Hotel review: Rove City Walk

Hey y’all!

If you haven’t already checked out my recap of the 86 hours we spent in Dubai before heading to Cairo, go ahead and give it a read please. 

For our stay in Dubai, I booked the Rove City Walk Hotel, and let me tell you, I was on a mission to find the best deal. I started hunting for hotels way before I even bought my plane tickets because I had heard that hotels in Dubai around the end of the year can get pretty pricey. Naturally, I wanted to lock in the best price possible. I used Booking.com (my go-to for the past two years) and bonus: booking through them would also earn me miles with Emirates! 

I spent about two weeks hunting down the best options. The criteria? Price, location, and room size. Since we were three adults traveling together, we needed either a suite or two rooms. There were some great deals out there, but the location was always a bit off, either too far from the center or from Dubai Mall. Finally, I found Rove City Walk. They offered connecting family rooms that were affordable and had a super convenient location. I booked for 2 nights, with breakfast included and the option to cancel for free up to 2 days before the trip. Moreover, I could pay online, considering I didn’t want to lug around a ton of cash.

I’d actually stayed at a Rove hotel last year on a girls’ trip to Dubai and loved it, so I knew what I was getting into. The hotel was just a 20-minute walk from Dubai Mall (take the metro entrance route) and had that same cool, vibrant aesthetic. The lobby was larger than the one at Rove Trade Center, and there was even a small mini van where they’d have a DJ on weekends. Fun vibes all around.

Hotel lobby

We arrived at 9 AM on Monday December 23rd, even though check-in wasn’t until 2 PM. The boys were totally wiped out from the flight, so I asked if there was any way we could get access to the room earlier. The staff was super helpful and said they’d work on it after a family checked out. We had a little wait, so we decided to grab breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Now, I was pretty sure the boys weren’t hungry, seeing as we had a full breakfast on the plane just an hour before landing. But nope—they were ready for round two. They had a huge breakfast, while I went for some chai, Indian food, and waffles. The breakfast spread was bigger than I remembered, and they even had made-to-order items like overnight oats and bruschetta.

Paav bhaji 

By 12:30 PM, we got to our rooms on the 10th floor. I thought they’d be connected by a door, but they were actually adjacent like a little apartment with a small entrance door to each room. The boys crashed on the beds right away while I unpacked, showered, and took a short nap. The rooms were just as I remembered—good size, comfy beds, and little touches like bottled water, a kettle for tea and coffee, and toiletries. The view from my room overlooked the Coca Cola Arena and a mosque, and I could adjust the temperature to my liking. The best part? I could plug my tablet into the flat screen TV and catch up on my shows instead of watching Arabic dramas (even though I barely had time to do so)

View from my room

We didn’t use the pool, though we did check it out. It’s on the first floor, next to a lovely garden. The floor also has a gym, laundry room, and even a small gaming room. I ended up doing laundry at 2 AM the night before we left (totally unnecessary but here we are).

The garden where the pool is located

Laundry room

Game area

Now, the service was a little slow at times. On our second day, the restaurant couldn’t find our breakfast booking, but no one bothered us afterward, and we still enjoyed a solid meal. When we checked out, we asked for a cart to transport our suitcases, and it took about 10 minutes to arrive. Other than that, everything else was smooth.

I do love Rove—great location, free shuttles to tourist spots (I didn’t use them this time, but I’ve used them before), a nice breakfast spread and tea time twice a day (I did not enjoy it this trip). However, I might try other hotels next time I visit Dubai, especially if I’m traveling solo. I’ve seen some swankier options for the same price or cheaper.

Dubai hotels can be pricey, but there are also tons of affordable and luxurious options available. Or, if you’re up for it, Airbnb can be a fraction of the price! It all comes down to what kind of vibe you're going for.