Earlier this year, I took a trip alone down to Dubai to experience the Emirates First Class. While I was looking at places to stay in Dubai, the Jumeirah Beach appeared to be the best area for my liking. I stumbled upon a great redemption of Wyndham points there. The Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR which is located in the Jumeriah Beach area was available on points, and to my surprise, I was able to book into their biggest and most expensive one-bedroom duplex apartment for only 15,000 Wyndham points. For those that don’t know about the Wyndham loyalty program, you can use 15,000 Wyndham Rewards Points at any Wyndham properties worldwide. Points booking generally is only available or a Standard type of room, therefore when I was able to book into that biggest and most expensive “duplex apartment” room type for the same amount of Wyndham points, I was stoked.
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| The Hawthorn Suites Dubai Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR) |
The Verdict
- PROS: Fantastic location near Jumeirah Beach, JBR Walk, Dubai Marina, shops and restaurants. Clean room, spacious apartment with sea view, friendly staff and good services. A great use of 15,000 Wyndham points for a huge duplex apartment.
- CONS: Breakfast is not the best, outdoor swimming pool if weather permits.
Check-In
My flight from Syndey to Dubai arrived really late at night, but Dubai airport was still very busy. I took a taxi from the airport to Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR. Upon arrival, there was a bellboy came out to help me carry my suitcase and then guided me to the check-in desk. The check-in process was rather longer than I expected because the agent was doing a lot of paperwork just to check me in. There was no queues at all. We chitchat a little bit and when he was looking at the room type on my reservation, he said to me that “You booked the biggest room in our hotel!” I laughed and he continued to say that “The room is already paid for using points, you just need to pay the small city tax.” I handed him the credit card and while he was processing the card, he asked me whether I worked for Wyndham. I declined. My guess is he thought that using points to book for their biggest room is something not a typical visitor can do, but he had no idea that in USA, there are so many easy ways to accrue points. I did not mention that to him. When the check-in was completed, he told the same bellboy to take me to my room. The bellboy asked me for the room number and took me into the elevator. Inside the elevator, the bellboy asked me whether I was traveling alone. I said yes. He said that room is big for one person. We both chuckled. When we arrived at the room’s door, I used the room key to tap on the door, but it would not work. The bellboy took the room key from me and tried as well, but with no luck either. He checked the room number again, turned out he heard it wrong. We went back into the elevator, he joked around with me and said that “That room is big, but we are going to the penthouse!” I burst out laughing so hard and told him that I used points to book it. He also asked me if I worked for Wyndham. I once again declined no. That was the second time that I got asked for this type of question because of points booking. Finally, we made it to my room. He showed me a few things inside the room then left me be.
One-Bedroom Duplex Apartment, King Bed
I did not know how to really describe that apartment. It was so huge. I had to hold myself together when walking through the apartment with the bellboy. Inside of me was screaming on how insanely huge that apartment was. I found it kind of a waste of space though in the kitchen dinning area. The area was so big, all white tiles throughout, that could have been useful for something else. Right on the corner, there’s a full functional bathroom. The living room was also big with sofa chairs and a TV. What caught my eyes the most was the stairs to go up to the bedroom. The hardwood stairs made some squeaky noise when I walked on, which was kind of annoying. But the bedroom wasn’t disappointing. It was a very pretty good size bedroom. There was a king bed, desk, and another TV in the room. The en-suite bathroom is big with a bathtub and a walk-in shower. One of my favorites about this apartment is the fact that it has so many windows to overlook the Dubai Marina, surrounding skyline hotels, and of course the sea view. The apartment was indeed too big for one person. I have never stayed at this kind of room type before and that stay truly was one of the highlights of my Dubai trip. It’s worth mentioning that, the Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR also has a two-bedrooms duplex apartment type. The apartment was available with 15,000 Wyndham points as well, but provided that I was traveling solo, the one-bedroom apartment made the most sense.
I took a video of the one-bedroom duplex apartment at the Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR below for viewing.
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| Large Kitchen Dinning Area |
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| Living Room Downstairs |
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| En-suite Bathroom Upstairs |
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| View of Dubai Marina From the Apartment |
Complimentary Full Hot Breakfast
The Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR also offers free breakfast every morning to guests staying there. It does not matter whether guest are booking with cash or points, everyone gets to enjoy the complimentary breakfast during their stays on the Plaza level. They took each guest’s room number at the breakfast room before seated. The breakfast was a buffet style and had so many varieties. They did change the hot items each day. In my honest opinion, I wasn’t a fan of their breakfast. Although there were several hot items there, the food just did not taste good for me. I ate mostly hard boil eggs and some pastry with some juices. That’s about it. Regardless, it was still nice that the hotel offers complimentary full hot breakfast to guests. One thing I did not have to worry about every morning.
Hotel’s Location
Jumeirah Beach is a well-know tourist destination in Dubai. The Hawthorn Suites Dubai is situated in the Jumeirah Beach area. Upon exiting the hotel, turn left and walk through the parking area that leads to another smaller hotel’s entrance. After that, it’s just a few blocks away from the famous Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR) Walk and the Jumeirah Beach. There are many shops and restaurants within walking distance, and entertainment are all happening at the Walk area. McDonals, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC are there, and if you desire fine dinning there are plenty of those around as well.
Besides the JBR Walk and the Jumeirah Beach, Dubai Marina is also pretty nearby and can be done on foot. Otherwise, Dubai metro and tram stations are conveniently close by. For those that want to do the hop-on and hop-off bus to sight see Dubai, the bus stop is also within walking distance.
Overall, the location of the Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR is fantastic for a memorial Dubai’s trip.
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| Jumeriah Beach |
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| Dubai Marina |
Others
The Hawthorn Suites Dubai JBR has an outdoor swimming pool. It was not that warm when I was there, so I did not get to swim. There’s also a gym and a little shopping store inside the hotel on the Plaza level as well. Two complimentary bottled water each day. I declined room service every day, but talking of their wonderful service, they left the note and even called to make sure I had everything I needed and whether I wanted more bottled water.
