I got back yesterday from my weeklong trip to Dubai. I was there for a work conference, but I went a little early to catch up with a college friend I hadn't seen in over 30 years. It was great to have a "local" show me around a bit.
My overall impression of Dubai is that it's a mashup of Miami Beach and Las Vegas. There are lots of luxury (hotels, resorts, cars, shopping) and wealth, but it's a bit too pretentious and try-hard for me. If I counted how often I saw people "posing" for the perfect Instagram picture in front of the Burj Al Arab or any other iconic building, I think I could buy one of the sheik's palaces.
I stayed at the Jumeirah Al Naseem, a very nice resort hotel right on the Arabian Gulf (and right next to the Burj Al Arab, that sailboat-looking hotel you see when you view images of Dubai)
It was the most authentic of the three hotels I could have stayed at, the others being Atlantis the Royal, and the Burj Al Arab. The Royal could have fit in perfectly if it had been airdropped onto the Vegas strip as the newest hotel; however, it wasn't what I was looking for. The Burj Al Arab is iconic, but it shows its age a little bit, as mentioned by a few people I know who stayed there. The Al Naseem was relaxed and not too chaotic.
The overall experience was great. You can certainly tell that Dubai is one of the most progressive areas within the Gulf States. There were tons of visitors from all over the globe, everyone spoke English, including the vast majority of signage, and there was no shortness of the comforts of living that most of us are familiar with, including the availability of liquor in all of the bars and restaurants. It was hot as balls for most of the time I was there but coming from an unseasonably hot Miami, I was used to it.
I got out to the desert a couple of times, and it was much greener than normal due to the torrential storms that hit that area a few weeks back. I spent a day at the Al Maha Resort (an Autograph Collection by Marriott for those Bonvoy members), which is about an hour outside of Dubai. The resort is on a nature preserve so I could see tons of Oryx, the national animal of UAE and Qatar, and gazelle. That was pretty cool. And the resort was fantastic. The villas were beautiful and the service was great. If I were to return to Dubai, I would probaby spend a few days in the city combined with a few days at the Al Maha to chill and relax.
I flew Qatar Airways in one of their business class, Q-Suites and it was fantastic. The American carriers could learn something about service, comfort and food from them.
I can add a bit more about my experiences there if anyone is interested and will be happy to answer any questions.
Overall, it was a great experience, but not my first time in the Middle East. A few years ago I spent a week in Jordan in both Amman and Petra. While I would love to go back to Jordan (and add Lebanon and Israel to the trip) , I'm not sure that I would spend 18+ hours to go back to Dubai with my family for any reason. Considering I live in Miami and tend to travel to Las Vegas quite a bit, Dubai didn't really show me anything special that would be worth seeing again.
. Our hotel served booze at least. 
