San Marco

Hotel is not large but get nice location in old Deira. Friendly reception. Our room was with two windows, balcony and good conditioner. The restaurant is nice but we did not take meal. Metro station Gold Souk is near 20 minutes walk. Many shops are near the hotel. No deposit. We spent New 2023 year holidays.

The hotel is located in Deira, an authentic Indian candle-scented area. Around there are many small shops with various goods, including groceries. There are small eateries with Indo-Pakistani dishes. A 15-minute walk from the Gold Souk metro station and the bus station (you can see the routes on Google maps). The heart of the hotel is the staff, friendly, helpful, welcoming. There is some renovation of the building: elevators have been replaced, new plumbing in the rooms. We were satisfied with our stay at the hotel, we were provided with a family room, large, bright, clean, with two balconies. The rest of the rooms are simple. Linen is clean, cleaning is good. Hot water is always available, thanks to the presence of a boiler. The air conditioner is strong and cools well. TV set, safe (free of charge), small refrigerator. Drinking water is not provided. Hygiene products - napkins, shampoo, soap, paper - in abundance. Security is on duty around the clock. The windows have aluminum frames, so the soundproofing from the street is poor, there is a lot of noise. The chic views of the planes landing are very impressive. The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. The lobby is small and brightly decorated. All rooms have good free wifi. Accommodation, rest, cleanliness, staff support are good. Didn't take food, I can't rate the quality. Would recommend the hotel for a short business trip.

So, when I go to Dubai I always choose cheap and not great areas as I will always be visiting friends or going out. So this cheap not so cheerful joint was my choice. The entrance to the hotel is on a small one way street. No parking or stopping. God forbid you want an Uber to find you. Check in was fine. Room was a complete disaster. First night. No toilet paper or towels larger than a flannel. Cars honking all night and hookers shouting. The bathroom has a weird stale smell. As does the hallway. Didn’t open the cupboard as I wasn’t interested unpacking. No kettle or otherwise. Fridge didn’t work. 5 tv channels 1 English 1 Russian not sure what the others were. Comfy bed. Bad plug sockets. Wallpaper peeling. Grimy mouldy shower with nasty curtain. Hairy bathroom floor. The room was cleaned twice. One day they stopped me on the way out and asked if I want the room cleaned. I said don’t bother. The pool upstairs is ok. All the beds are broken tho and nowhere to sit. The sauna/gym/bar are closed. Didn’t get an answer as to why and really wasn’t interested. No views at all. Very worn out and a let down as some deira hotels with low star rating are way better. The breakfast is 20dhs for 5 choices. Last nights potatoes and some form of bean. Not baked beans, an egg either omelette with peppers or boiled, uncooked tomatoes and cucumber and sliced bread in a packed with butter and jam. Tea and coffee and orange juice. Positively nasty. Only went for the coffee. Some of the staff were friendly and with no English spoken and some were pure lazy and arrogant. I don’t take that well and behaved just as badly. I checked out early and wasn’t even questioned as to why. They are probably used to it. Men’s sandals were in the bathroom for what reason I have no idea.