Ok lets put this into a correct perspective.
Positives FIRST.

This was the first time I ventured to Dubai, I had No IDEA on which hotel to use, the Grosvenor looked good so I booked.

On arrival , I was shocked at the amount of building work in Dubai, at least 300 hotels are being built (probably many more)
Sounds like an exaggeration, just wait till you get there.

The Grosvenor is SURROUNDED by building work, my immediate reaction was disappointment, HOWEVER much to my surprise I learnt to cope with the industrial style outlook, as the Hotel itself was truly FIRST CLASS, the service, the staff, the food, were all exemplary. We received flowers & little snacks ,cakes ,fruit etc) to our room every night, the staff were attentive to our every need, the hotel pool was private, and staffed well. The Executive Grosvenor bar (44th floor) was excellent, and the food was great.

A feature of the hotel is the Budda Bar, a themed night club/style restaurant, well used by the local fashionable people. An enjoyable ambience , and good music.

Bar 44 (on the top floor) is well worth a visit, superb views over the Newly built (being built) Palms & Sea.

The ONLY negative I can think of is the building works.. BUT this is not unique to the Grosvenor, building works are almost EVERYWHERE, you simply can't escape it at this time.. (may 2008)

The Grosvenor has all you'd need for a peaceful relaxing holiday, NOT a hotel for kids, more professional, or romance.

Taxi's are DIRT cheap, its hard to spend more than £5 ($10) ANYWHERE.

Visit the local malls,.. MALL of the emirates, is impressive, and WAFI, we also went to local Diamond and Gold SOUK (market)
Diamonds are cheap, but educate yourself before buying its a minefield. Madinat souk is also worth a visit.

Watch's were disappointing, with NO VISIBLE saving from UK prices.. I wanted to buy one whilst I was out there, but it simply didn't equate...

Nightlife is poor, if you like eating & drinking every night its great, but not much else to do.

Having said that I was looking for a relaxing holiday with my wife, and thats EXACTLY what I got.

BOOK early if you wish to visit the Burj Al Arab, you can do afternoon tea, its expensive but worth the effort, book before you travel, as they are booked weeks in advance 'busy season' try the MONKEY FREEZE cocktail , absolutely yummy.

All in all ,my experince with Grosvenor was superb, would I go back again ? YES in a heartbeat... The hotel itself was sooo good, it made up for all the buiding and industry going on around it.

The General Manager is a British Women, who obviously knows how to please her clients, this hotel will not disappoint you. This is the first time EVERY member of staff treated me with respect,and a professional attitude. i travel to many destinations every year, and NOTHING has come close to the service I got at the Grosvenor.

I will be booking again in October 2008, thats how good it is.

Paul Miles (room 1513.. excellent view) MAY 12th - May 19th 2008

(hope this review helps you, I have tried to be honest and informative)

I have just completed a weeks stay at the Grosvenor House Dubai (my first was in Feb 2007) and am very happy to report that it is still an absolute diamond of a hotel. The level of customer service is simply astounding and second to none. Every single member of staff is smiling, welcoming, helpful, and goes the extra mile to make your stay special.

Highlights include:
The rooms are luxurious, spotlessly clean, tasteful, well equipped and serviced throughout the day. If you use towels, by the time you return to your room there will be fresh ones. Turndown service always has roses and chocolates!
The pillows on the beds are made from clouds taken from heaven.
There is a fantastic Beach Rucksack provided in the room for when you go out!!
The staff know your name everywhere you go!!
If you ask for 'anything' it is done immediately, without fuss and if its a dinner or excursion booking, a printed confirmation is delivered to your room within minutes. The concierge desk is extremely efficient.
The food and service at the Indigo and Gary Rhodes Mezzanine restaurants was sublime!!
The breakfast buffet is also superb and has enough choices to cover pretty much anybody's preferences!

The evening finger buffet in the Club Lounge is also so good you could just eat there and miss dinner completely.
Evening drinks in the Club Lounge are top quality and you never have to ask, they are ready to top you up as soon as you are halfway through a drink!
There is also free wireless internet in the Club Lounge and all public areas.

The beach, lawns and facilities at the sister 'Royal Meridien hotel' are all superb, and getting there is no problem at all, as the shuttle bus (an Air-conditioned Mercedes) was always there within seconds and takes about 2 minute door to door.

The Buddha Bar (fantastic!) is downstairs and has great atmosphere, music and food.
(We saw Gloria Hunniford and Cliff Richard there!)
(And if you are a car lover, you will never see such a selection of exotic cars parked in one place, Bugatti's, Lambo's, Mclaren's, Ferrari's, new Rolls Convertibles.. They are all here every night!)

I could go on and on about how much I adore this hotel. The management team of The Grosvenor House Dubai have created a hotel so perfect, that I simply cannot think of a single thing that I don't like about it.

The icing on the cake was the champagne and chocolates delivered to my room on my final night, thanking us for choosing the Grosvenor House, and the new 7 Series BWM that was there to take us to the airport on the morning that we left. Both lovely unexpected surprises that finished a perfect weeks stay.

If you are looking for a luxury hotel where every moment of your stay is a complete pleasure, then look no further!

We normally stay at Le Royal Meridien in Dubai but on this occasion we booked last minute and the Meridien was full so opted for the Grosvenor House instead. Enjoyed our stay here but would go for Le Royal Meridien if choosing between the two. Why? well, on the plus side … The food at the Grosvenor House was excellent; the breakfast buffet was far superior to that at Le Royal Meridien. We had a limited choice in the evenings as the hotels restaurants tend to book up very quickly, despite this we could not fault the food we had, it was superb. The staff are helpful and professional, the hotel lobby and public areas are outstanding …… on the down side; don’t be fooled with the offer of ‘complimentary half board’ – this is limited to 100dhs per person – we couldn’t get an evening meal in the hotel for less than 200+dhs per person, the pool area felt claustrophobic and so we used the facilities at Le Royal Meridien – this isn’t ideal as you have to get a shuttle over, although they are frequent we missed the convenience of popping back and forth from the beach or pool to our room during the day if we wanted to. Other reviewers mention a steady stream of daily treats and canapes? we got them only twice during our 5 night stay. The Grosvenor House I feel is more suited to the business traveller whereas the Meridien is a little more laid back with more of a ‘holiday’ atmosphere, our room was nice but rather small and it was a shame that after the fist night the lovely bedding and cushions, were left stacked to the side of the bed throughout our stay nstead of being put back on a daily basis and being taken off in the evening as I would expect. I don’t wish this review to sound negative – overall we enjoyed our stay and I would stay there again, it would not however be my first choice.

First class hotel, service, rooms, food, staff everything of the highest order. Try the sister hotel, the Meridian, with it's own private beach. It's just round the corner and the Grosvenor has a 15 minutely shuttle there and back.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this hotel to anyone and find it difficult to believe that even the most demanding traveller would not be blown away by this hotel!