There's still time to book an Eid stay in the UAE ahead of the coming holidays. Photo: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
There's still time to book an Eid stay in the UAE ahead of the coming holidays. Photo: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
There's still time to book an Eid stay in the UAE ahead of the coming holidays. Photo: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
There's still time to book an Eid stay in the UAE ahead of the coming holidays. Photo: Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi

Seven last minute Eid staycations in the UAE with deals from Dh549


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

With a week’s holiday announced for Eid Al Fitr in the UAE, many people now have a confirmed nine-day holiday on the horizon. If you haven't yet made plans for your time off, don’t despair as there are plenty of Eid staycations that can still be booked today.

From a luxury escape on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah to a back-to-basics mountain getaway in Ras Al Khaimah, read on for a dose of staycation inspiration.

And if you're planning to jet overseas, you'll find some exciting holiday ideas in this story, with everything from a wildlife-filled safari in Sri Lanka to a Maldivian adventure for solo travellers.

Sofitel Dubai The Palm

Sofitel Dubai The Palm still has Eid availability. Photo: Sofitel Dubai The Palm
Sofitel Dubai The Palm still has Eid availability. Photo: Sofitel Dubai The Palm

Head to Palm Jumeirah this Eid Al Fitr and enjoy front-row seats to the city's celebratory fireworks displays when checking in at Sofitel Dubai The Palm. With a private beach, 11 restaurants, bars and lounges and a luxury spa by L'occitane, the five-star hotel’s Eid package includes daily breakfast for two, late check-out and an exclusive Arcadia perfume gift.

Rates from Dh1,499 per night; www.all.accor.com

Bear Grylls Explorer Camp, Ras Al Khaimah

Bear Grylls Explorer Camp offers an Eid staycation with a difference. Photo: BGEC
Bear Grylls Explorer Camp offers an Eid staycation with a difference. Photo: BGEC

Try something different over the holidays with a remote getaway at Bear Grylls Explorer Camp.

Located on Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, the resort's Eid offer is inclusive of a one-night cabin stay for up to three people, a barbecue dinner and plenty of activities to choose from including a high ropes course, hiking, archery or air rifle shooting. Cranking things up a notch, the nearby Jais Zipline, the world’s longest, will be open 9am-3pm over the Eid holidays and the Jais Sledder – the UAE’s longest mountain coaster – will be open from 9am-5pm.

Rates from Dh649, including one activity. Dh150 supplement for barbecue dinner (for two people); www.beargryllscamp.ae

Studio One Hotel

Studio One Hotel is open for Eid bookings. Photo: Studio One Hotel
Studio One Hotel is open for Eid bookings. Photo: Studio One Hotel

Book a two-night stay at Studio One hotel this Eid and get 20 per cent off the total rate. The cinema-themed hotel has its own private viewing room to take in your favourite films, a family swimming pool and some great restaurants including Italian spot Larte, popular Irish bar McGettigan's and the swanky Maine Oyster Bar and Grill.

Two-night, room-only stays start from Dh714; www.studioonehotel.com

NH Collection Dubai The Palm

Spend the Eid holidays at NH Collection Dubai The Palm. Photo: NH Collection
Spend the Eid holidays at NH Collection Dubai The Palm. Photo: NH Collection

Located on the popular Palm West Beach, the NH Collection Dubai The Palm has discounted rooms on offer this Eid for GCC residents. The luxury property has panoramic views of the Dubai skyline and shimmering ocean, with three restaurants, a private beach club and luxury spa. Check in over Eid and get complimentary breakfast, a Dh100 voucher towards a treatment at Soul Senses Spa and 15 per cent discount on food and beverages across the resort.

