Dubai nightlife

[CarlBkk]

Not known for its wild nights I know, but I'll be spending 2 nights here next week. Can anyone recommend some good bars/clubs for some nice female scenery?

Cheers.

[Guest]

Dubai is the hottest place in the middle east for sanuk - you'll be surprised...

Mostly frequented by women from former eastern bloc countries (Russia, uzbekistan,etc), chinese and African. Some general rules are :

1/ Not much in terms of daytime action. You can get the odd girl who will be walking around in one of the shopping centres, but it really is hit and miss and you need to know what your looking for. If you want some daytime action, collect the mobile numbers of some girls you see in the evening and call them next day.

2/ use metered taxis. They will know all the places I mention. Dubai is still a Muslim country applying islamic laws. if you act as an arshole or get agrresive and look for fights then you'll get trouble from the local police - not recommended.

3/ Most nightspots don't get going until after 11pm, with the exception of Imperial Suites, which gets going at around 9pm. Discos close at 3am latest.

4/ You will find the desperate girls will approach you first. These are the ones who you will be able to negotiate well on the price. They may be desperate from thier looks or that thier visit visa is expiring and they want to make sure of some business. This does not stop you approaching any other girl and asking them if they are avilable.

5/ There is no sort of barfine or ladydrinks system here. If you want to buy a drink for the girl - up to you.

6/ Hotels can be guest unfriendly, depends where you are staying. Avoid Hyatt Regency, Jumierah Beach, Ritz Carlton.

7/ There is no St/Lt option. This can be a hit a miss depending on the girl. Best to clarify how long she intends to stay before hand. I've had girls stay all night, but they where the ones who I've generally had a good evening with. The one's you just pick-up will be ST.

The major nightspots are as follows:

Cyclone Disco - Nr American Hospital.

Approx Dhs50 - 75 entrance fee (no drink included). Mostly Eastern Bloc & Chinese. Can pick up two-somes (although not much chance of girl-on-girl action), rates range from Dhs300 to Dhs500 per girl.

Premier Disco - Hyatt Regency Hotel - Approx 50 - 75Dhs entrance fee (no drink included). Mostly Eastern bloc & chinese girls, generally best looking girls in town. Rates 500 to 1000Dhs

Zodiac Bar - Imperial Suites Hotel. This actually has two different bars in the same area. Eastern Bloc, Chinese & african girls here. Quite a wild place, agrressive girls. Rates 300 - 500Dhs.

Arif Castle Hotel - 2nd Floor. This has three bars on the same floor. Mainly African & Chinese girls here. Good bustling atmosphere although too African for my liking. Rates 200 to 400Dhs.

Rumours nightclub - Ramada Hotel. Small disco, mainly eastern bloc older ladies. rates Dhs 300 - 500.

There are many other places, but as your only here for two days this should give you a good idea about what Dubai has to offer.

Let me know what hotel your staying at, so I can advise you on its guest friendliness.

[Guest]

Hey Steve - are you fellow Dubai resident like me?

I tend to agree with what Steve is saying here and will add my two satang's worth:

**** 1/ Not much in terms of daytime action

I tend to agree again, but you can pick up some Chinese ladies during the days in certain bars. They tend to go to one or two places where the sport is on the big screen -the Panorama Hotel has a few during the afternoon and there were a few there yesterday at around 4-5pm.

*** 2/ use metered taxis. They will know all the places I mention.

True but I would not bother asking them anything since most of them can't even find the right way round town!

*** 3/ Most nightspots don't get going until after 11pm, with the exception of Imperial Suites, which gets going at around 9pm. Discos close at 3am latest.

A few ladies to be found in Panchos early doors. Also they are popping up all over the joint in places not normally associated with the profession - Rock Bottom, Alamo etc.

*** 4/ You will find the desperate girls will approach you first.

Hell, they must all be desperate then! I find they are very forward - especially in Imperial Suites. Try to negotiate your way thru Bordertown when it is busy and see how often your Crown Jewels are attacked....quite nice really!

*** 5/ There is no sort of barfine or ladydrinks system here. If you want to buy a drink for the girl - up to you.

Again true. But you will find that the girls - usually the africans - will engage in small talk before asking for a beer. They seem to think that just by chatting to you they "deserve" a beer. The Chinese girls are generally more fun and don't ask for drinks IMHO.

