It is a long journey to – 13 hours from Boston, but the flight was overnight and I had the incredibly good fortune of flying in business class on Emirates. The seats in business class provide plenty of room and lay flat at the push of a button (seat is 79 inches long when flat). The airline provides mattress pads, pillows and blankets (only pillows and blankets in coach class) to make the experience as similar to sleeping in a bed as it can possibly be thousands of miles up in the air. The food was first class (no pun intended) and served on fine with real cutlery. Each business class seat has a large TV screen with hours and hours and hours (weeks and months!) of movies, TV shows and other content on demand. There is also a power supply at each seat. The first class seats are actually private suites with even more amenities and conveniences than what’s provided in business class. The economy class experience, while nowhere near as comfortable or luxurious as business or first, is very nice. Each seat has a private TV screen with the same content provided in business and first and the seats recline more than I’ve experienced in economy on other airlines.

The city of Dubai is amazing – huge buildings with lots of glass! It’s a very modern city and the hotels I saw/stayed in had all of the latest technology (in sleeping rooms, lobbies, meeting space, etc.) – more so than most hotels in the U.S.

Our first full day in Dubai we were taken out in a catamaran around the Palm (manmade island in the shape of a palm tree) – truly an engineering marvel like nothing I’ve seen before (involving massive ships going out into the ocean and basically hoovering up sand from the bottom to bring back to create the island). From the catamaran we could see the iconic outline of the Atlantis Resort, located on the , along with many other big hotel brands. We could also faintly see Islands out in the distance, which are done but nothing has been built on them yet. We did a site inspection of the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray on Palm Jumeirah, which is stunningly elegant, and had a wonderful lunch at the Al Nafoorah inside the hotel. Our tour of Palm Jumeirah included a ride on the monorail from one end of the island to the other (basically along the trunk of the “palm tree” – from top to bottom). En route to our catamaran sail in the morning, we were able to see the new marina being finished. The marina will have a long boardwalk for running/walking/biking (if you can stand the heat!) and restaurants and cafes along the water.

That evening we did a site inspection of the hotel we were staying at, the Jumeirah in . It’s a beautiful, modern hotel with great views over the city with the Persian Gulf in the distance. After the site inspection we had a wonderful dinner at The Rib Room on the ground floor of the hotel. We experienced the breakfast buffet in the restaurant the next morning before departing for – it was wonderful!

The bus ride from Dubai to Abu Dhabi is about 2 hours. We were able to see the new airport (open but still under construction), Al Maktoum International Airport, on the way to Abu Dhabi. The airport is part of Dubai World Central, planned to be a major logistics center for Dubai and the Middle East in general. The airport in Dubai (DXB) will still be used but the idea is to move a lot of the air traffic, in particular cargo flights, to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).

We stopped on our way to Abu Dhabi to see the Grand Mosque. It was incredible! Beautiful, ornate, intricate, extravagant, and somewhat overwhelming in its size and grandeur. The Grand Mosque was place in which a dress code was strictly enforced. Women had to be covered from neck to toe and wear a hard scarf. The mosque is amazing to see as you approach it and equally amazing within. Definitely a must see if you’ll be in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

Our next stop en route to Abu Dhabi was Ferrari World, home of the world’s longest roller coaster. A few of my travel companions went on the ride – I declined, not being much of a roller coaster lover. Ferrari World has a few other rides besides the roller coaster along with a lot of Ferrari memorabilia. I purchased what I think were probably the world’s most expensive t-shirts (just cotton!) for some family members from the gift shop – you only go to Ferrari World once, right? And these family members are real car fanatics. Our lunch at the Monte Carlo Beach Club after Ferrari World was fantastic (perfect for an offsite group event!), a delicious meal looking out over the ocean.

Our last stop before the hotel for that night was the Manarat Al Saadiyat visitors’ center, which has an exhibit showcasing the development project for Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Once complete, Saadiyat Island will have Louvre and Guggenheim museums along with luxury hotels like the Park Hyatt and St. Regis. The project is expected to be completed around 2018 and will significantly increase the marketability and appeal of Abu Dhabi.

We arrived at our hotel for that night, the Jumeirah Etihad Towers in the late afternoon. The hotel has a stunning lobby with floor to ceiling windows that offer a beautiful view of the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf). The hotel also has a beautiful view of the Presidential Palace. Dinner that night was at Brasserie Angélique at the hotel – it was a wonderful meal!

