Oliver G.
Disappointment despite upgrade promise and unbearable noise disturbance
Sonder Dubai JBR is part of the Marriott group. When we arrived at night, we were told we would receive an upgrade because we have Marriott Gold status. That “upgrade” was a sham. We were placed in apartment 203 on the second floor. In lower floors this turned out to be a complete mistake. All night we could hear club music until around 3:00 AM, and the entire apartment vibrated. Our children and we could not sleep. At the front desk we sought help, but they could not do anything at that moment, promising to forward it to the manager. We were told everything was fully booked and only from October 12 a quieter apartment on the fifth floor would become available — until then we would have to stay in the noisy unit. That was unacceptable. We demanded alternative solutions. They offered another Sonder hotel in the city, but with an additional charge and without beach access. Ultimately they only offered us Sonder credits instead of a refund. Only after I threatened to contact the tourism authorities did they agree to refund the cost back to our credit card — except for the one night we had stayed, which I accepted. We then moved to Hilton Dubai Jumeirah — and it was miles better. Sonder has excellent furnishings, but if you end up in a second or lower floor apartment, it’s a total failure. The music and vibrations from the club until the early morning, plus daytime piano noise from the lobby, made staying unbearable. We lost a full day in Dubai, and the experience left our children with a negative first impression. I strongly advise never to accept rooms in lower floors — and caution against any promised upgrade that never materializes.

