Sheraton Mall of the Emirates Hotel, Dubai — Hotel in Dubai

As a Marriott Titanium Elite member with 75+ nights this year, I want to be clear that this review specifically addresses my experience during the April 2024 Dubai floods and the subsequent handling of billing issues. The Sheraton Mall of the Emirates itself is an excellent property in a prime location, connected to one of Dubai's best shopping malls with easy metro access. Under normal circumstances, it would likely be a great choice for both business and leisure travelers. However, my experience during the historic floods on April 17th and the aftermath was deeply disappointing. While I understand that natural disasters are beyond anyone's control, what concerned me was:

The hotel was accepting check-ins despite knowing they would close in a few hours Basic amenities like hot water and internet were non-functional The manager's unprofessional attitude - instead of offering solutions, they questioned why guests would check in to a flooded hotel (after the hotel had accepted our reservations) The alternative accommodations offered were impractical, being far from the conference I was attending

Most concerning is the billing issue: Despite staying only a few hours in a room without basic amenities, the hotel charged me for the stay. While they promised a refund after I escalated to Marriott, six months later, I'm still waiting for this refund. I have followed up with both Marriott and the property at least 4 times over these six months, but the property remains unresponsive. This pattern of behavior raises serious concerns about their billing practices. CAUTION TO FUTURE GUESTS: Please carefully review your invoices and charges from this property. Based on my experience, you may encounter difficulties resolving billing issues, even with clear documentation and multiple follow-ups. This situation could have been handled better by:

Proactively contacting guests about the situation before check-in Having a better crisis management plan Offering nearby alternative accommodations Processing the promised refund in a timely manner Maintaining proper communication with guests regarding billing issues

While I want to emphasize that the physical property and its location are excellent, I cannot recommend this hotel based on the management's handling of crisis situations and their subsequent customer service. My two-star review reflects not the quality of the property itself, but rather the poor crisis management, unresponsive communication, and ongoing refund issues I experienced during this...

I stayed at the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates hotel around four months ago, and unfortunately, I cannot recommend it based on my experience last weekend. Upon arriving at around 12:30 am, my group and I were informed that there was a "technical issue" preventing us from checking in. However, other guests were still able to check in, which led us to believe there wasn't really a technical issue but rather an overselling of rooms or unwillingness to accommodate us in higher-grade rooms.

The hotel staff did try to help by calling other Marriott properties and other hotels to arrange alternative accommodations. They offered to provide transport to these hotels, but we would have had to pay upfront and get reimbursed later. To make matters worse, some of us had already been charged for the first night's stay. Other options included setting up roller beds in a meeting room or waiting in the Spartan Bar until rooms were available. In the end, we had to wait until around 6-7 am for our rooms to be ready, which threw off our entire schedule—particularly as we were celebrating a friend's upcoming wedding.

Additionally, I had emailed ahead of time to request that our group be placed on the same floor, but this request was not honored. A friend also confirmed her payment method with the hotel on the same day, only to find there was no reservation under her name when she arrived to check in. To add to the frustration, another friend who had booked and prepaid for a massage was told by the spa that the masseuse hadn't arrived and they would need to wait for at least another two hours.

On the bright side, the food and beverage manager did take good care of us by offering snacks and drinks while we waited for our rooms. The hotel also provided a lovely mezze meal on the house on Friday night, which was a nice gesture. We did not have to pay for the first night’s accommodation, though some members of our group are still waiting to be reimbursed through booking.com. As further compensation, we were given one-hour massages, breakfasts, and club lounge access.

Overall, while the hotel staff did their best to make amends, the initial experience was highly disappointing and certainly impacted our plans. The lack of proper communication and the issues surrounding check-in make it hard to recommend...

Before writing this review, I checked my lifetime status and found that I have been a Marriott member for 16 years with 1,050 qualifying nights.

Unfortunately, as Marriott has expanded, the quality and consistency of its staff have become increasingly hit-or-miss worldwide.

The MOE Sheraton is in a great location, and I used to visit frequently. However, due to a noticeable decline in service, it had been quite some time since my last stay. I was surprised to find that check-in is now on the ground level rather than the 5th floor, and I was pleased to see that the rooms had been renovated—a welcome change.

That said, my recent experience reinforced why I have been gravitating toward other hotel brands.

During a recent visit to Dubai—since Abu Dhabi didn’t have a store for a particular luggage brand—I booked a stay at the MOE Sheraton. I arrived at the hotel at 12:38 PM, and the front desk informed me that I had been upgraded to a junior suite, but the room was not yet available. That was fine; I told them I would go shopping and have lunch, and they assured me they would notify me by phone once the room was ready.

At 3:10 PM, I returned to the front desk to check on the room’s status. They said it was still not ready but should be available in about 15 minutes. They suggested I wait in the lounge.

At 3:30 PM, I asked a lounge staff member to call the front desk and check on the room. She called and informed me that it was still not ready but assured me she would notify me and prepare the room key from her workstation.

At 4:30 PM, frustrated, I went down to the front desk again. The same staff member I had been interacting with throughout the process informed me that the room had actually been ready since 3:40 PM and that the lounge staff should have assisted me (on hind sight it was just another cover up story he made). He apologized, handed me the room key, and told me he had arranged a late checkout as compensation.

Later, I checked the Marriott Bonvoy app—only to discover that the late checkout arrangement was just another lie. Also, I chose a box of dates as a welcome gift, which didn't arrive and...