I'm a Gold Card Inner Circle member for Taj group and have stayed in many Taj properties across India and abroad. This is possibly the worst of the Taj properties I have stayed in terms of service levels, lack of good dining options, underprepared staff, very outdated rooms.

excellent hotel in the dhera area of what is now called Old dubai. its centrally located near the Ál Rigga St metro station (a less than 5 min walk)
one station away from city center mall
excellent huge rooms, very spacious and comfortable, what you would expect from a Taj Facility.

nice simming pool on the terrace, decent breakfast and excellent helpfull staff

Hotel is located just off the Al Rigga road in Deira, an area that has gone downhill and very tacky very rapidly in the last few years. There are much, much nicer parts of Dubai to stay in these days.

Hotel:

1. No shuttle service to and from the airport!!! I was informed as I ONLY had an executive room this service wasnt available to us. I have been going to the UAE for over 12 years now and this is the first time I was told this in a 5* hotel - very disappointing. Major minus point!! Just about every hotel in Dubai, be they 3 4 or 5* have a free hotel shuttle service. The hotel offers a car service for ca. 75 EURO (note the airport is less than a 10 minute drive)

2. Rooms; Very big which loads of space. Beds extremely comfortable. Large Sofa and reading desks as well. Impressive. Bathroom very large with seperate bath and shower. Staff penny pinch and supply the absolute minimum on soaps, shampoos and shower gels - On 2 occasions I had to ask for more (strange for a 5* hotel methinks)

2. Breakfast - catered for the arabian palate which is fine as the majority of guests appear to be from the middle east / Gulf region. Its ok for 1 or 2 nights but after 5 or 6 days we lost all interest and ate elsewhere. Note to management: Tthere were quite a large number of Europeans and North Americans there as well - guess we dont count in your long term planning.

3. Staff; In genereal very friendly. However (there's always one), I mistakedly left the "do not disturb" light on in my room and left for work. Came back at 6pm and asked if they could make up my room - after a long and heated debatte in which I was lectured on my very bad mistake, they finally agreed to make up my room (reception staff). Really not acceptable in a 5* hotel. Also asked for housekeeping at 9pm was was grumpedly told to ring back the next morning.

4. Health Club / Spa; Excellent health club and Pool - top facilities and staff are extremely helpful. Spa prices have gone through the roof - other hotels nearby offer the same spa services i.e massages etc at a quarter the price

4. No Alcohol!! Just about every other 5* hotel in Dubai offers the option of alcohol to it's guests. If you dont drink alcohol out of religious reasons, that's you business and entitlement. However, other guests have different religions, views and tastes and this should be respected.

5. Internet. Very expensive at ca. EUR 25 per 24 hours. Website, not considered to be of meet the moral highground of the local authorities, are blocked by the hotel server. Other servers are used by the other 5* hotels!!!

Conclusion: Nice hotel that has seen better days - certianly not worthy of the 5* rating anymore. Management are penny pinching on every corner and the guest of course bears the brunt of this.

This hotel is fine if you are from the middle east ot Gulf region with 3 or 4 children on hand and want to do a couple of days shopping in Dubai. For western visitors looking to enjoy a relaxing week or so in Dubai - there are much better beach front hotels available in Dubai in the same price category.

Business people should give the place a wide berth - the place is overrun with familes and caters for them accordingly.

All in all I enjoyed the hotel due the friendliness of the staff but I wont be going back

I happened to stay in the Taj Palace Hotel in Dubai for a couple of days and overall the experience was highly satisfying.
This hotel has the usual Taj 5 Star trappings and is located in Dubai’s central Deira neighbourhood - its only a few minutes walk from the Metro Station. The hotel also operates a daily shuttle service to the beach and to the City centre and shopping mall which is quite a boon.
The rooms are very comfy and noise-free, the bathroom is luxurious in an understated manner.My room had an over-sized balcony though the view of the city could have been a little better ! The room had the usual in-room amenities such as a tea/coffee maker and interactive flat-screen TV with satellite channels.
The Indian restaurant lived up to the usual high quality of most offerings from the Taj and the rooftop pool bar was just the right place to come to in the evenings.
The hotel staff are helpful specially the reception staff.A cute innovation that I noticed was an elevated contraption for kids to stand on alongside the reception lobby while their parents were completing the check-in or check-out formalities. The concierge staff were very useful specially in customised guidance for Indian travellers.
The the lounge in the lobby is tastefully done with traditional Arab sweets and savouries served in a corner.
Breakfast is an experience in itself with Indian, Arabian and Continental breakfast.
The swimming pool on the roof top is a cool place to relax in the evenings.The indoor fountains on the top floor are also very pleasing.
But the real find was the Wellness Centre which is located just below the roof top and is virtually the hidden secret jewel of the hotel.The staff in the Wellness Centre is very well trained and the range and types of treatments offered are simply out of the world.I was served by an extremely knowledgeable staffer who provided extremely sage advice and recommendations.The crowning part and the icing on the cake however were the modest prices charged as compared to similar offerings in other 5 star hotels not only in Dubai but even when compared to similar hotels in India as well.
I would recommend the Taj Palace Hotel in Dubai to other fellow travellers anytime and worth a visit atleast once for for its Wellness Centre alone !
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