Friday, September 17th 2010 - Dubai, UAE

What a night... the beds are so comfortable, big squishy pillows and soft white sheets and Duvet.... it's like getting into a great big hug from your most favourite person in the world.  We had a great breakfast of fresh fruit, croissants and all the usual fantastic breakfast goodies.  Afterwards we headed down to the beach.... OMG the water is like a bathtub and it's so very hot - stifling really (with the humidity), but once again the service is unreal.  Cold face towels and bottles of ice cold water are delivered to you on the beach every half hour and there's a guy bringing your drink order and walking by to check on you every 15 minutes or so.  The beach has lots of great chairs with plush cushions on them and the wait staff meet you at the beach and carry your towels and get you settled in your place of choice.  There was hardly anyone at the beach that has lovely soft sand and great palapas that provide necessary shade.  We spent a couple of hours at the beach, visiting, reading our books, etc.  before heading up to one of the four pools in the resort.  The chairs by the pools are even more luxurious than those at the beach with headrests and even more padding - have we died and gone to heaven?  I think so.  Steve, I know when you and Michelle honeymooned in Jamaica you said Mexico's out and Jamaica's in, well I'm thinking Mexico's out and Dubai's in.  We had high tea in the Club House about 4ish and then met up again at 7:30 for a quick drink (3) in the Club Lounge before heading to dinner in the casual Italian Restaurant.  Had a reservation for 8pm, but didn't make it there until 9pm as we were having such a great time visiting in the Club Lounge.

They have a strict dress code at the hotel for dining, so here we are all gussied up for our evening out.  The restaurant was fabulous, and we had an awesome time there, then headed to the piano bar for special coffees and then over to another place for our final nightcap and a wee dance to the live music.  What a great night, but very late to bed so looking forward to a nice lie in tomorrow morning..... hey, we are on vacation right!  We've met quite a few people here, one lady I met in the pool has been here 6 times and never leaves the resort.  Food and drinks are very expensive though, thank God for plastic.  We intend to get out and about, but are in no hurry as this place is heavenly.  We observed one couple getting a little too friendly in the pool and noticed that they were quickly cautioned by the staff, so there's definitely no canoodling in public places if you know what I mean.