Holiday Inn Express Dubai - Safa Park, an IHG Hotel

This is a city hotel for divers who want a functional base in Dubai rather than a resort built around staying on site. The useful bits are in place: air conditioning, free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, a 24-hour reception and a gym for keeping the legs moving between outings.

English is spoken by the hotel team. The hotel website also caters for guests in Japanese, German, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Korean, Thai, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Vietnamese, which is helpful when planning before arrival, even if a multilingual reception team is not something to assume from that alone.

There are 171 rooms, so this is a proper city base rather than a small guesthouse where everyone knows your dive timetable by breakfast. You can return, shower, eat, and get on with the evening.

The hotel sits in Dubai's Al Wasl District, at the junction of Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Wasl Road. It is in Dubai, around 4 miles from the city centre, with Business Bay, the Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Fountain among the nearby sights.

The airport is about 9 miles away. That is close enough for a city break without making the airport the main feature of the address, although Dubai traffic can still have its own ideas about journey times.

A free shuttle takes you to the beach, giving you a practical way to reach the coast without turning every swim or shore outing into a taxi exercise. The hotel also offers free underground parking for registered guests, with 66 secured spaces.

The room choice is mainly about how you want to sleep and what you want to see. Double rooms suit couples, while twin rooms give two divers separate beds after a long day travelling or diving. If the skyline matters to you, choose one of the rooms with a Burj Khalifa view; it gives the stay a distinctly Dubai angle rather than leaving you to find the landmark elsewhere.

Air conditioning matters in this climate, particularly when you return warm, salty and ready to stop moving. Rooms also have blackout blinds, a private bathroom with shower, a hairdryer, a safe, a wardrobe, a television and a mini-bar. Heating is available too, although it is unlikely to be the feature you think about first in Dubai.

The Smart rooms keep the choice simple if you mainly need a bed, a private bathroom and a place to reset between outings. For a stay where the room itself is part of the plan, the Burj Khalifa-view option is the one to look at first. Standard rooms are the sensible choice when the view matters less than getting a reliable night and keeping the booking uncomplicated.

Breakfast is served at The Great Room as a complimentary buffet from 6.30am to 10am. There is also a Grab & Go option, which suits an early start better than lingering over a plate while the day's plans wait outside. The same restaurant covers international food at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For the evening, Muchachas brings a different accent: a Mexican cantina with traditional dishes given a modern approach, relaxed decoration and music. It serves lunch and dinner, so you can keep things easy at the hotel rather than going back out simply to find a meal.

Meal arrangements depend on the room booking, so check what is included when choosing your stay. Meals may be limited during Ramadan, and mandatory gala dinners can apply at UAE hotels on specific occasions. That is worth checking before arrival, particularly if you prefer to keep dinner plans under your own control.

Dubai is the main activity here, with organised outings to Kite Beach, Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. That gives you a few clear options for a non-diving day: head for the coast, make a shopping and food expedition of the mall, or go straight for the city's defining viewpoint.

For the hours when sightseeing has done enough, the gym and fitness equipment provide a straightforward way to stretch out and keep active. It is open around the clock, so you can fit in a session before breakfast, after returning from the beach or at the point when jet lag decides that midnight is actually morning.

The free beach shuttle is also useful for a slower day. You can reach the sand without arranging every movement yourself, then return to the hotel for air conditioning, a shower and dinner at Muchachas or The Great Room.

Standard check-in runs from 2pm to midnight, with a 24-hour reception at the hotel. Check-out is at noon. Early check-in and late check-out can be requested, which is worth considering around flight times or a late return from an outing.

A paid airport shuttle is available. The airport lies about 9 miles away, and the hotel can also be reached with your own car, with free secured underground parking for registered guests. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, and luggage storage is available when your arrival or departure does not line up neatly with the room.

The gym, business facilities and event facilities add practical value if your Dubai trip mixes diving, sightseeing and work. Visa, Maestro and Mastercard are accepted. Guests must be at least 18 to check in, and the hotel does not admit pets.

Check the meal conditions attached to your booking, especially during Ramadan and around gala-dinner dates. Dubai is perfectly capable of making a simple dinner plan complicated if you leave it until the last minute.