Hotel Review: Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments, Dubai, United Arab Emirates


Hotel Review / United Arab Emirates

Finding a hotel in Dubai is an exhausting task and I was really pleased when I came across Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments. There are literally hundreds of options to choose from and it can be quite expensive to stay anywhere decent, especially somewhere that is close to transport options. The key to booking a hotel in Dubai is to do it as early as possible and not having been to Dubai before I couldn’t really comprehend how the city was laid out along the main thoroughfare of Sheik Zayed Road.

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I wanted to stay along this road as it was the main artery of Dubai and it is where the main metro line runs, making it easy to get around the city without having to rely on taxis or private cars. I finally settled on the Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments in the area known as Dubai International City and it didn’t disappoint.

YASSAT GLORIA HOTEL & APARTMENTS AT A GLANCE

Price: USD $115.20 per night
Check In: 15:00
Check Out: 11:00
Floor: 40 of 40 (Deluxe Room, City View, Breakfast Included)

GETTING HERE

Dubai is a really simple city to travel around and given that, it is continuing to expand along with the highly efficient Dubai Metro. The Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments is located right next to the Dubai Metro and the Dubai Internet City station. From Dubai International Airport I took the red line metro from Emirates Terminal 3 and caught the train to the front of the hotel, it couldn’t have been easier than that.

The journey taking the metro took around an hour and while it isn’t the quickest way to get there, it is a good way to see some of the city on your way to the hotel. If you wish to get to the hotel a lot faster you can of course catch a taxi from the airport at any of the terminals you may arrive at, given most flights are with Emirates you are most likely to come out of Terminal 3, the largest terminal at the airport.

When you arrive at the Dubai Internet City station you have to walk around the outside in the station’s aerobridge to get to the hotel which ends at the back of the hotel. Upon entering, the staff out the front are very attentive and make sure to take your bags off your hands so that you’re able to go and check-in.

CHECKING-IN

My flight from Melbourne into Dubai arrived at 6:30am so the biggest worry for me the whole time was what to do with all this time before being able to check in. I arrived at the hotel at around 10:30am after clearing customs and collecting my luggage and boarding the metro.

On arrival into the hotel lobby I was greeted by the friendly staff, they took my bags and stored them while I went through the check-in process. Check-in was seamless and as expected they wouldn’t have a room ready for me just yet as it was too early. I was asked to take a seat in the lobby and I would be called once my room was ready, which was fine because I was too tired to go off and do anything anyway so sitting down was the best thing to do.

My biggest criticism during my stay here was that despite being told I would be called when my room was ready, I was kept waiting for a couple of hours and it wasn’t until I decided I had been waiting for way too long that I would line up at the check-in desk to follow up, the staff saw me lining up and when I got to the front immediately knew why I was there and told me that my room was ready. I really shouldn’t have to do that if the room was clearly ready and was kept waiting after a 14 hour flight.

Knowing how expensive it can be to stay in Dubai I wasn’t expecting to be up very high in the hotel and as I was still half asleep heading up to room 4006, I thought this was the 4th floor and was standing in the lift feeling disappointed that I wouldn’t have a nice view from my room. When the lift doors opened on level 4 and all I could see were cars meant that this of course wasn’t my floor but was in fact the hotel car park instead. Looking at the list panel the numbers only go up to 40 and I was thinking ‘surely I’m not on level 40?’ Ok, well the key has worked for this level 40 room so I mustn’t be dreaming then in my jet lagged state…

THE ROOM: DELUXE ROOM

The room was fantastic, it was a one bedroom apartment with its own kitchen, living and dining room and also had a reasonable sized bathroom. The bedroom was the same length of the living and dining room so it was pretty massive and was therefore able to incorporate its own sitting area. The best part of course was the view. Situated on level 40 and with no other buildings around to block the view, the apartment offered views right down to the Dubai Marina and to the stem of the Palm Jumeirah.

VIDEO: Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments Time Lapse from the top floor (40th)


Having this great view I was instantly planning out the many time lapses I would attempt to get, one during the day, another during the night, at sunrise, at sunset…the list was endless but the priority was to have a small nap and then check out some of the sites of Dubai to try and acclimatise to the new time zone.

HOTEL FACILITIES

Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments is packed full of features, the swimming pool is located on the lower levels and is at the rear of the hotel along with the gym and spa, and the hotel also boasts a salon and a small chemist on the lobby levels. Also for convenience and located across the road in the next building, is a small supermarket and cafe so if you don’t feel like eating out every night in town or in the hotel restaurants you can grab something quick and easy there to take back to your room.

The hotel also has a viewing platform on the same level as the pool and spa. From here you get some views up close with Sheik Zayed Road and in the distance you can pick up the Burj Al Arab, giving you some perspective on how far way it is from the hotel and the main road. Across the highway on the other side you’ll notice an identical looking building, this is also part of the Gloria Group of hotels and is a straight hotel facility as opposed to this one which is more apartment focused.

The hotel is also in a prime location on the Sheik Zayed Road and is ideal for hotel pick-ups for activities around Dubai. One particular must do activity is to go sand dune bashing in the desert and most of the tour operators that take guests out to the desert will pick you up from the hotel (see below for a video on that experience). There is also a taxi rank outside the hotel, as soon as a guest requires a taxi the friendly staff out the front of the hotel will hail one down and you’re on your way.

CHECKING-OUT

Checking out of the hotel was easy, I needed to leave bright and early in the morning for an 8:00am flight to Cairo and it’s a good 45 minutes drive to the airport from the hotel. Allowing for time to check-in for the flight and to clear customs I checked out at around 5:00am. The staff called me a taxi and within 2 minutes of checking out of the hotel I was hurtling my way down Sheik Zayed Road on my way to the airport.

I really enjoyed my stay at the Yassat Gloria Hotel & Apartments and would stay here again on my next visit to Dubai. What I really liked was its closeness to the Dubai Metro station, Dubai Internet City, given this was my first time in Dubai I wanted reassurance I would be able to easily get around town on my own. It was an ideal place to base yourself and be able see the main sites from. Catching the metro to the Dubai Marina and the connecting tram which then also connects to the monorail to take you down the Palm Jumeirah was a highlight and of course catching the metro down to Burj Khalifa and even further to the old town around Dubai Creek was simple and efficient.

VIDEO: Dune Bashing in the Dubai Desert



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GUIDE BOOKS

A guide book isn’t cheating! Before you leave on your next adventure ensure you plan to get the most out of your trip and check out the range of guide books from Lonely Planet. The comprehensive guide books on Dubai from Lonely Planet will give you an insight on what to expect on your travels to this amazing city of the United Arab Emirates.

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Just your average guy doing his 9 - 5 job as a Senior Payroll Officer by day, writing about his travel adventures and hopefully giving you inspiration and ideas for your next travel adventure here at loneXplorer...

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