Thanks to lingering jet lag, I was up very early the next morning and had time for a long walk along Corniche Rd (a boardwalk area running parallel to the Arabian Gulf). There were other people out exercising, men and women, and I felt very safe. I was back to the hotel in time for a quick bite at the hotel’s expansive breakfast buffet, and then we set off for our return trip to Dubai.

No trip to the Middle East is complete without a camel sighting (at least as far as an American tourist is concerned), and I’m happy to report that we saw a few along the highway on our way back to Dubai.

Back in Dubai, we experienced a water taxi ride and explored the spice and gold souks. I purchased more saffron than I’ll ever need – I’m hoping the people I give it to will cook for me! But I was a little too overwhelmed by the sights, smells, heat, and loud haggling to get anything else. I did enjoy watching some of my travel companions bargaining with the Emirates.

After our souk shopping, we ended up at the Bastakiah Nights restaurant for a delicious lunch. The colors, flavors and smells of the food were amazing! So was the quantity! We certainly ate some big, delicious meals on this trip. Whoever said you lose your appetite in the heat was wrong – at least on this trip!

After lunch we headed to the to enjoy the magnificent views from the top of the tallest building in the world. We then had some time to walk around , which is connected to the Burj Khalifa. We all bought dates and camel’s milk chocolate as souvenirs to bring back home.

It had already been a long day by the time we got to our hotel for that night, the . But we still had much more to do! I had to leave the familiarization trip a day earlier than the rest of the group, so my flight was scheduled for the following day at around 2:00am, which meant I would miss the scheduled site visit to the , one of the top luxury hotels in the world (room rates are around $2,000+ per night!). I couldn’t leave Dubai without seeing the Burj Al Arab, so I was fortunate that the Jumeirah contact who was with us was able to make an appointment for me to see the hotel – you can’t even get into the hotel without an appointment or a restaurant reservation! It was everything I thought it would be, and more! It’s the most unbelievable lobby I could ever have imagined. You look up and it’s like an undulating wave of blue and green. Each room is a two story suite. The views from the meeting space are spectacular. I was so happy that I was able to see – it definitely left an impression, and I hope to have the opportunity to bring a group there some day (BIG BUDGET!).

I arrived back at the Madinat Jumeirah with just enough time to go through my luggage and get ready for my departure to the airport that night at 11:30pm before our site inspection of that hotel began. The Madinat Jumeirah is so much more than you think when you first arrive. The property has two grand boutique hotels, Al Qasr and Mina A’ Salam, 29 traditional summer houses in Dar Al Masyaf, 7 Malakiya Villas, over 40 restaurants and bars, conference and banqueting facilities including two grand ballrooms, a 1000-seat amphitheatre and the region’s only dedicated entertainment centre and multi-purpose venue, Madinat Arena. All of this is connected by waterways. It feels like the Venice of the Middle East. The meeting space is spectacular – there’s lots of it and it’s very elegant. You have a nice view of the Burj Al Arab from the beach at the Madinat Jumeirah. We had some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had that night at the Tortuga restaurant at the hotel – and I have quite a bit of experience with Mexican food (it just might be my favorite cuisine!).

Then it was time to say goodbye to my travel companions and catch a ride to the airport. It was about a 30 minute ride to the airport from the Madinat Jumeirah – quick and easy with no traffic at that time of night.

The check-in process at the airport was smooth. It wasn’t until I got through security that I saw how busy it actually was. If I hadn’t been so tired, I think I would have taken more advantage of all the shops in the airport. But then I would have had to find room in luggage that was already close to bursting open. I was able to wait for my flight in the Emirates business class lounge, which had plenty of comfy seating and complimentary snacks and beverages.

I was in Dubai from Thursday night to very early on Monday morning, so it was a short trip but very well worth it. I saw just about as much as you could possibly see in that short time frame, and I hope to have the opportunity to go back and see even more. The time of year, May, was a good time to visit. It wasn’t very busy and the heat hadn’t become too oppressive yet (it was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit each day plus more humidity than I was expecting).

The hosts of the familiarization trip, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Emirates Airlines and Arabian Adventures (represented by World Marketing Group), were all wonderful and I will definitely be using them for future business.

Feel free to contact me if you want to learn more about my Dubai/Abu Dhabi experience! [email protected]