Gateway Hotel

Overall budget friendly nice hotel. Room given was small but ok.. all the basic facilities like swimming pool, Gym, breakfast was available. Location was not good. It was conjusted area. But still, this hotel is recommended by me. Oven was missed in room.

I needed to move to 4 different bedrooms during my pre-booked 4 night stay, as there were bed bugs in 3 of the rooms, confirmed by night staff. I had an itch for a few days but the lack of sleep was worse for me. The staff were friendly and offered upgraded substitute rooms but this was pointless as these rooms also had bed bugs. I needed to move in the middle of the night on each occasion when the bed bugs were discovered. Furthermore, I was out most of the day and I therefore could not enjoy any upgrade. I simply wanted a good nights sleep for my stay. As the hotel refused a full or partial refund, at my request, they agreed to a late check out and one meal as compensation. The duty manager offered a room at basic cost should I wish to return but the price he quoted was the same as I could get online as a member of the public! The bed bugs in multiple rooms would point to a generic issue with poor housekeeping, although the staff tried to explain that visiting guests were likely to be responsible. You decide for yourself before booking……….

First off, this hotel is definitely worth a stay. My review is long but this is basically to let you know the unbelievable value for money you get when you stay here.....But best to know all the facts first before you book. The hotel didn't have many front view pictures in advance so I was a bit wary as the picture used on many sites is a coffee cup, orange juice and an orchid. But the price for 8 nights was too good and it had an 8+ rating so I was curious to see what it would be like. The truth from our perspective (2 adults and 2 teens) is - On the plus side: - Friendly, helpful staff all over the place at every turn (housekeeping, front door, reception desk, concierge/front of house, pool, travel desk) - Swimming pool/area around it on rooftop is very spacious, very quiet, sun all day long, spotlessly clean, plentiful sun loungers - Cleanliness. All areas constantly cleaned numerous times/day, so although it's an older hotel, it's maintained very well. - Comfy, spacious room with large comfy beds. Power shower. Water/tea/coffee supplied daily. - Walking distance to Al Fahidi and Al Seef areas and also to Sharaf DG metro so great base to explore Bur Dubai locally on foot, and to use the metro to explore further. On the negative side: - Unfortunately, the general street area around the hotel isn't great. We came to realise it was safe, but honestly it's a bit dilapidated and off putting and didn't give off a safe vibe on day one. It's all laptop and mobile phone shops. So first impressions were honestly not great at all, but as soon as we got our bearings after a few days we figured out which streets were better than others to walk on at dusk/evening/night. Some streets are pretty dark nearby with little to no street lights and have gangs of (mainly) men hanging out on them so not ideal when coming back to the hotel in dusk - Traffic is very, very busy and it can be difficult for a taxi to park/pull in without constant beeping - Noise levels: from early morning in the hotel it was busy in the hotel and on local streets so not the quietest place for a lie-in. This didn't bother us too much as we were up early too but is good to know for someone if they were looking for a quiet place. This place is very busy. So in summary, we all agreed it was a great 3 star hotel with dedicated, friendly, committed staff (massive asset) and we would return in future. It just doesn't appear to be the most picturesque area at all unfortunately. But it's very cheap for the quality of what you get once you step inside the front door, so overall a great value for money hotel doing it's best in a busy area.