Plusses:
- the room itself was fine. Clean & comfortable. Unobtrusive but efficient aircon.
- in the old part of town. Many cheap back street local, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, Thai eats nearby, cheap.
- bus stop right outside. Bus to/from airport Terminal 2, or bus to e.g. Union metro station (3 AED, $0.80), then metro to Terminal 1 or 3 (also 3 AED, using the same "Nol" card -- NO CASH).
- 10 min walk to a large mall "Al Ghurair" centre. Not on the scale of Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates, but enough.
- walking distance (20 - 30 min) to attractions such as the Gold Souk or Spice Souk. Or the bus.
Minuses:
- staff not terribly helpful or fast. Not rude but more .. inefficient.
- the wifi is rubbish. Get a local SIM card for fast internet. I paid 50 AED for 1 GB one week data pack.
- on site Pakistan night club is noisy until 3 AM, and then other guests noisy for 30 min after. I'm never early to bed, so it didn't bother me, but be warned...