BTW - Steve's rates of Dh300-Dh500 are about right. Expect Dh1 = $3.65. Or Dh1 = 10 Baht. Not cheap eh?

*** Zodiac Bar - Imperial Suites Hotel. This actually has two different bars in the same area. Eastern Bloc, Chinese & african girls here. Quite a wild place, agrressive girls. Rates 300 - 500Dhs.

Please note that the Zodiac has now closed and re-opened under a different name. It is now called Stayin' Alive (sic) with a Filipino band but the same clientele. The owner of the Zodiac was moved on by the Police but has simply bought a hotel nearby so expect the same "social scene" there - it is called the York Hotel and is near the Ramada crossroads.

You can also try Jules Bar at the Meridien at the airport. The management are looking to close it down so better be quick....however, watch out for the Batty Boys as this has a gay reputation to boot!

*** Let me know what hotel your staying at, so I can advise you on its guest friendliness

Or let's get together and have a few beers together - I'll check when my missus is next out of town!

Cheers

Groover

[ September 02, 2001: Message edited by: Groover ]

[Guest]

Hey Groover,

Yep I'm a resident too. Like you I'll have to wait until my other half leaves on her next trip before we can go for a beer. Send me your e-mail address via private mail so I can contact you.

BTW, have you discovered any joints with filipino chicks available for a bit of sanuk. Wouldn't mind trying a few of them but haven't been able to discover the right places yet.

[CarlBkk]

Cheers guys, very helpful info.

I'm staying at the Capitol Hotel (just booked through the travel agent). I'm there this Thurs and Fri night before going onto the Philippines.

I've also heard the following are worth going to:

Alama, Atlantis, Carter's, Kasbaa, Planetarium.

Any thoughts on these ones too? I hope taxis aren't too expensive as I'll be relying on them all the time.

[Guest]

Londonfun

I'm staying at the Capitol Hotel (just booked through the travel agent). I'm there this Thurs and Fri night...

Alama, Atlantis, Carter's, Kasbaa, Planetarium.

Any thoughts on these ones too? I hope taxis aren't too expensive as I'll be relying on them all the time.

The two nights you are there are good and bad - Thursday night is the weekend which means the bars are busy but that, in turn, means there are loads of blokes on the town.

Capitol Hotel is not bad and has two bars downstairs - Henry J Beans and Savage Garden. Might be worth a quick beer in Beans but then move on. The bars we mentioned earlier - Stayin' Alive (Imperial Suites Hotel), Rumours (Ramada), Arif Castle, Jockeys (Panorama Hotel) - are all about a £3-4 taxi ride from the Capitol. Expect another £4 fare to Cyclone if you want to go there (they have the best and most expensive "ladies" but as it is a Thursday the best may not hang around too long!).

As for the places you mentioned:

Alamo (not Alama) - in the Dubai Marine Beach Club. Only a £2 fare from your hotel, this is a restuarant/bar with a dance floor and resident band/DJ. Popular with the expats and Emirates hostesses before they go off to the clubs. You might spot a few "ladies" in here but not a huge amount. Please note, that approaching a girl who is not up for that sort of fun might lead to repercussions! Mainly a straight crowd who enjoy dancing to crap.

Atlantis - if you are a clubber then this might appeal but let me save you the trip with some words of advice: Don't Go! For one, it will cost you about a tenner to get there as it is on the outskirts of town. And since it is on the outskirts of town (above the Hard Rock Cafe) no-one wants to go there anyway! Most punters here still drive to bars but won't risk the trek to Atlantis some 20 minutes up the highway when there is a lot more in town. Only popular when a theme night is on.

Carters - In the Wafi City. Quite a nice looking place but full of posers. Beer is pricey and it isn't a place for picking up women unless you are known - Dubai is quite clique-y in that sense. From your post, I would imagine that you are not really interested in wooing and schmozing a woman, but want some guaranteed sanuk. Correct? If so, you might be wasting your time here too.

