What a fantastic hotel. We stayed 4 nights and loved almost everything about it. The staff were outstanding in their service, the rooms were clean, comfortable and modern, the club lounge was brilliant and the snacks and breakfast in the club lounge was 1st class. I've never had better carrot cake in my life!

Location was ok. Plus side is that you have a great view of the rest of Dubai when it's not hazy and at night the lights are spectacular. Down side is that you need to get taxis everywhere and with the construction of the monorail currently going on the traffic is quite busy.

Only complaint is the light in the walk in robe is a sensor light and goes off too quickly, and although the breakfast and snacks in the club lounge are of an exceptional standard the room service food was not as good. It was ok, but nothing to rave about.

Dubai as a city is something so different to what I expected. Very modern architecture, some of the buildings are just outstanding and the new Burj tower is just so tall. As a treat it's worth going to the Burj al Arab for afternoon tea and at AED395 per person is expensive but for the experience well worth it. Otherwise you can't get close to the hotel as you get stopped at the gates.

Karama Markets are good for souveniors and other cheap things but nowhere near as cheap as Asian markets but the quality is much better also. Gold is the real bargain to be had and there's so much of it. Just make sure you know what you're willing to pay for it and don't be unreasonable either. If they let you walk away then your price was too low.

The museum was ok, nothing to rave about but the Mall of the Emirates was just so huge and of course a ski slope inside it made it all the better. Just imagine 37 degrees outside in the sun and skiiing inside a shopping centre.

Once the theme park opens in 2010 it will bring even more visitors to Dubai so I suggest going now before more people discover it.

We stayed here for 2 nights at the start of our holiday and for 2 nights at the end.We have stayed in Dubai off and on for about 15 years so we are used to the standard.We were a little taken aback by our "welcome" from the door staff i.e non existent,after that though things improved.Our room was ok but already was showing signs of wear,the veneer on a table had come off and lots of bumps and scraps on the walls.
I really have a problem with breakfast,it was awful,not much of a choice at all with terrible earthenware crockery that was dirty and stained,very poor quality food,we only ate there once and just had toast and coffee by the pool after that.
On the plus side the pool area was brilliant great loungers with a great pool and really good poolside service.One point to remember is that on windy days the poolside umbrellas are taken away,this is because an umbrella was blown over a ballastrade,so thats one to remember especially during the summer when shade is essential!!!!
Overall though the hotel was very average

We Stayed in the intercontinental at festival city for four night's at the end of march. This hotel is brand new and absolutely fantastic, the staff, the rooms,the restaurant,breakfast,reception,eveything we did not have a bad word to say about it.There are great veiws of the creek from the leisure deck which they share with the Crowne Plaza hotel next door.The hotel is also connected to the festival shopping centre with over 500 shops including Marks and Spencers and 90 places to eat. It's only a 5 minute taxi ride from the airport.

I stayed at the Hotel as part of a work conference for three days. There are alot of positives e.g.

- the level of service is exceptional
- incredibly clean
- funky rooms with great bathrooms
- the standard of food is very good (I was being mass-catered for as part of the conference so I would expect ala carte to be exceptional)
- alcohol is well priced for a 5* hotel e.g. 20 Dirhams for a beer - about 3 quid
- connected on to a huge shopping/eating complex
- taxis always available

The Festival City complex is still being finished (about 85% of the way there) and the hotel was no exception e.g. just half the pool/ sun lounging area open in March 2008. Workmen were prevalent in the area surround the hotel, however I experienced no contruction noise.

The hotel, whilst convenient for the airport, is a bit out of the city centre. However mitigated against this is the ample taxis plus a culture of no-one walking too far in general. A general plus is Dubai airport which is well organised and chilled; unlike the mayhem of Heathrow at the other end.