A little bit about Dubai and if it might be a good destination for you from the standpoint of tourism and you being on holiday in Dubai.
To make Dubai a bit simpler (as it is large) lets consider 2 'districts' where as a tourist you might find yourself. I advise in not staying at the creek just because it's not on the beach but you might find excellent resorts there. It also to some extent doesn't matter where you choose as you need to take a cab everywhere. If you accept the size and sprawl of the city. There is no real heart of Dubai that you can walk around. There is the souk in the old town but apart from this it lacks this if you like to explore by foot Dubai is not the place for you. Cabs are not too badly priced considering the distances sometimes you can get caught in traffic if you are staying on the palm.
With that negativity parked in your mind why do people visit Dubai?
Why Visit Dubai?
2 Waterparks, great resorts perhaps the best in the world. Shopping, beaches, sea fishing, skiing in a shopping mall. Culture- I found it very interesting to be for the first time in a middle eastern country and climate. I did find the heat interesting as we went in full Summer! It was 45 degrees and to experience that even high levels in the night is really something to experience. Of course top class restaurants of all kinds of cuisine exist if you can afford them. This isn't really a backpacker friendly destination save that one for later in life this is a flashpacker place.
A desert safari was perhaps the highlight of the week we spent in Dubai but there were more I really enjoyed the waterpark at the atlantis resort and it also has a rather amazing aquarium. This is a family friendly city in a lot of respects. We met a family who had done this a few times. I think if the kids are older beyond 10 then it is interesting. Dubai has some great deals but you need to be careful and know that you will find the cost of eating expensive for a family. The culture of Dubai is not just one of Arabic culture because this is a unique emirate and one that made a ton of money in oil. So you see a lot of wealth on display, this can be fun if you like supercars. Skydiving and kitesurfing and all that also available- if your a bit tired then do a Dhow river cruise you will get a dance show and diner- excellent.
So you won't get bored in two weeks.
The Marina
In an attempt at giving some 'regional' parts of interest the developers created spaces for walking by the marina. It really is one of the places you can take a walk but it is bereft of street hawkers and things like that so it's pretty but missing je ne sais quoi. Still this is an ideal pace to base yourself. You don't get incumbered by the traffic on the palm.
The Marina Dubai Map
JBR Beach is not clear if it's the name of the beach or something else, but try and find it we were in it and didn't really find anything as we were out of season we think. Can you help? If it's the beach then it's a good stretch and there are resorts that take advantage to the position. You can find some good deals that are half board and all inclusive.
There are plenty of restaurants in this area and one of the bars was actually in our resort on a top floor of the high rise. We stayed in the Hilton the walk JBR, half of the resort or a different part (price) you get to stay beach side. But it wasn't an issue at all, air conditioned corridors made a great comfortable walk to the beach.
We loved our week in Dubai and would go back to do some of the stuff we couldnt fit in.
The Palm
Trying to escape the resort was never such a chore at times not always..Don't sweat it and get to say that you stayed on the palm. The man made palm shaped 'island' now being recreated in the 'dubai the world' and 2 other palms. Talk of over extended developments sound accurate if you look at the rest of the world not developing on this scale, but the charismatic leader has pulled off some amazing leadership feats. Watch this space.
If you stay on the palm then you get your beach and get to stay 'over' the water. Again get your taxi off the palm to the various interesting places on the emirates mainland.
Dubai Developments Image Credit Lencer,CC BY-SA 4.0