A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 9 – Conrad Dubai & Royal Jordanian Business Class (DXB > AMM > ATH)

Previous Trip Notes:
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 8 – Al-Maha, Starwood Luxury Collection
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 7 – Park Hyatt Dubai
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 6 – Maldives to Dubai
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 5 – Park Hyatt, Maldives
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 4 – Getting to the Park Hyatt Maldives
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 3 – Hyatt Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 2 – EY130 First Class
A Delayed Honeymoon: Part 1 – Baltimore > IAD, & Etihad Lounge

We took a taxi back to Dubai following our stay in Al-Maha. While we were sad to leave the desert preserve behind, we were also excited to experience the Conrad Dubai. The last Conrad we stayed at was one of our favorite hotels. We used one of our weekend night certificates that came with the American Express Hilton Reserve Card. Typically these certificates can only be used Friday through Sunday; however, they allowed us to use this on a Thursday. We made our way through downtown Dubai and finally pulled up:

The lobby was stunning:

We then got settled into our room:

The executive lounge was very large, and open between 6:00am and 11:00pm. There was a private check-in and check-out area in the lounge, high-speed internet, complimentary pressing of clothes for two pieces per stay, and of course food and drinks. Breakfast was served between 6:00am and 11:00am, afternoon tea between 3:00pm and 5:00pm, pre-dinner canapes and alcoholic drinks between 6:00pm and 8:00pm and snacks and non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day:

We only briefly hung out in the room and grabbed a drink in the lounge, and then headed out towards the Gold Souk. We jumped in a taxi and headed down to the creek where you pay 1 AED (roughly a quarter) for a boat ride to the central business district – the location of the Gold Souk. The feeling of this area is much different than that of downtown. It had the feeling and sense of an “old world,” somewhat European in that the streets were narrow, crowds were large, and buildings looked very old – of course with a middle-eastern flavor:

The Spice Souk was only a couple minute walk from the Gold Souk:

When we returned to our room, turn-down service had been completed:

At this point we were exhausted, so we grabbed dinner at a restaurant in the hotel and went to sleep. We had an 8:00am flight to catch to Athens, so had an early wake-up call. We checked-out at the lounge, grabbed some espresso and took off for the airport.

We were flying from Dubai to Athens with a layover in Amman, Jordan or Royal Jordanian. We used 30,000 miles each plus $28.20 to fly in Business Class. After a painless check-in we made our way to the Dubai International Business Lounge:

Our flight from Dubai to Amman was very enjoyable. Seeing Dubai from the air is quite a sight:

Royal Jordanian was a mix between U.S. Domestic First and International Business. TVs came out from the armrest, and the meals were good:

We landed in Amman, Jordan. It was surreal. Here we are, less than 50 miles from Jerusalem. We just spent days in the Maldives – not of this planet – and Dubai, in the Middle East…an area of the globe that is currently in turmoil. We heard an adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, in the airport. The cultural experience is such a dichotomy. Here we are listening to a call for prayer, just moments before we take an elevator up to a business lounge where we can drink unlimited alcohol for free. The lounge was on the second floor of the airport, looking out over the main floor:

After a few hours, we made our way to the gate. We had to jump on a bus to get to the jetway:

When settling into our seats, we were given menus which was nice, but we noticed there were not entertainment options…quite the rarity for an international business class seat.

After take-off, while decided what to order, the flight attendant came around with personal entertainment devices!

The personal TVs actually worked quite well. And the food was good as well:

After a good movie and food, we started our approach to Athens:

NSPwife didn’t know at the time, but we were only going to be in Athens for an hour or two. We were actually on our way to Santorini. Overall it was a nice flight, although nothing over-the-top memorable.