Rates from Dh925 per night, excluding taxes. Discount excludes in-room dining and View 180; www.world.nh-hotels.com

Queen Elizabeth 2

Travellers in Dubai can spend a night on the historic QE2, the city's only floating hotel. Photo: Accor / Firoze Edassery
Travellers in Dubai can spend a night on the historic QE2, the city's only floating hotel. Photo: Accor / Firoze Edassery

Spend a night at sea with a stay at the Queen Elizabeth 2, Dubai’s only floating hotel. Book the staycation special between April 10 and 13 and get a complimentary upgrade to a sea-view room, daily breakfast, a special Eid dinner in Lido restaurant, early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. There’s also 20 per cent discount on food-and-beverage spends during your stay. Read our review of the property here.

Room rates start from Dh549 for a classic room; www.qe2.com

Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi

Eid stays at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi come with stunning ocean views. Photo: Park Hyatt
Eid stays at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi come with stunning ocean views. Photo: Park Hyatt

In the beautiful surrounds of Saadiyat Island, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi offers a relaxing escape and the sense that you’ve left the city. There is up to 15 per cent off room rates for GCC residents checking in over the holidays, with the code UAER when booking online. As well as having one of the best private beaches in the UAE, the hotel is also home to several restaurants, four swimming pools – including one of the largest in Abu Dhabi – and a fantastic children's club. Read our review of the property here.

Rates from Dh3,041; www.hyatt.com

St Regis Dubai, The Palm

Check in at The St Regis Dubai, The Palm, this Eid and get 20 per cent off dining. Photo: Chris Whiteoak / The National
Check in at The St Regis Dubai, The Palm, this Eid and get 20 per cent off dining. Photo: Chris Whiteoak / The National

On the trunk of Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, The St Regis Dubai comes with excellent views of the city skyline and the Arabian Gulf, and it still has availability for stays over Eid. Check in and enjoy round-the-clock butler service, discounted treatments at Iridium Spa and 20 per cent off dining at Cordelia – the hotel's all-day-dining venue – and at Ruya, which serves Anatolian dishes. Read our review of the hotel here.

Rates from Dh1,245; www.marriott.com

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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%3Cp%3EThe%20new%20UAE%20league%20has%20been%20boosted%20this%20season%20by%20the%20arrival%20of%20five%20Pakistanis%2C%20who%20were%20not%20released%20to%20play%20last%20year.%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%0D%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EShaheen%20Afridi%20(Desert%20Vipers)%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESet%20for%20at%20least%20four%20matches%2C%20having%20arrived%20from%20New%20Zealand%20where%20he%20captained%20Pakistan%20in%20a%20series%20loss.%20%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShadab%20Khan%20(Desert%20Vipers)%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DThe%20leg-spin%20bowling%20allrounder%20missed%20the%20tour%20of%20New%20Zealand%20after%20injuring%20an%20ankle%20when%20stepping%20on%20a%20ball.%20%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAzam%20Khan%20(Desert%20Vipers)%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EPowerhouse%20wicketkeeper%20played%20three%20games%20for%20Pakistan%20on%20tour%20in%20New%20Zealand.%20He%20was%20the%20first%20Pakistani%20recruited%20to%20the%20ILT20.%20%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMohammed%20Amir%20(Desert%20Vipers)%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EHas%20made%20himself%20unavailable%20for%20national%20duty%2C%20meaning%20he%20will%20be%20available%20for%20the%20entire%20ILT20%20campaign.%20%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EImad%20Wasim%20(Abu%20Dhabi%20Knight%20Riders)%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20left-handed%20allrounder%2C%2035%2C%20retired%20from%20international%20cricket%20in%20November%20and%20was%20subsequently%20recruited%20by%20the%20Knight%20Riders.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Meydan Racecourse racecard:

6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 1,900m

7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m

7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh265,000 1,600m

8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) Dh165,000 1,600m

8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh265,000 2,000m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,600m.

Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres

Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)

5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m

Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m

Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali

6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m

Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani

7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m

Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan

7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m

Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

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The biog

Name: Timothy Husband

Nationality: New Zealand

Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney

Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier

Favourite music: Billy Joel

Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Updated: April 05, 2024, 11:06 AM