Hotel4Real!

NOTE: This review is for Copthorne Airport Hotel Dubai, now exclusively an Economy Class connection hotel operated by Emirates, NOT Copthorne Hotel Dubai.

Thanks to Emirates’ Dubai Connect program, I had the opportunity to stay here for free on both my outbound trip and my return. This review also covers the Dubai Connect experience.

Dubai Connect is Emirates’ connection program, it allows passengers traveling in all cabins to stay at its connection hotels at no extra charge for up to 24 hours, provided no better connecting flights are available. Economy class passengers are normally sent to the Copthorne, while higher-end hotels such as the Le Meridien Fairway are available for business and first class passengers.

I was able to obtain my hotel vouchers at Emirates’ counters in both directions, at Guangzhou and Toronto – I was not sure if staff at outposts would know much about the program, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the process was. Upon arrival at Dubai, all I needed to do was to simply check in at the Dubai Connect counter, where a shuttle was arranged with minimal wait time.

The location of the hotel was great. Of course, shuttles were provided to and from DXB. A metro station was sort of nearby (10-minute walk), but I wouldn’t recommend the walk in summer time during the day unless you handle heat very well – especially that a taxi ride downtown was only around 30-50AED/12-20CAD.

The hotel itself was very efficiency-oriented. The check-in queue was long but it moved very quickly, and both times I got my room keys within a couple minutes. However, I had a rental car on my return trip and that seemed to have confused the entire front desk team big time. They told me I could park in the hotel parking lot, then told me the hotel did not have a parking lot, and then had someone open some secret staff entrance gate to let me into the “secret” parking garage. I parked myself and took the elevator up, and it was evident that it was not a secret spot, but rather the parking facility of the attached Millennium Hotel, their sister property.

The room itself was basic, but up to par with any other economy hotels. There were two bottles of water in the room, but no kettle or coffee machine. Bathroom was basic as well, and sanitation was inconsistent. There was a drain fly problem in one of the rooms I stayed in, the other one was fine. The beds were good enough though, and I had some much-needed sleep both times.

The hotel shared many facilities with the aforementioned Millennium Hotel next door, including swimming pool and parking. However, the Copthorne side did have its own restaurant, which seemed to be exclusively a buffet for connecting Emirates passenger. The food was very good in my opinion. They served mostly Middle East and South Asian options, plus a good range of desserts and fresh fruits and vegetables. The Millennium Hotel also had a few full-service restaurants as back-up options, and they were pretty cheap as well, but I was content with the buffet during both stays. There were some other third-party outlets in the lobby selling souvenirs, travel essentials and city tours. There was even a barber shop, although I don’t remember ever seeing a customer.

The hotel arranged wake-up calls and shuttles back to DXB upon check-out. Interestingly, I was not able to opt out of the wake-up call, presumably for liability reasons in case I miss my flight. However, they had no problem removing my name from the shuttle as I had a rental car.

All things considered I would say Emirates and the Copthorne Hotel did enough to make my long connection much easier. It was not a five-star experience, but my expectations were not high either. After all, it was completely free, and I was in economy. It was (and still is) surprising to me though that Millennium allowed the hotel to keep operating under the Copthorne brand, since the hotel did not take outside reservations, and did not participate in their loyalty program (and how/why would they? Everyone stays for free).

RealScore

Service: 6.5

Design and Room Size: 6.5

In-room Amenities: 4

Bathroom Size and Layout: 6

View from (my) Room: 7

Hotel Location: 8

Available Guest Facilities: 9

Food Quality: 7

Food and Beverage Service: 8

Executive Lounge Quality: N/A

Final RealScore: 6.49

Final RealRating: C

Hotel is built/opened: 2000

Total number of rooms: 601

Length of stay: 2 nights

Membership level at check-in: N/A

Room type experienced: Standard Room