Cheylesmore

Hi Helen

Well what can I say, Dubai was fabulous, yes we did the Burj.... twice, day time and evening, went to Atlantis on the Palm, both amazing feats of engineering and vision.  We were lucky enough to fly over tha Palm on our way to Kuwait, albeit being a tad hazy.

The Hotel was truly one of the best we have ever stayed at, and we did speak to various couples who said they'd been going there for between ten - twenty years, and yes they had seen plenty of changes!!!  

Whether it was due to Brian having a Birthday while we were away I don't know, but we got an upgrade to Club, and while we would have liked a view up towards the Palm area I wasnt going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so we settled for some beautiful sunsets and made the most of the afternoon teas and pre-dinner drinks instead....

The staff were all extremely courteous, helpful and friendly, Brian got Birthday pancakes, plus candle at breakfast and we came back to our room in the evening to a Birthday cake and bottle of wine.  Check-in and out was very smooth, in fact I think we were asked by five different staff members if we'd got all our belongings, passports and tickets etc when leaving.  Le Royale Meridien is definitely a hotel we'd both recommend and return to.

The transfers went without a hitch, and we did need the larger vehicle to and from the airport.

We also had a very enjoyable stay with our friends in Kuwait, not a tourist hotspot but some interesting sights, including a huge 'sandcastle' display, I'm sure if you google 'sandcastles' Kuwait you'll see what I mean, these weren't amateurish kiddies beach efforts, they had taken teams from all over the world several months to sculpt.

My friends reaction when she came home to see us sat at her kitchen table was BRILLIANT, she hadn't got a clue that we were coming, and it's all recorded!!

All the flights were without incident, that said I wouldnt put Emirates at the top of my list of favourite airlines, they were professional yes, but the flight home especially left a bit of a sour taste.  Initially I wasn't convinced that my wheelchair would actually be put on the plane, the stewardesses I spoke to appeared completely disinterested.  We did our usual, wait til last bit, once we got to Birmingham and then found that there were more people waiting for wheelchairs than expected.  In similar situations the staff have allowed us to wait on the plane, but not this particular set of crew, who quite obviously wanted to be on their way.  So we had to stand in a breezy and chilly stand.

However as we were in the air at the same time as flight MH370 went missing, this seems a bit of an insignificant whinge.

Overall this was another brilliantly put together package by yourselves, and I'm certain we'll be back to your 'sweetie shop' to see what else you have to offer.

Many Thanks to all concerned

Dawn and Brian McBride