover in Dubai. It was long enough that I needed to book a hotel room so I could shower and take a quick nap. I searched for hotels on Expedia.com since they always have pretty great deals and a hotel called The Rove Hotel Dubai Downtown stood out to me. It looked very chic and modern, just a fun place to stay. I also took a look at images on trip advisor where people post personal pictures because often when you book online or via an app, hotel images don’t look the same in person. I found out when I arrived that this was entirely not the case. Rove Hotel Dubai offers a mellow atmosphere for the young and hip traveler looking to relax and wind down after a long flight.
Once I arrived, I was greeted by the very impressive decor and friendly front desk staff. It felt like I was entering a very close friend’s art gallery. Things that stood out immediately were the unique light fixtures and the artistic carpet in front of the front desk. But, what I loved the most were the inspirational quotes throughout the hotel and inside of the rooms.
My room was simple, neat, and comfortable as you would expect when you first enter your hotel room. My bed was topped with soft, clean white linen and the rainforest shower head was a perfect touch. The first thing I did was hop right in the shower to wash off my long flight off, and I needed to get ready to head back out.
Before landing in Dubai, I locked in a great partnership with a company called Dubai.Tours. They have a list of different tours to choose from, very reasonable pricing, they pick you up from your hotel and drop you back off right after. The tour I chose was a desert tour which includes:
Tour of the beautiful desert
Dune Bashing
Camel ride
ATV riding
A traditional fire and belly dance performance w/ dinner included
My contact Fahd, the owner of the tour company, was very kind; he came to my the hotel to meet me and introduce me to my driver for the evening, Sabir. Sabir was a fantastic tour guide, very knowledgeable about everything Dubai and he was a super fun guy. I was on the tour with five other people from different parts of the world, but they were all very down to earth, you would have thought we all were best friends on an excursion together.
When it was time to go dune bashing, our tour guide took some air out of his tires to allow the car to slide better on the sand. As our SUV slid down those vast sand hills, we were all cheering and laughing, just having the best time.
Next was the camel ride, super scary but incredibly worth it! It was a first for me, so I was happy to cross it off of my bucket list.
Next was the very talented belly dancing and fire dance. Both of those performances blew me away, fascinating!
The evening came to an end after we had a delicious buffet-style dinner, traditional food from Dubai. Meat is really big in Dubai cuisine, so the buffet did consist of a lot of different meats but there were also some really good vegetarian sides if you didn’t want any meat.
My full experience in Dubai was euphoric! I can’t wait to go back on a more extended trip next time of course. Thank you again to The Rove Hotel for hosting me! The Rove Hotel 5 locations throughout Dubai. The property I stayed at was across the street from the famous Dubai Mall and the beautiful Burj Khalifa.
For more information about the hotel, please check out www.rovehotels.com and follow them on Instagram: @rovehotels
Naomi is a stylish, adventurous traveler. She’s a bit of a daredevil that loves excursions. Those that know her, call her a shoe connoisseur. She is also obsessed with music and has a playlist for just about any mood. She’s a foodie that loves a good vegetarian/vegan spot. Want to know where she is headed next… stay tuned to find out!