Kasbaa - Again this is another trek out of town and don't expect any change from a tenner in a taxi. It's popular with Arabs and Lebanese posers who spend the cash while checking themselves out in the mirror before trying to convince the girls that they are from Paris and not Beirut. Not my cup of tea although it does look nice. Chances are that you might also not be admitted since they have an on-off members' policy.

Planetarium - Probably the most popular dance club in Dubai, this can be found just yards from Carters so no need to taxi from one to the other. However, it is small so if you do go late, be prepared to join a queue. If you have a woman with you, you will have more chance of getting in...other than that, get in line. Good music, pricey suds and a few ladies but again it is populated mainly by local expats and trendy young Arabs.

I think Steve and I assume that you are interested in the sorts of bars which are more akin to the Sanuk scene. These are the ones we have mentioned to you - the ones you have mentioned are the sorts of places you would take your girfriend...if you get my drift.

If you do fancy a good night out and want to concentrate on the Sanuk area, then check out Rock Bottom (Regent Palace Hotel) as they have a live band and a packed house most nights (Sanuk limited but there are a few girls available if you look), Stayin' Alive, the Arif and maybe the York Hotel which has an excellent rock band. Apart from Rock Bottom, the others are frequented only by ladies of the evening and are all within half a mile of each other.

It is a tough call since we don't know how old you are or what you are into music wise (if anything) so I hope this helps!

Drop me a line at Groovy_34@hotmail.com if you need more info and have a safe flight!

Cheers

Groover

[vinod]

Steve,

Your information about the night life details are great. I never new that Dubai had so much for sanuk.

I'm traveling to Delhi from NJ, around 4th week of Sep. and I can take 2 day stop over at Dubai. I would appreciate if you can let me know a few guest friendly hotel's which are close to the night life. Price is not a problem.

thanks

vinod

[Guest]

I would agree with Groover's comments about Atlantis, Carters, Kasbah & PLanetarium. Not the place to go for meeting the ladies of the night. Kasbah is quite close to Atlantis, so far out of town, drinks are very expensive as well.

In terms of guest friendly hotels near the action, most places near the action are all within a 10-15min taxi ride. Although I've not had personal experience with most hotels here, nearly all two/three star hotels are not a problem. Imperial Suites is certantly ontop of the action, but will be noisy, and certanly guest friendly. Ive seen some of the girls from nearby cities checking in so they can do thier weekend business.

Arif Castle is another sure bet, you could also try Ramada hotel (not to be confused with the Ramada Continental Hotel), Seashell Inn. If you want quailty hotels Intercontinental used to be guest friendly. another place not mentioned is the Shertaon Deira Hotel (Be careful as there are 4 Sheraton Hotels in Dubai). Here they have a nightclub (forget the name) loaded with eastern bloc girls. I have no knowledge of the other top hotels like marriott. Best to stay in one of the city hotels and avoid the beach properties and hotels on Sheikh Zayed Highway - just too far out of town for the action your looking for.

For the sanuk places (Imperial Suites, Cyclone, Rumours, premier disco & Sheraton Deira disco), Friday night will still have plenty of ladies to choose from, it is generally the non-sanuk places that tend to be deadly quiet.

Hey Groover,

Any info on the filipino scene?

[Guest]

Steve

Any info on the filipino scene?

Dunno mate. Friday in Jules Bar is not bad for the Filipinas but the ones i know are all airline girls and getting into their kecks is about as rare as seeing a happy German.

I keep reading that they are around but I have yet to see any who would appear to be up for IT.

I hear you can find them in Rumours and the Premiere these days and in a few bars in Al Nasr Square. Apart from that, I know very little!

BY the way Steve, is your lady a trolley dolley?

Groover

[CarlBkk]

Hi Groover and Steve,

I'm hoping the Capitol is guest-friendly? Perfect scenario would be: classy club, house music, decent women who may be up for some fun if they like what they see.

I have no idea what the local clientele is like in Dubai (Arab women? Filipinas? black girls? Chinese or Eastern Bloc?) and how strict they are. I would definitely prefer to take a risk with genuine girls instead of dishing out the dollar, but if that's a no-go, then no worries - it's only 2 days :-)

I'm 25 and would love to check out both sanuk venues and classy ones too if I have time, but not one that's full of clique Arab men though thanks. I'm assuming the local ladies don't come out unaccompanied...

Cheers,

LF