Housekeeping was excellent. On arrival I asked for an ironing board and iron. Perhaps good timing. It came almost immediately. Wake up call. Was it a machine call back? No voice messsage to wake up on receiving call. Not too much an issue. Buffet Breakfast. Waiters fast and responsive.

My wife and I did not know of any hotels in Dubai, but accepted our travel agent's recommendation. We were pleased to find it was all we could ask for - reasonably close to the airport and with a magnificent shopping complex adjacent. Tours were readilly arranged for us and advice on local sightseeing given. While the room cost was a bit more than what we had encountered on the remainder of our holiday, the pain of the extra expense was conterbalanced by an exceptional hotel experience.

The Sofitel in Dubai is a luxurious expensive hotel - wonderful for pampering yourself. For my business purposes it was too far away from where I needed to be for the three days I was in Dubai, so I only stayed one night at the Sofitel then found another hotel. The worst aspect of my one-day stay was the fact that I had to get to a part of the city about 15 minutes away and it took 30 minutes to get a taxi. I would not recommend the hotel if you were in a hurry to get anywhere quickly. Perhaps the hotel could offer car services for those who stay at their hotel. This was a definite draw-back. However, the staff were excellent as were the facilities and the room.

IWAS IN THIS HOTEL 3 TIMES THIS IS MY LAST ONE DURING 29/2 TO2/3 /2008 OFCOURSE I AM TRAVELLING TO DUBBAI A LOT OF TIME IN MY LIVE MY BE MOOR THAN 30 TIME WHEN I DECIED TO COME TO DUBBAI JUST TO SHOOPING I PREFER TO STAY ON HOTELS NEER THE MALL AND THIS HOTEL ONE OF THE BEST ONE BUT THE PRICE VERY HIGHT ANY WAY THE HOSPITALITY AND THE SERVESES ALWAS VERY GOOD
DR IBRAHIM GUIDER
ACTUING JENERAL MANAGER OF ARAB LABER ORGANIZATIONS
LIBYAN NATIONALITY

Considering its convenient location, it doesn't quite surprise me that this place would endure such poor service. I have visited Dubai numerous times and have stayed at great hotels. I would have expected Sofitel to maintain the same quality standards as the others, but because of it's great location why should they right??

First thing, my partner and I had to wait about 20 minutes for a room (we have checked in at the estimated time prior to our arrival 5pm) and when we entered our requested nonsmoking room, it smelled like a smokehouse. I have requested another room and they claimed to not have anymore and offered to send someone to deodorize the room. We have settled for the deodorizer, but noone ever came to the room.

Secondly, about 15-20 minutes later, I realized our bags weren't delivered. I had to call them to send the bags up.

Third, we couldn't remember whether b-fast was included and so we called reception to ask if b-fast was included in our stay and they told us no, so we ended up eating at the City Centre Mall. Upon checkout I realized that b-fast WAS actually included and the nerve of them to charge us for a room w/b-fast and for the mini bar when we clearly stated we did not take anything from the minibar.

This place is a rip off and they do not do ANYTHING to compensate for an unpleasant stay. We were too furious to elevate our issues to upper management and so we left as unhappy campers.

The only good thing about this hotel is the convienence of the mall. Aside from that, you are better off taking a taxi! We stayed in a standard room and paid $500 for one night (thank God we only stayed one night)!! This was more like a $150 per night hotel. We were better off at the Grand Hyatt for that price. My advice to anyone who is considering this hotel is to STAY AWAY! Do not even consider it!! There are other great places in that general area like Le Meridien Dubai (which is where we ended up staying afterwards).

would prefer different type of pillows and a duvet to make the bed more comfortable.