I’m going to lead by saying the stay was great, the hotel staff was great, and I’m completely satisfied with the stay. I only had one mostly minor concern, although it’s nothing to do with the hotel but with the booking process. After placing a ‘pay at the hotel’ reservation, I was contacted via email a few days before the trip by someone claiming to be from the hotel asking to put my card info into a payment portal to authorize a charge for one night to secure the reservation. The email had many typos and was formatted strangely, which was a bit concerning for me, as it made me think it could possibly be a scam. I don’t say this as a criticism of the person who sent the email, because I understand that there’s a language barrier between the many people in UAE who speak English as a second language and visitors who are native English speakers. I’m also not an English expert. I say this more as a criticism of the process overall. Gratefully, the person who contacted me was a member of the hotel staff, not a scammer, and the whole reservation process went smoothly regardless of my one concern. My wife and I booked this hotel sight unseen for 12 nights. We were traveling to Dubai from the US on a smaller budget and the Movenpick JBR hotel fell right within our price range. We booked our stay based off the good reviews and we weren’t disappointed in the slightest. The hotel is clean, housekeeping staff was friendly and quick, and the front desk staff was helpful and accommodating. We booked the ‘superior king’ room. It was a great size for my wife and I. Water pressure in the shower was great, and the room had a large tub. The only downside was the pillows, they appeared fluffy and comfortable but after a few minutes laying on them they become almost completely flat and a little uncomfortable. I found that stacking two of them solved the issue. If you have back or neck problems I’d recommend bringing/buying a firmer pillow for your stay if it’s going to be a longer trip. It wasn’t a problem for me, however. The pool and pool area is clean and well-kept. We added the breakfast buffet onto our reservation, and it was worth it for us, for the convenience as well as the value. They rotate through a somewhat standard set of breakfast foods - breakfast potatoes, chicken sausage, turkey bacon, a good selection of pastries and breads, some Indian and Arabic foods, as well as fried eggs, over easy eggs, scrambled eggs, and omelets made fresh for you. There were also pancakes and waffles. Overall, the breakfast experience was good for us. The location of the hotel is awesome if you’re in Dubai for vacation. The beach is a short walk away, as is the JBR shopping area. Marina Mall is about a 10-15 min walk as well. There are countless restaurants and fast food joints - local selections and big chains that westerners would be familiar with - within easy walking distance. There are at least two grocery stores within short walking distance (5 min or less - Allday Market and Al Maya) if you need any snacks, water, etc for the beach or if you need any hygiene products. There’s also a great burger joint across the street called Black Tap that I’d recommend if you like good burgers and shakes. If you need a Rona test to be let back in to your country, there’s a MedCare clinic that shares walls with the hotel, near the Al Maya grocery store. You can probably get a walk-in test but I’d recommend calling or going in a couple days before to schedule an appointment to be safe. They said they’d get us our results in 24-36 hours, we got them back about 40 hours after our tests. I’d definitely recommend getting your test done as early as possible, and email the clinic’s customer service address (it’s on a paper on the door of the testing room) to ensure you get your results back in a timely manner. Overall, I’d give the whole stay 10/10 and would recommend staying at the Movenpick JBR hotel.
Dear Jordan, Thank you for the lovely review and for taking the time to share such extensive feedback. It is always helpful for those planning their trips to Dubai. Thank you also for recognizing the excellent value the hotel offers in the most popular leisure destination in Dubai. As I type this message, your review is being screenshotted and shared with several team members. That's how much your review means to us all. We all love what we do. Your detailed experience on this review gives us all tremendous happiness and encouragement to continue working hard because it tells us that we are doing something right. Our priority is customer service, and we are ecstatic that we met that mark! I apologize profusely for the email communication which gave you concerns. While we thank you for your extreme understanding of the region, we undeniably agree that your concern makes sense. The onus is on us to take a cue from your valuable feedback and make the necessary improvements. I noticed your comments about the pillow, and for this I apologize for the discomfort. However, just so you know for your next visit, we do have options available at the hotel upon request and preference (soft feather pillow, memory pillow, hard pillow, and synthetic). Now that we know your pillow preference, rest assured the team will have it ready before you check in next time . We are improving our services daily to suit our guests; this is why your review is valuable. It's great to know that you love our hotel, the colleagues and our services. Kind folks like you make our job a pleasure. We certainly look forward to having you and your wife back again. Warm regards, Amery Burleigh General Manager