There is a lot of construction work going on in Dubai, but not everywhere. I stayed at Jumeirah at the Habtoor - when you were on the beach - you could see the cranes behind the hotels and some dust clouds - but the dust clouds weren't choking. It was more a visibility problem. However the sunshine was not affected!!

Hotels such as the Meridien Mina Seyahi and the Madinat Jumeirah hotels (also Jumeirah Beach and Burj al Arab) not affected by building work around them. The big building projects are from the Meridien Grosvenor House down to Jebel Ali. In the city, not too much building work going on - apart from the Deira Palm which is offshore. The Jumeirah Palm is virtually finished.

Building work was going on at quite a pace - very organised and planned. I didn't find it affected us too much.

Where were you planning on staying?

I have seen an excellent deal staying at the 5* Le Meridien Beach Resort and Spar, which I believe is near the marina.
5nts HB flying from Manchester £589pp. Hubby says it's cheap cause they can't get people to stay there in view of the construction work

I'm fairly sure this is the hotel next to the Habtoor (where I stayed). There is a lot of building work around, but I didn't find it noisy. The hotels in this area tend not to put anyone in the land-facing rooms - as they face the building work. You're likely to get a sea view. The hotel building itself shields any noise out and the grounds and beach are lovely. Just be aware as well that Jumeirah is quite some distance from the airport and city. It took us about 35-45 minutes to get to the city. However on the plus side, you are near to the Mall of the Emirates - huge shopping centre with a ski slope!!

Apparently the aim is to build around 250 tower blocks in Jumeirah - so you'll never be far from a builder!! What I want to know is how they get the cranes down from the nnnnth floor when finished. (All the cranes look beautiful at night - lit-up!!)