Spent a week in dubai, in february. Had an excellent flight with royal brunei, highly recommend. Burj dubai was worth going for a meal to, as you can't go in unless you have a booking. Wild waadi was very expensive and the weather wasn't too warm so a bit of a waste. Eating out is very cheap. The ski park needed 4 hr prior booking which we didnt have time for. Desert safari was expensive but worth every penny, excellent time had by all. Quad biking was great fun. Apart from this dubai is just one big shopping mall

We stopped off in Dubai for 3 nights on returning from Thailand and were really disappointed with the city. The place is still a giant building site and offers very little interest unless you are seriously wealthy. We chose to stay in the old part of town and were glad we did. There are a number of interesting galleries etc in the old town which is pretty and the spice souk is very interesting. The gold souk and textile souk are both a little disappointing and there is so many people attempting to sell tat and fake goods. The small area of public beach has lovely sand but there is very little to do in the beach area except lie around or visit hotel complexes. The biggest disappointment was the bus tour which took you from shopping complex to mall to mall. All very well I suppose if that is what you are looking for. I don't think I would return for a holiday.

Food/ Shopping:
No problem in finding whatever your heart desires. Quality, Quantity and Variety is far far far better then Singapore's range.

Costs:
Above average. One average meal at a 'food-court' similar to Singapore's costs around SGD10. But, its very worthwhile taking into consideration product quality and service.

Sceneries/ What to do:
You'll love the Burj Al Arab, the desert and the people!! The dune driving & sand-skiing was a crazily fun experience!

Weather:
If you love being soaked in 'oven-hot sun'....you'll love it there. :)

People:
Love them!

Dubai is the perfect place to go if you would like to experience the Middle East at its safest.Best Time to go is November and Decmber, weather is great and you can spend the whole day at the beach as its not sweltering hot.Watch out though as most Hotels are booked out due to high season demand.

One great attraction for children and adults is Wild Wadi Theme/Water Park.Great place to be for the whole day and you can get a birds eye view of the Jumeira Beach Hotel and the Burj Al Arab Hotel.Full of water slides and an amazing fake sea/beach,it beats any North American Park.At a cost of about 380AED for entrance.

So for accomodation.Dont be fooled into getting a very cheap hotel in the Deira District if you are looking for a beach holiday as the Deira District(old town district) is far from the 'New Dubai' and a taxi ride to the beach could cost you about 30AED.Rather pay an extra bit to stay near Jumeira beach where you are close to everything including the Mall of Emirates which is a fantastic mall with a ski area (that looks like Switzerland in the winter, its that real) in there too!!!

For shopping lovers and for those staying for 2 days to burn your money the Deira district is the place to go!With all the souks around to bargain and most other shopping centres around too it wont be too difficult to burn hard cash.

For the ladies, yes respect the customs and traditions of this place as it is a Muslim country.Rest assured though that although men mightl stare at you as long as you do not wear skimpy clothing as if on Laguna Beach you will be fine!!Jumeira beach Park is a private beach park.Its dirt cheap for 5AED entrance and you get to see the Burj Al Arab in the distance and see the fishies as you enter the sea.

Also make sure of the presribed medication that you are taking with.Some substances are banned in the UAE so check with your embassy or the UAE embassy of what medication you are and not allowed to take.