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Booking Intercontinental Dubai Marina
Dubai has three IC’s to boast and Intercontinental Dubai Marina is located in the famed Dubai Marina area of the city, closer to the Palm Jumeirah. I booked my two night stay (Jan 3 and 4, 2017) on points for 45,000/night. I value IHG points at 0.7 cpm which translates to $315 USD/night. At the time of booking, cash rates for IC dubai marina were in excess of $350/night. I was happy to redeem on points and keep cash in pocket instead.
Getting there
I find city-taxi/Uber to be the best option from airport to most hotels in city. IC Dubai Marina is towards the southern end of the city, taxis/uber can range between 75 AED – 120 AED. As a ritual, I even tried the chopper transfer option from the airport. While the price quote was reasonable, I was not surprised with the unavailability at 2am!
Train options from Airport to Dubai Marina can take an hour or more, not ideal for lugging luggage across city.
Intercontinental Dubai Marina: Check-in
The hotel includes elegantly appointed ~350 rooms, a tower dedicated to fully furnished luxury suites equipped with kitchenette among other amenities.
The main entrance of the hotel is beautifully appointed with a truly welcoming hotel lobby.
Hotel Exterior
The check-in process was smooth and easy. I was welcomed with a refreshing drink and a welcoming staff. As an Ambassador Gold member, I was offered a complimentary upgrade to the Junior suite room 🙂 . Benefits also included bottled water, late check-out, a welcome gift in room. I was assigned room 1106.
Check-in desks
Hotel Lobby
The lobby lounge had several seating options for guests that may have to wait for their room to be ready or to simply enjoy the surroundings and get work done.
Lobby Lounge
The two sets of elevators to the left of the lobby lounge takes guests to the designated floors. Another set of elevators just past the hotel lobby provides access to the residence suites.
Lobby Lounge
11th Floor hallway, looking towards room 1106
Room 1106 down the hallway
Intercontinental Dubai Marina – Junior Suite
Junior Suite – Room 1106
The doors open to the chic and modern living room, overlooking the marina and the Dubai Marina tram station.
The living room was equipped with a work desk, sofa, tv and a beautifully created mini bar and coffee station setup.
Room 1106 living room
The welcome gift in room was a fruit platter and a box of chocolate covered dates – yum!
Welcome gift: Fruit patter and a box of chocolate covered dates
The ornate cupboard in the living room opened to an elegant setup of mini fridge, snacks and a Tassimo coffee station.
Minibar, snacks and coffee station.
A connecting door led from the living room to the bedroom of this junior suite.
Living room, looking into the bedroom
The bedroom was large, spacious and well lit with sweeping views of the marina and the city.
Intercontinental Dubai Marina Junior Suite bedroom
The bedroom included a king size bed, small couch and a large work desk with a mirror.
Intercontinental Dubai Marina bedroom looking towards the bathroom
Intercontinental Dubai Marina – King Size bed
There is something about a well appointed bathroom that really makes or breaks my experience in a hotel room. The Intercontinental Dubai Marina did not disappoint in this regard either. The bathroom in the Junior Suite had double sinks, large soaking tub and a separate toilet and standing shower. It also came equipped with a well stocked cabinet with double door access to the bedroom.
Intercontinental Dubai Marina Bathroom
Bathroom with toilet and standing shower
I loved the double door access to the cabinet in the bedroom, it allowed access to my clothes from the bathroom as well!
Views from Junior Suite 1106
View from living room, Dubai Marina tram station – bottom left.
View of the Marina
Bedroom view
Bedroom + window view
Other Hotel amenities and Services
The hotel houses five restaurant/bars, an Intercontinental lounge, a spa and a swimming pool. The swimming pool was rather small and extremely busy, the two times I went. Was unable to take any pictures given the number of people using the hotel pool. Breakfast is served at the Accents restaurant which is an extremely elegant space and offers both, buffet and menu options. Unfortunately no pictures again, barely made it in time before breakfast wrapped at 10:30am.
Overall assessment
This was my first time at Dubai Marina neighborhood and I absolutely LOVED it. The IC Dubai Marina is an equally impressive property and located in one of the best areas in Dubai (in my opinion). The hotel service, amenities and the location have won me over. In a city that has no limitations to luxury stay options, IC Dubai Marina has definitely become my go-to spot.
