After being “stuck” in Emirates First class on ONLY a 777, we made our way to our hotel for one night, the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek. Although we had flown in Emirates First Class, which typically gives you Emirates chauffeur service, because we had booked the flight with Alaska Airlines miles instead, Emirates is no longer allowing you to book chauffeur service if you book with Alaska miles. So we took the Dubai metro (subway) which was totally not a problem once we figured out how to do it! The Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek is right near the Union subway stop, 5 stops down from the airport.
Arrival at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek
We had booked our one night stay at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek using an e-certificate that Club Carlson had given to members who complained when the Bonus Night feature of the credit card was removed back in April. I’m a Club Carlson Gold member which is their mid-tier status that I got for having the credit card. Gold members ARE entitled to a room upgrade though, and since one of the things I value most in hotels is lounge access (in hotels that have a lounge) and I actually emailed the hotel before we stayed seeing if we could be upgraded to a Royal Club room, which has lounge access. I was told
Reference to your email below kindly be informed that your complimentary upgrade is always subject to availability upon check in, and if you wish to guarantee an upgrade there will be an additional amount of AED 468 nett.
Thank you but no (AED468 is approximately USD$125!) – I figured I’d take my chances at the desk. When we got there, I inquired about being upgraded to a club room, the desk agent said that she could upgrade me to a Royal Club room but without the actual club access!?! Funny – on the hotel’s website room description, there doesn’t seem to be any such distinction
She again offered the club access for AED460, and I again politely declined. I was not welcomed as a Gold member and I thought that I did not receive the “welcome amenity” that Golds are supposed to receive, though Carolyn reminded me that they brought a tray of dates, mints and date juice while we were checking in, so maybe that was it (typically I am expecting it to be something in the room). Though when we were checking out (they did give us a late checkout of 3pm, which was appreciated), it certainly seemed that the tray of dates and juice was being given to all guests as they checked in.
The room at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek
The room and bed were pretty standard – I would say that it was SLIGHTLY bigger than a standard hotel room
Our room at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek did have a balcony with a decent view of Dubai Creek
though if you looked down from the balcony, you could see (and HEAR!) the construction workers working on renovating the swimming pool
One problem with the bathroom was that the water temperature in the shower was not well-regulated – you’d get it to a temperature you were comfortable with and then a little while later BAM it would be super hot on you!
Facilities at Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek
The pool at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek as I mentioned is under construction, and the fitness center is down a hallway that is under construction and in a totally separate building. We went up to the lounge anyways just to take a look around and it seemed nice if you can get access to it. Similar to our previous 3 hotels that we stayed at on this trip (Hyatt Regency Tsim Tsa Shui, Conrad Centennial Singapore, and Hilton Doubletree Johor Bahru), they serve breakfast, an afternoon “tea” and an evening cocktail.
There didn’t appear to be any type of concierge only 2 people taking “Restaurant Reservations”. There was also a “Travel coordinator”. We went by there and asked about tickets to see the Burj Khalifa (bucket list item!) and were told that the tickets were AED165 for the “standard” hours. Later we found out that you can buy tickets directly at the Burj for only AED125, so apparently there is some sort of referral / commission through the hotel, that was totally adequately disclosed… NOT! Reminds me of certain folks in our own travel blog industry! 🙂
Am I really just whining about my lack of an upgrade?
Before I start whining about my lack of upgrade (again), let me also whine about the fact that even though my room was free on points (technically an e-certificate), they charged me a 15AED “tourism fee” aka city tax hotel scam.
But yeah I probably am just whining. Here’s my thing though – don’t say that something works one way and then go out of your way to subvert the system so that it does NOT work that way. If Club Carlson Gold members are entitled to a complimentary room upgrade, then GIVE THEM A ROOM UPGRADE!
To me, this feels like this is just the hotels playing games. Something like the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek hotel is I assume owned and operated by a 3rd party. As such, the hotel is contractually obligated to give Club Carlson Golds a “room upgrade” but they do it in such a way so that it doesn’t cost them anything. From what I could tell, they’re essentially MAKING up a class of room that does not exist on their website or anywhere else (Royal Club room that does not get lounge access) so that they can SAY they gave a room upgrade when really it isn’t any such thing. I should also point out that the elevators required room key to access and our room key DID have access to the 10th floor where the Royal Club lounge was located.
Contrast this nickel and diming behavior to the Hyatt Regency Tsim Tsa Shui, where I also hold mid-tier status (Hyatt Platinum). They not only upgraded us to an Executive room with lounge access, but gave us a HUGE suite!
This is NOT the room I got at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek
For that, I would have to say that I do NOT recommend the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek and will NOT be staying there if/when I am in Dubai again.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
My last Club Carlson stay was the Radison Blu El Quesir. I am only gold from the credit card. I actually think we were a bit of a anomaly not being part of a package group. We didn’t receive anything more than what we booked. No, upgrade, welcome gift, etc. Didn’t bother me at all. I mean at 9,000 points a night including breakfast and dinner it’s a steal. I did once get a nice upgrade, including lounge access, at the Katmandu property. Award stay. I think club Carlson can be hit or miss.
