Dubai

[WanderDukeCubs]

Anyone ever been?

My fiancee and I were talking about places to go for our honeymoon, and I was pleasently shocked as hell when she mentioned the word Dubai. I asked her how on earth she came up with that idea and she said "It looked really cool when you were watching that tournament on TV." Good enough reason for me! Has anyone visited? What kind of packages can be found, how was the golf, dining, etc etc. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[joe perry]

unless you have been many many exciting places - i don't think dubai will go down as one all the all

time great honeymoon places

 

i am sure the shopping is good for certain things

and i am sure there are some top notch restaurants that cater to westerners

and i am sure it is clean and has some nice beaches and weather at the right time of year

 

but come on dubai - i don't think would be classified as romantic unless you feel frisky at the sight

of massive new building construction and the sight of dredging machines making man made islands

in the gulf of arabia

 

how about these choices

 

phuket thailand with some golf

bali indonesia with some golf

barbados with some golf

the sandbelt in melbourne oz for some golf or the gold coast of oz and its courses

heck even south africa and its awesome courses

 

or leave the clubs at home and experience some culture and old world charm

 

anywhere in italy

the south of france and monte carlo

malta

greece

ireland at the right time of year

 

or just hit a secluded beach

 

the cook islands

the maldives or seychelles

tahiti

anguilla

 

or hit a fast paced city and experience something you will never see in sioux city

 

seoul

tokyo

berlin

sydney

rio

 

or do some eco tourism and have an adventure

 

new zealand

argentina

vancouver island with an alaska cruise

wild game parks in kenya

 

just my thoughts i haven't quite been to all of these places yet but i can vouch for everyone of them

being something you will remember better than dubai

[Fred78]

For our honeymoon we went last year to Mauritius.

 

We stayed at the Belle Mare Plage Resort where you can play free 2 great courses as an hotel guest.

 

I've also played the famous Le Touesrok and at Le Saint Geran (Gary Player design).

 

Resorts in Mauritius give great rates for Honneymoon vacations.

 

Expect outstanding food, service, golf, facilities,...

[shook23]

Haven't been, but entertained it for my honeymoon as well.

 

We ended up eliminating it from our choices because of the cost.

 

We have not yet chosen where we're going, but concentrating on the Caribean.

[The Big Schwag]

I've been to Abu Dhabi which is about an hour from Dubai, and I would not recomend it for a honeymoon. here are some things I noticed

-construction everywhere

-shoping is good but you won't find any deals

-Golf is good in the winter but I hear in July/ August it gets very hot even the water gets to hot to be in

-Golf is also very expensive

-hookers everywhere you cannot go out for a drink with out getting approached

-oh ya did I metion the construction

 

don't get me wrong I had a blast and am looking forward to returning and I will be taking my wife and kid with me so they can experiance it but you should take a pass on this as your honeymoon destination

[chasm]

Pretty much agree with all the comments here so far. Dubai is a building site at the moment (and likely to be so for a few years yet). Service levels in the hotels are high and the golf courses that I played (Emirates, where the Desert Classic is played) and the Montgomerie are both superb courses. Great conditioning, excellent test of all parts of your game and uncrowded (in January at least). That said, it is not a romantic destination at all as it lacks all semblance of charm. It is shaping up to be one mega theme park with all the attractions and pitfalls you would expect with that.

 

Mauritius on the other hand has it all (as well as a very tiring journey if you are starting anywhere in the US). Le Saint Geran (which I know better) and Le Touesserok (my sense is this is more suited to couples and has the 'best' golf course on the island attached) are both outstanding hotels. I felt the Bernhard Langer designed course was a bit tricked up for the average amateur. If you don't know your yardages to the nearest millimeter (as obviously the designer does) it can be pretty penal - not a lot of forgiveness in the design. It is however very beautiful to look at. If you stay at either of the hotels mentioned you get free green fees on this track and at the Gary Player 9 holer at Le Saint Geran, which is great for a pre-cocktails sprint around or even to play before breakfast (perhaps not on honeymoon!).

 

Also agree with comments above about South Africa, Thailand or New Zealand as great alternatives with a bit more variety in what you could get up to out of the hotel while still including some golf. By the way, was very taken with St Lucia at Christmas - a more charming version of Barbados with a surprisingly good golf course. Make sure you head to the north of the island though to take advantage of this. In fact, having re-read Joe Perry's comments above, I think his advice is excellent.