Travel dreams, Local scenes

In Season 3, Episode 17 of On the Sofa with British Mums, Emma is joined by Jen from the British Mums team and special guest Pamela from Travel Counsellors for a feel‑good conversation all about holidays close to home. They chat through some of the incredible UAE staycation options on offer, how families can support local tourism, and the positive impact that has on the wider economy.

With EID on the horizon, they explore holiday opportunities to look forward to, swap favourite travel memories, and share the little moments that make trips truly memorable. 

This episode was pre‑recorded just before online learning (briefly we hope) resumed, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the added pressure that has brought for many families in the community and let you know we are all thinking of you!

This chat Is a warm, hopeful listen for anyone who loves to travel, wants to champion local businesses, or simply needs a bit of sunny escapism in the middle of a busy, challenging season.

https://britishmums.com/dubai/events/

https://www.travelcounsellors.ae/

#you're-a-part-of-this

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Hello and welcome to On the Sofa with British Mums. I'm Emma, and today I'm joined by Jen from the British Mums Dream Team and the lovely Pamela from Travel Counsellors. Now, this is our second podcast with Travel Counsellors, and our chats are always fabulous. Now, in this episode, we are talking all things holidays close to home, amazing UAE staycations, and how we can support local tourism and why that all helps to boost the wider economy at the same time. We also chat about Eid holiday opportunities, our favourite holiday memories, and those little travel moments that just stay with you long after you are back to reality. Now I have to mention, team, that we recorded this episode just before online briefly, fingers crossed, resumed. So we just want to take a moment to acknowledge what a challenging juggle this season has been for so many families in our community. Please know that we are thinking of you during this time. We hope that you can stay safe and sane. So whether you are dreaming, planning, or just in need of a bit of escapism between Zooms and school logins, grab a cupper and settle in for a relaxed, hopeful chat about travel togetherness and making the most of what's right on our doorstep. Hello and welcome to On the Sofa with British Moms. This is season three, episode 17, and today we are talking about the thing that we all need right now, which is holidays. So joining me from the British Moms Dream Team is Jen. Hello, Jen. Hello, hello. You're being greedy at the moment. You're on a lot, aren't you? I know, I like it. I like it in my house, so why not?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

I like having you, it's nice. How are you doing, okay? All good, all good. It's uh it's been busy being back at school. Uh kids are loving it, which is great. And I feel like, should I dare say it, traffic feels like it's coming back. I know, I was gonna say, dare I say it. Does it feel a bit normal? It does, it does.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

And I felt like I was a bit tearing up the other day at the traffic. I was like, why am I so happy to see everything so busy?

SPEAKER_00 2:05

I know I'm feeling very positive about it. Now I'm trying to be like, yay, traffic jam, this is good. People are here.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

So yeah. Everybody's here, everybody's here, which is great. So uh joining us today uh on the sofa or at Jen's uh dining room table. We're a bit misleading, aren't we, with our title. Um, is uh Pamela from Travel Counsellors. Now, Pamela is the second uh travel counsellors episode that we have been lucky enough to have uh on our podcast. And we love talking holidays, we love talking all things happy and a bit like our episode last week with a happy tribe. We're we're keeping positive, we're thinking, we're looking forward um to all the things that we can do here in the UAE. And Pamela, you are a specialist in holidays now, aren't you? Hello, hi, thanks so much for being here today. Thanks for having me. So um tell me a little bit about yourself, Pamela. Have you got kid kids here?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Yes, so I am a mum to two very intense and lively boys. Boys, boys, you just have to say boys. They are four and six, almost seven. Um, yeah, and they take up pretty much most of my time. What are they into? Are they football boys? Lego boys? My eldest is slowly getting into football, but just trucks, cars, dinosaurs, all the usual.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

All the usual stuff, the loud, noisy stuff. Active, fighting. And how long have you been in the in the Middle East, I guess? Because you said that you've travelled quite a lot, haven't you? You've actually done some work for British mums for us.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Yes, yes. A few years ago. Yes, when I a few years ago I moved to Saudi Arabia to Riyadh. Um, like lots of mums, I'm sure, here my husband's job kind of takes you lift all around. Um so we first came to the Middle East about 12, 13 years ago to Qatar, did a couple of years there, then moved to Dubai for six years where I had my first son and then relocated to Riyadh, where I had my second son. Um, and then three years ago decided had missed Dubai. So come back. Come back to Dubai the baby. Yeah. We'd come back now, bought a house, and properly settled here.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I guess I think you were saying, like, because you'd been to Dubai before you'd been to Riyadh, then you kind of makes you appreciate and kind of understand where you want to put your roots down, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah, I think before we went to Riyadh, we were like, I was like, I don't really know if I want to bring my kids up here, I'm not sure. We went to Riyadh, lived a little bit of life there, came back here on holiday, and we're like, you know what? This is you just did a little bit of shopping. Was that or Scotland? And I love Scotland, but I love the sunshine.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

