Re: How is business?
 

Yep and it's almost purely from their design teams rather than site.

Re: How is business?
 

My first ever call from DAMAC with 'a very interesting property investment deal'. We both chuckled as I said goodbye.

Re: How is business?
 

Company is laying off a few people today in one particular division. Gov't contracts in AD are not being renewed. Thank god I'm not in that division.

Re: How is business?
 

Well this place just confuses me more and more. All the parks are rammed at the low end, and the expensive restaurants seem packed full - infrastructure is creaking and yet the economy seems slow.

Re: How is business?
 

Maybe the cull hasn't happened yet?

Re: How is business?
 

We were at Atlantis on Friday for dinner (Bread St Kitchen was very disappointing). We looked in on Seafire and could only see two tables with diners.

Re: How is business?
 

Heard the food is great but the venue is shit.

Re: How is business?
 

Food was very average...main courses didn't arrive together and one of the steaks was cold.

Won't be back.

Re: How is business?
 

Tourism is down and that may be why some areas might be deathly while other places are busy as ever. DIFC - bankers spending like there's no tomorrow (no surprise there, the bastards probably think they'll be bailed out again like the last time and everything will be hunky dory as usual) but resort restaurants in isolated hotels that's increasingly targeted to cheap packages might be suffering somewhat.

Re: How is business?
 

spot on.

To be fair on the bankers - and something people totally misunderstand - is that no one will thank me for saving money on a meal if I don't win the business and if the business comes in, the meal is irrelevant. You have to stay in the game until the wheels fall off.

Re: How is business?
 

We had a great day rate to go Emirates Palace on Saturday. (60% off). There were 12 families there, 7 of which were members of thehotel's beach club. It was dead. There had been a massive indian wedding for the previous three nights but they had all left and there was nothing doing on the day we were there.

Except the filming of a bollywood movie which we watched for a bit.

Re: How is business?
 

I went weeks ago. It was empty(ish). Very small menu and seriously overpriced. If I hadn't promised my wife that I would take her there I would have gotten up and left.

The sommelier tried to talk me into buying a 800 dirham bottle of wine. From Chile! Are you f**king kidding me mate? Food arrived after no more than 5 minutes prompting my wife to wonder aloud whether it was heated in the microwave. Tasted okay, but nothing special (typical Dubai in other words).

Meal done in less than 45 minutes...

Re: How is business?
 

I actually know a couple of people here in Brussels that have gone to UAE for New Year's.

Something I have noticed lately is that price for plane tickets from Europe to the Middle East (not only Emirates, but also places like Israel or Iran) has basically collapsed. I think this is a mix (in the case of UAE) of Emirates, Qatar or Etihad adding more and more seats, low-cost competition (Wizzair or Transavia in UAE) and Turkish and Pegasus (a Turkish low-cost) basically selling tickets for peanuts, the local economic environment and more people scared to visit the area (even if it is safe compared to other countries).

So when a few years ago a return to the UAE cost you like 500 EUR/GBP, now it is more in the 300 EUR/GBP range.

On the other hand while looking for a winter break in the Canary Islands, I was shocked by the price of everything (hotels and flights). With people not going to Egypt or Tunis... they go there by default. So more demand.

I wouldn't be surprised that for some people in Europe today, a week in Dubai turns out to be cheaper than in Gran Canaria (flight + hotel). The only minus is that AED is too expensive to the Euro (because of the USD fixed exchange).

Re: How is business?
 

Is that Gordon Ramsey's new place?
If so, friend went, said the food is bang average and wouldn't bother as well.

Seafire - yeah. Food was good actually, but the venue atrocious. Huge high ceilings, completely soulless and for an upmarket, expensive dinner, they let people in looking awful. Russians in vests and sandals for dinner? Don't make me pay a fortune for a steak if I have to have that to look at.

Is that harsh? I'm not sure it is. It seems a bit harsh but I think it's fair.

Re: How is business?
 

I'm not convinced. My folks are coming out for 10 days in August, so it'll be ****ing hot and rather unpleasant at that time. Well it's pretty unpleasant any time my parents are here, but you know what I mean. Anyway, not a particularly busy time for people to visit the middle east due to the temperature.

They were 400 quid each to Dubai on KLM, Emirates were 700.. Etihad wanted upwards of 800 each to Abu Dhabi. I guess the gulf carriers may have been busy with people transiting through their hubs to Asia / Australasia for the last of the UK summer holidays.