Queen Elizabeth 2 Review: A Unique Hotel Stay in Dubai, UAE
This was the unusual hotel we stayed at on our first night in Dubai.
The Queen Elizabeth 2!
It’s a retired ocean liner that sailed until 1968,
then was refurbished into one of the most unique places to stay in Dubai.
Dubai has no shortage of flashy luxury hotels,
but even on our last trip, the Queen Elizabeth 2
was already on our list for “next time.”
My husband also loves ancient civilizations, history, and all things vintage,
so we decided to stay here for just one night on our first day.
Our flight landed in the evening, and with a rental car issue,
we ended up spending much longer at the airport than expected,
so by the time we reached the hotel, it was already night.
Since it’s such a massive luxury liner, you can spot it
from far away as the ship’s silhouette comes into view.
There’s a huge outdoor parking lot
right in front of the hotel, so parking wasn’t a concern at all.
Check-in doesn’t happen on the ship itself,
but in a separate reception building.
That building works as a hotel lobby, library,
and a small QE2 museum all in one.
Guests can even borrow books to read during their stay,
though most of them were in Arabic, so I couldn’t really dive in.
There’s also a large sculpture like this,
plus several exhibits to look around.
If we had arrived a little earlier, I would’ve explored
every corner, but we were so wiped out from the airport
that we checked in and went straight to the room.
I have Accor status, and interestingly,
this hotel is managed by Accor too,
so the membership benefits apply here as well, which was a nice surprise.
I didn’t see a separate line for Accor members,
but one of the incredibly kind staff members
upgraded our room by two levels.
The uniforms were done in a marine-inspired style too, which was fun and really cute.
After check-in, we headed over to the ship.
The ship is so enormous that you can’t fit it all into one frame.
As the bellboy helped with our luggage,
he gave us a full introduction to the hotel along the way.
He was so friendly and cheerful.
The floor system is a little unusual,
so it took a bit of time to get used to it.
Strangely enough, the lowest level where we entered
was called Deck 5, and the numbers get smaller as you go up.
It goes by Q Deck, U Deck, B Deck, SU Deck, SI Deck,
which definitely isn’t the easiest system to memorize.
There are elevators throughout the ship,
and the hallways and staircases honestly felt a little Titanic-like—
classic, elegant, and seriously beautiful.
The bellboy told us he loves Korean dramas,
and started listing Korean celebrities like Lee Byung-hun one after another.
We finally made it to our room: 1039!
Once inside, I looked at the floor plan
and noticed something interesting—one hallway had only even-numbered rooms,
while the side with our room had only odd-numbered rooms
all the way down.
If you want to see the room first, check the video.
Our room type was a Deluxe King Room.That’s what we got.
The room categories here go Classic, Superior, Deluxe,
then Captain’s Room, and finally Suite.
We had originally booked the most basic Classic Room (17㎡),
but thanks to the upgrade, we were assigned a Deluxe Room (30㎡).
The suites are also divided into four levels: Officer, Captain, Duplex,
and Royal Suite.
As for the room rate, during the low season, the Deluxe Room
starts at around $74, making this a great-value Dubai hotel.
In peak season, you can expect roughly double that.
When we visited, it was during Eid,
so it was an ultra-peak period, and even the Classic Room was in the mid-$70 range.
The room was fairly spacious, and since this is an older ocean liner,
the vibe isn’t modern or glittery,
but classic, with a strong sense that you’re really staying on a ship.
The king-size bed was perfectly comfortable too.
Since it has already been operating as a hotel for seven years,
some of the furnishings do show a little wear,
but the cleanliness and overall upkeep were excellent.
And yes, even though it’s secured in place,
it is still floating on water, so you may notice
the faintest bit of movement now and then,
but it’s nowhere near enough to worry about motion sickness.
There was a full-length mirror, shelves, a trash bin,
and on the ceiling above, fitting for an Islamic country,
there was even an indicator showing the direction for Muslim prayer.
You’ll also find hangers, a safe, slippers, and the usual basics.
There was welcome food set out too,
and I’m guessing it had probably been sitting there
since the official check-in time at 3 p.m.
Still, I tried one of the chocolates, and it was actually good.
We were so busy exploring the hotel that we didn’t watch TV at all.
And one more thing— if you’re staying at the Queen Elizabeth 2,
don’t forget to bring a plug adapter.Seriously.
Most Dubai hotels usually have at least one or two outlets
that work with 220V plugs,
but this room didn’t have any compatible 220V socket.
There were tea and coffee supplies, bottled water in glass bottles, and a mini fridge too.
In Dubai, a lot of hotels provide refilled water
in glass bottles instead of plastic ones.
And the real highlight of this hotel room:
this window.
Since it’s an actual ship window, it looks wonderfully unusual.
The lock is unique too—
you slide that lever sideways to open it.
We got a city view because the sea-view rooms were fully booked,
but since the window is pretty small, I don’t think the view matters that much.
Dubai is all about dramatic city lights,
so the city view was more than good enough.
This is what it looked like in the morning.
Our room faced the reception building.
The bathroom was fairly spacious too, but the toilet flush was weak,
so you have to hold the button down for a while.
The shower and sink water pressure, on the other hand, were almost too strong,
and the hot water felt practically boiling,
so definitely use caution.
The main amenities are provided in refillable containers,
but things like toothbrush sets and shower caps are still single-use.
I brought a shower filter with me, and after one night,
this is how it looked the next morning.
It wasn’t as extreme as Southeast Asia,
but I’d still say a filter is worth having.
We also made good use of our welcome drink coupon the next morning.
I ordered an iced Americano, but apparently they didn’t have a lid.
We’d finished checking out the room, so next up was exploring the hotel itself.
There was a museum near our room.
It’s open 24 hours.
Like the items in the check-in lobby,
it displays memorabilia related to the QE2 ocean liner.
There was also a video playing.
Since we were already wandering around, we also stopped by the breakfast area in advance.
Was that a portrait of Queen Elizabeth and her husband…?
Because the ship has so much history,
there are interesting things to see all over the place.
On the way to Lido, the breakfast restaurant,
there was a bar called the Chartroom,
but it didn’t seem to be operating.
This is the breakfast restaurant, and normally it doesn’t have
these slightly old-school decorations, but because it was Eid,
it was filled with moon and star decor.
Eid Mubarak!
(I’ll share the breakfast restaurant and bar review separately.)
There’s also an area with casino machines,
and it’s fairly large too, but they’re all old machines from the past
and are now just for display. Casinos are banned in Dubai.
The QE2 souvenir shop felt almost empty,
but I heard the banquet hall is still used from time to time.
We stepped out onto the Boat Deck on B Deck.
Wow—the Dubai port atmosphere at night was so good.
The air was cool, and in the distance we could even see Burj Khalifa.
On U Deck, there’s an outdoor bar on the Upper Deck,
where a few people were sitting and enjoying the night view.
If you want a taste of an expensive cruise experience without actually booking one,
the Queen Elizabeth 2 is a great-value Dubai hotel.
That said, since it’s a 4-star hotel, facilities like the pool and gym
are a bit underwhelming,
so I think one night is probably enough.
These were the views we saw the next day while checking out.
If you cross over from the reception building via the skybridge,
it connects to the second floor.
Before leaving, we snapped one more photo in daylight
for the memories.
On this trip, I was the designated driver,
so I brought the car around to the hotel entrance for pickup.
Bye, Queen Elizabeth 2!
If you’re looking for a fun and unusual hotel in Dubai,
I definitely recommend staying here for one night.