No, so you can get the best of both worlds. Go back there for Christmas. Exactly. Do that, do that, that's fine.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

So, how long have you been working with travel counsellors? Since I came back. So, when I lived in Riyadh, I um had a conversation with our general manager, Holly, um, about the possibility. My background is in travel, okay. Travel, marketing, that kind of area. So I'd had a conversation with Holly, but she'd said to me, you know, we don't operate um in that region at the minute, so if you do come back to Dubai, let me know. So once I came back, got the boys settled in school, gave Holly a call and and started from there.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

So, do you like it because it because it fits around your schedule, or is it because you have a background in travel or a bit of both?

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Both, yeah. I mean, I'm kind of I'm always someone that has to do something I enjoy. Yes, and I mean, who doesn't enjoy holidays? I travel, is that it's great.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

I know, and then but also helping other people find nice holidays, right? It's like it's like that like giving a gift thing, like it doesn't even have to be your holiday. If you know that you're setting up this thing for somebody else and you're like, oh you'd love this, and you know, you go and see this in this place. What's the what's the last holiday that you've been on recently? We just went at spring break to Thailand. Was that gorgeous?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Lovely, and uh, it's really nice. It's I'm now going back to places that I went before I had kids, but it's nice to take my boys and see them see it. Yeah, and it's a it's a completely different type of holiday, but it's yeah, it's nice to experience it in a different way.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

You see different parts, and yeah, so yeah, we thought that we went well, we got married in New York, and then we took Sophie a couple of years ago to New York, and going then with a child to New York is a very different experience. In a good way, yeah, just I feel it's a very busy city.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Uh yeah, so you've just got your wits about you a bit more and also you're not in Dubai, so it but it feels a bit more bustly and hustly, and just about holding onto their hands really tight, and you're like, you know, you can't just disappear off, it's not the same.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

And we did go and see Wicked in Broadway, which was incredible. I bet from uh going back, you know, the same places that we went to, it was just the two of us, you know, different vibe to then go in, but experiencing it in a different way. It is like going on a new holiday, basically, just because it is very different. Yeah. Um so whereabouts in Thailand were you? We went to Piquet. Nice. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and that's only like five hours for us, really, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Sex, yeah, direct flight. Um yeah, because the last time I was in Piquet was 2006. So it was it was nice to see the difference. It's a lovely time of year to go to Piquet, so so what what about flight prices over there right now?

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Because I know that like globally, obviously, with everything that's going on, obviously jet fuel is very expensive and that's making flights very expensive. Yeah. I assume that's the reason. What what was that like for you? Is there other places that you would go if you were if you were to travel abroad? What would you be looking at in terms of flights to go? Well, these ones are still kind of reasonable, but you want to, you know.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Yeah, I mean, at the moment it's very changing constantly. Yeah. I mean, when I booked my when we booked our trip there, it was a spring bait trip. I booked that in November. So it was a while ago. Yeah, at the minute I think it's a combination of fuel prices and just there's less flights. So demand is higher, and with all travel business and lots of business when demand is higher, prices tend to go up. So of course, um, yeah. I mean, I do think prices are a bit higher at the minute. Also, you've got to take into account at the minute, like the low-cost airlines, such as Air Arabia and things like that, they aren't really operating right now.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

So no, of course, because it's had such a massive impact on everyone in the travel industries and tourism industries. Actually, speaking of tourism, I was lucky enough to go and stay at the West In um the other day. For and we went, we went for my little girl's birthday, so we did one night at the West Inn, and it was it it was so beautiful, and from the minute that we walked in, it was I always say this there's no five-star like Dubai Five Star, I feel. Yes, do you know what I mean? We are really spoiled, and like we walked in, and it was just like suddenly we just clicked in and it was amazing, and it was like the the lady at the desk was incredible, and then the food was really, really lovely, but it was quiet, yeah, and I would just love to see some like more busyness in these places, yeah, so that we can support that industry here going back up. Actually, speaking of support, I think I feel like this is like the fifth week in a row that I've mentioned this, but I do feel passionately about it. You were mentioning that you're going to a brunch tomorrow and it's on the entertainer. Yes. Because we were talking a little while ago about how Donna Bentham from The Entertainer's done that one heart thing to try and boost up business. What do you think people should be looking at in terms of we've got a spring break coming up, haven't we? Um, eed break break coming up.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Yeah, end of May, and it's pretty much I think it's gonna be like it's gonna be the full week. I think it's still like to be absolutely confirmed, but I think a lot of people will take that week off. I think we should be going to hotels here, right? But yeah, supporting the UAE. Yeah. There are some amazing staycation deals that are out there, and I'm sure over Eid it might be a little bit more, but there are there are some really good deals. But you're saving on a flight cost. Well, exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

