Beach Vista Tower 2 P504

The value for the price at Bekky Barber is hard to beat, and I’m really pleased with how my haircut turned out. I was visiting Dubai for the first time and hadn’t managed to see a barber before the trip, so I was glad I walked into Bekky Barber - Beach Vista. The team were friendly and made me feel comfortable straight away. If I come back to Dubai, I’ll go there again.

Dubai has waterfront beaches, luxury lifestyles, and plenty more. It feels like a gifted land, whether you visit or live here, especially for Dubai property.

We spent a month in apartment 2305 at Beach Vista, rented through LIVBNB, and came home very unhappy. There were five of us, including my children and elderly mother. From the start, the stay was a struggle. I booked with Kathrine, and when we arrived late at night there wasn’t even a bottle of water in the $6000 apartment, so we had to order some. There were only three towels and no spare blankets. When I asked for bedding, I was told I’d have to pay. I sent several photos of the comforter to explain, and the next day someone left a flat sheet at the door that looked like it had simply come from their home. The biggest problem was the water. A week and a half into our stay, it stopped getting cold and was only hot. We couldn’t shower or wash dishes with it. Kathrine sent maintenance, but they couldn’t fix it and said they’d return. Two days passed without an update, so I had to chase her. The crew came back several times, and each visit meant losing hours of vacation while we waited. Eventually they said the problem couldn’t be fixed, and that the pipes would need rerouting, which could take months. I sent videos showing the water steaming from the faucet. Kathrine seemed annoyed, sometimes didn’t reply, and when I said my family had to use the pool area to shower because the water was burning hot, her answer was to move us to another apartment. We were already settled in, and I’d cleaned the whole place and unpacked everything. Moving would have cost us two full days, so I said all we needed was for the water to be fixed. We ended up showering by the pool. There were roaches too, and I planned to include a photo. The stove was badly scratched and often wouldn’t light or stay lit. Maintenance came for that as well, but the workers didn’t understand what we were saying in English. The building’s parking is on level 4, with a narrow, winding route that was very difficult to navigate in my SUV every day. There’s no street parking. Getting in and out of the area is also a problem: there’s only one road, and afternoon traffic could leave us waiting 40 minutes to an hour to reach the main roads. The whole area was a mess with construction everywhere. Access to the beach meant walking through the lobby, which I found odd, and the pool was filthy. I often saw residents’ dogs urinating nearby. I asked for some compensation and was told to email management. They took over a week to answer, then claimed they had sent housekeeping to clean and sanitize the apartment. That never happened. We were told we’d get no compensation because we had chosen not to move. I never expected this kind of treatment from such a large Dubai management company. LIVBNB and Kathrine were a disgrace.

The security arrangements are frustrating. Staff seem to change every week, so when I get home there’s a new porter who doesn’t recognize me and questions me. Last night I came back from a trip carrying my sleeping baby, with my hands full and unable to get my access card out right away. The guard acted suspiciously and wouldn’t open the door instead of helping. Management also failed to follow through on window cleaning. They clean the windows only once a year, around every 7-8 months. The last cleaning was in June, and I expected another before Christmas, but nothing happened. I complained by phone and in person, and management promised they’d be cleaned on December 23rd. That was a lie. By January 6th they were still filthy, and we couldn’t enjoy the fireworks view from our apartment over Christmas or New Year’s. A lovely view is no use when you can’t see through the dirty glass. Owning an apartment here has been a very disappointing experience.