Hotel Deals – When Room Rates are Lower than Breakfast Prices
I know I have said it before. Hotel rates in Dubai during Ramadan go southwards. They are really really cheap. For some of the properties, the ADRs could be 1/3rd or even 1/4th of peak season rates.
This gave me an interesting idea. Can your hotel stay be so inexpensive that it covers the cost of your breakfast? Or possibly, some other perks? Read below to find out.
JW Marriott Marquis and Kitchen6
JW Marriott Marquis is one of the flagship properties in Dubai. As one of the tallest hotel buildings in the world, it is easily visible in the Dubai skyline. This hotel has a buffet restaurant, Kitchen6 which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
To call Kitchen6 a multi-cuisine restaurant would be a major understatement! I have eaten a few times here and for each meal there are more than 100 varieties to choose from. Each cuisine has its dedicated area and there are several live cooking stations.
The buffet breakfast costs AED 140 ($38) per person. Kids above 6 will be charged half the price.
The nightly rates in May (for 2 adults and 1 child) are AED 427 ($116) inclusive of taxes. This is inclusive of breakfast at Kitchen6.
Your breakfast is worth AED 350 ($95). So effectively, it covers 82% of your room rental. Incredible, isn’t it? And of course you will receive tier night credits and 2X points as per current promotion.
Atlantis Palm and Kaleidoscope
Atlantis is located in the man-made Palm island of Dubai. It is one of the most sought after properties. Even in the low season, the rates do not go below $200. However, stays here come with a lot of extra perks. In your room rates, the following are included
- Breakfast at Kaleidoscope (breakfast inclusive rates only): Among all the buffet breakfasts I have had in Dubai, Kaleidoscope and Kitchen6 (see above) have the most variety. In fact, Kaleidoscope might even have an edge in this regard. Breakfast charges are AED 165 ($45) per person.
- Dinner at Kaleidoscope (half-board rates only): Dinner prices start from AED 215 ($58) per person
- Aquaventure – It is a huge waterpark stretching over 17 acres. Ticket prices are from AED 320 ($87) per person
- The Lost Chambers – The largest acquarium in Dubai with ~65,000 marine animals. Tickets start from AED 110 ($30) per adult
To summarize, a half-board stay at Atlantis Palm offers you perks worth AED 810 per person. For 2 adults it is AED 1,620 ($440).
Half-board rates during this season start at AED 1,385 per night. So you get more than your money’s worth.
Final Thoughts
To repeat what I have written several times – low season in Dubai can have some incredible hotel deals.
In 2018, a couple of hotels had promotions offering free tickets to adventure parks such as IMG World. The room rentals were lower than the price of tickets!
A special mention to Hilton hotels as well. If you are a Hilton Honors Gold, you get free breakfast. In some properties, this will cover more than half the cost of your room.
Since ur the dubai hotel expert, do u recommend marriott marquis over grosvenor house (both will include breakfast inclusive rate)? ta reviews have gh way higher but ur comment about breakfast is driving me to marquis.
Hi, thanks for reading. The properties you mention are about 20km apart. Marriott marquis is in downtown while Grosvenor is near the Palm. For business, I would certainly pick Marriott. Probably for shopping as well (it is about 5 minutes from Dubai mall). If I want to relax on the beach (it’s is getting hotter though), I would choose Grosvenor. Hope it helps.
When is the low season. Can you put it in calendar terms. How is the entertainment scene during the low season?
Hi, thanks for reading.
While entire summer (till August at least) is low season, Ramadan is probably the cheapest. Ramadan this year will be from May 6, 2019 to June 2/3, 2019. Entertainment is a very broad term. Malls, beaches, restaurants, adventure parks etc are open all year round. Winter season is better for outdoor activities.
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