This is whining and DYKWIA at it’s finest.
Especially for someone that got their status through a credit card sign up.
I’ve had upgrades being a Club Carlson gold and been denied club access. But you know what? I thank them for the upgrade and count my blessing.
(and nice job defaulting to signing up for your newsletter when posting a comment)
Thanks for the feedback. I just wish that things were more consistent. If you (Club Carlson) want Gold members to only sometimes be given upgrades, then don’t state that they should be given upgrades as part of the elite benefits. Or if you don’t want that benefit available to only people that have the credit card, then change the benefits of the credit card.
I have to say, this is a whining post. Upgrade is given when it’s available. That is what is stated at the Club Carlson website .
As for the AED 15 tourism fee, I’m sure they have to turn around and send it to the Government. So why are you upset at the hotel for that? You may argue that you should not be charged because you paid the night with “points” and therefore should be no tax. But the hotel accountant may have different interpretation of the law.
For me, I am still thankful even if I didnt get upgraded because getting the hotel night with points is very good already.
When I was at Milan Hotel, I also have to pay city tax of a couple dollars too even I used points.
I guess what I get upset at with that is that (at least in my experience), sometimes this tax is collected on points bookings, and sometimes it is not (even in the same city). I just don’t like the arbitrariness of it – that sometimes it’s collected and sometimes it is not
You are completely right. I stayed last year at both Radisson Dubai Downtown and Marina Residences and in neither stays did they collect the hotel city tax. Nice gesture of them!
From the Club Carlson website
“……… Room upgrade is determined by the participating hotel depending on availability at time of check-in. Room upgrades vary by property and by room category, and may include a room in a preferred location, a room with a preferred view, or a recently renovated room”
Ignore the trolls. It’s what they do. If they want to engage in discourse without insults, fine, if not, well that’s what makes them trolls.
Your gripe is absolutely correct in that they shouldn’t be offering empty promises. It’s probably not a good idea, though, to rely too much on getting a nice upgrade in Radisson Blu hotels. As a gold, I’ve had pretty poor luck in the past, even though they’re supposed to do more than the little I’ve seen. Once, I was even offered a club room with no club benefits, just as you were. I guess you just have to decide whether it’s worth the fight.
As to Hong Kong, I stayed in the same hotel for 3 nights a few weeks ago as a Diamond, and never saw a suite, so you got a disproportionate upgrade there. Luck of the draw, I suppose.
Yes – I’ve been quite unimpressed with Radisson Blus 🙁
This whole Dubai thing seems overrated. What’s the pull, I don’t get it. So many bloggers go there.
EK hub and EK first class is a goal for many of them. Frankly most points bloggers can’t afford to enjoy the spoils of Dubai. If they could they wouldn’t even mention the $4 tourism tax they were asked to pay.
Well I can’t speak for other bloggers. For me at least, I wanted to try out Emirates First Class, so that pretty much entails a stop in Dubai. Since I had not been there, I thought I’d stay and visit the Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building – on my travel bucket list). I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to go back
You’re not a boardingarea blogger, thus you can’t expect free upgrades all the time. Seriously this post reminds me of DYKWIA of your other boardingarea competitors.
A card gold member complaining about not getting a suite or club access, this is golden. What a bunch of first world problems.
Don’t become Lucky.
Oh total #firstworldproblems I know.
“…don’t say that something works one way and then go out of your way to subvert the system so that it does NOT work that way.”
That statement reminds me of my experience of At the Top, Burj Khalifa:
http://thegate.boardingarea.com/my-response-from-at-the-top-burj-khalifa/
In fact, much of your hotel review reminds me of my experience, Dan. If I never returned to Dubai, that would be just fine with me…
I remember your review and it was one reason we did NOT pay for the extended At the Top access at the Burj Khalifa
I look forward to reading your review of your experience at Burj Khalifa, Dan.
Thank you.
I did notice that Club Carlson is very inconsistent with their policy – either upgrades, or they Premium vs Standard awards. For example, in Europe (Paris, Rome) I always book Premium Awards to secure breakfast. I knew if it was a part of Premium awards. So, for my stay in Sydney (Radisson Blue Plaza) I did the same (cashed 50% more in points per night), but it turned out that in that hotel Premium award does not give you a free breakfast or club lounge access (this hotel has a lounge). What a disaster. I wish I knew that each hotel has own policy for Premium award. So, I paid 50% more in points just almost for nothing ( I got slightly better room, according to front desk – not a suite).
