We went to Dubai a few years back and loved it. Free digs becuase the wife's uncle was working out there so we got two bedrooms in their company-provided apartment.

I think you can fly out and have 7 nights in a top hotel for £600-£700 or so, and food isn't very expensive. Golf and stuff is hard work in the heat at any time, the April shopping festival is just too hot, and you want to avoid the humid spell in October.

It's the most liberal of the Arab states so you can get a drink in restaurants and hotels - they don't have bars or off-licences though, and getting pissed or any kind of crime is a big no-no.

We never drove at all while out there because if one of the locals bumps into you you are automatically at fault as the foreigner.