Yes! THIS is what I was trying to say with my post. I don’t mind not getting an upgrade when it’s not expected. For instance, I am flying on a regional jet back to Cincinnati and I know that I will be sitting in the back of the plane – I have no expectation at an upgrade. But what I take issue with is the hotel going out of its way to PRETEND to give you an upgrade without actually giving you one (when according to Club Carlson standards it is required / expected)
Sorry, I think you’re whining and didn’t set your expectations appropriately. You fell for the age-old marketing trick. The Carlson T+Cs posted by Guest A have language so loose that the hotel can do what they want and be compliant. I have racked up thousands of hotel nights with status over the last decade+ in mostly 4/5-star hotels across many brands and over 40 countries. In my experience you should be grateful for what you get because what qualifies as an upgraded room in most hotel programs is usually determined by the hotel unless a specific class of room is guaranteed (i.e. the T+Cs clearly state you must be upgraded to club/executive floor, suite, etc). Be glad that you didn’t get a 2nd floor room above the disco. I consider the Carlson group a second tier hotel mgmt group in the same class as Choice Hotels, Wyndham, Best Western, etc. – they’re just not in the same league as SPG, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, etc. so your expectations must be set appropriately. Sure, they have some nice properties in their portfolio, but there is a lot of brand experience inconsistency, likely because the T+Cs with property owners is very open to interpretation and thus probably charge lower management fees than the competition. I can tell you that the only time that I stayed in Carlson properties was when a first tier property was unavailable (either because they were full or didn’t exist in the city I was visiting). I never understood the BA bloggers’ fascination with Carlson group other than it was perhaps convenient to push the credit card for the free night benefit. Sorry, but a free night with a group that would not likely be my first choice wasn’t terribly appealing. That may sound snobbish, but it’s not – I’ve spent enough time in the trenches with nights in lower tier properties to know what I like and what to expect. It’s like..if you buy the nicest Chevrolet, your expectations should not be equivalent to the nicest Lexus. That’s not a knock on Chevy, it’s just that you shouldn’t expect something like the Chevy dealer picking up the car at your house for an oil change. I totally see it as you get what you pay for.
Thanks for the feedback Erik – you’re probably right that I should temper my expectations. What I think gets me is the fact that I have these free night certificates so I feel like I “should” use them at the fanciest places, when what I probably should just do is use them at a simple Country Inn and Suites where I know what I’m going to get
Sorry, this is whining. They are within the T&C, and some hotels are more stingy than others.
On the other hand, this particular hotel is very dated and is one of the most disappointing hotels I’ve stayed in. Bad smell in hallways and rooms and ther interior styling is horrible. There are tons of great hotels in Dubai, and this is not one of them.
I support your decision on never staying here again.
I’m looking forward to Radisson Blue stays in Egypt & Tunisia in the coming year — and points required are super cheap, given the political overhang. (sorry to hear though the Dubai blue was a let down — alas)
But wait, you were in Dubai…. (!) How long were you there? Impressions? I gather that like so many of the sheikhdoms, they’re suddenly starting to have to do belt tightening. (e.g., collapse of oil prices…. Several of the gcc members are about to launch … gasp, taxes…. ) I’d like to visit shia dubai, as I’ve long heard it to be the most relaxed within the uae fold, a trading “mecca” for the region & to Iran, etc. Yet seriously, you mainly went to Duba to try out Emirate first class? Wow. 🙂
We were there for about a day and a half. I’m still in the middle of writing up the posts but I enjoyed my time there. We went to the “top” of the Burj Khalifa as well as took a ferry ride and visited the Dubai museum.
Would appreciate your mentioning cost of meals in your trip report of Dubai along with cost of the activities you did Going there in a few weeks and although nice hotels are relatively inexpensive (staying at Le Meridian), I do wonder how expensive every thing else is. Enjoy your blog.
Yes my plan is to have a report of our activities in Dubai upcoming. Short answer on meals is that on Monday night we found a hole in the wall in Old Dubai with a sandwich for AED5 and then on Tuesday lunch we just got something in the Dubai mall while we were waiting to go up to the top of Burj Khalifa
I understand the temptation of a Carlson free night certificate, but as you’re also a Hyatt Platinum, next time in Dubai you HAVE to stay at the Park Hyatt Dubai. Whether using points, cash + points or anything, it is a fantastic property – right on the creek (instead of across the street), quite, beautiful, closer to the airport so worth a taxi or Uber rather than the metro.
Thanks for the tip! My “problem” now is that I still have 2 Carlson free night certs left and I’m not sure when or where to use them 🙁
I was actually at that hotel in Nov 2015-my room looked identical to the one you posted (I thought the arrow point on the end table was interesting ). Anyway, I literally had no expectations. I thought the hotel was top notch and a great view, and in an excellent local. My hubs and I were able to walk all over, easily, and get dinner nightly on the waterfront. I would definitely stay here again and recommend others do as well. I agree with you on the water…be careful. ..it goes hot/cold without warning. The breakfast buffet was $30/usd.
A few of the Radisson Blue hotels in the Nordic countries aren’t bad–that’s really their base of strength (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland)–but the brand is hardly comparable to a Westin or even a really, really good Marriott.
I’ve never had a good experience at a Radisson in the U.S. Nobody I know–I have lots of business traveler friends who do 150-200 nights per year in hotels–stay in Radisson hotels.
Frankly, I don’t see any difference between a Holiday Inn and a Radisson. In fact, I’d rather stay at a Holiday Inn because while IHG points are inflated like Club Carlson points, IHG has Intercontinental.