So it all works out in the wash. Um, I mean, I would go back to the West Inn in a heartbeat. I thought it was so, so lovely, and they've got this like they've got the use of all the pools from the hotels kind of next door in the meridian as well. The meridian as well. The water park, it kind of looks like um Vamamia, like all blue and white. Do you know what I mean? That's it. Sounds really I go with the musical, Jen goes with the proper word. Um, but yeah, no, it was really nice, and and we just had just a lovely experience and left kind of even though it was one night feeling really rested, which is you said you went on a Monday, yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

So I feel like midweek it will feel quieter. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Weekends, the hotels are they did say to us the guy at the bar said, I said, Oh, it's very quiet, and he said, at the weekend it's not quiet enough. He was like, which is great, and I love hearing that. That is good.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah, I was working on a staycation inquiry for a client for this weekend in Razel Kmer, and the hotel was at 90% occupancy, they said. Like they're not gonna be. Oh my gosh, it's amazing. That makes me so happy. People are they're seeing the deals and they want to go away on the weekends because obviously you've still got work and stuff, and a lot of people and now schools are back as well. But yeah, yeah, these deals are back.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

What's what's the best staycation you guys have been on here? What have you been? Do you do staycase, Jen?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Yeah, I haven't done one for a little while actually. Um, the one that is on my list is the the Ritz Carlton, the Alwadi Desert. Oh yes, is that with the animals? Yes, oh yes, I really want to do that. So we were umming and Ring about doing it um because it's part of the Bonvoy group and my husband's he's got points and things, so we Oh yeah, spend those points, spend the points. So yeah, maybe I don't know, it's our 10-year anniversary coming up, so maybe we might maybe do that in in June, I think. Um but that looks stunning.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

So that's on the bucket list. What about you, Pamela? Do you have a favourite staycape, please?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

My favourite for years and years has always been the park hayat. Oh yeah, really? I've never been oh my god, and it's just closed for refurb. So it'll be back bigger and bigger than the bigger. Well, I was gonna say it will come back, yeah. Yeah, it's just it's in Dubai, it's at the creek, but it just feels it feels like this little oasis.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Is that the one with the pretty little pools in the middle, and you sort of like you're surrounded and it's round you?

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, but the lagoon.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

And they have the they have the restaurant and it's called like the creek or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah, and then you've got boardwalk and everything and everything like that.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

Like by a golf course. Yeah, and we went there for my mum's birthday. It was really nice. I can I can see why you like that. That's a good one. Um, and the other one that I want to go and check out, which I haven't seen in person since what's the one out in the desert? Um Babel Shams. Babel Shams, because that got refurbed a couple of years ago, and I still haven't been back since.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

I think that was one of the first places that I came to when I moved here 11 years ago. Babel Shams and also the one and only on the palm. Yeah. But yeah, Babel Shams was beautiful then. Um and yeah, you just feel like you're like miles away.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

You just sat like in the pool, and then there'll be like a desert animal just wanders past, and it's really sort of like surreal, isn't it? And it's stunning now that it's been refrugged. I think it's just a case of like now we're now we're we've got momentum and the ball is rolling and people are back. I think that it will very quickly recover because it's that kind of a country. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? And I think that yes, we're going into a more quiet period because it's the summer, and obviously, tourism in the summer is a bit different because a lot of people leave. However, I don't know whether people will stay this year because of having gone away over over the online learning period or like that. I mean, we always stay in the summer. Yeah. We always stay here in the summer, we've gotten good at it. We go and do, we take a business, it's quite nice to stay.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

So, and then there are still pretty good deals. I mean, if you are going to be out and about being in a hotel in a always the way forward, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:42

You can get over to Atlantis and they do amazing residence deals in the summer, and it's a like it's such a cool place to be because you can be indoors, outdoors, it doesn't really matter. You know, and lots of pool days, yeah, Catholics quiet.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Oh yeah, let's have camp. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

So what are kind of like the general inquiries people are asking you at the moment of like where to go and what are people asking itinerar for?

SPEAKER_01 14:03

I mean, at the moment it's a really mixed bag. I feel like some people for each holiday historically as well, here everyone is last minute. Yeah. So even now, Eid is what in maybe three weeks? Yes. Still people are like on the fence, not very sure what they want to do. But yeah, a mix of staycations and some summer travel. Um, I've done some itineraries for Greece, like island hopping in Greece. Oh, that's nice, that sounds lovely. Mamma mia! Mamma mia, um, and Mauritius is really popular in the summer. Um, but yeah, a lot of it is staycations because I feel like a lot of people have travelled over Spring Bake, extended their travel, come back, and now want to take advantage of all these great deals that are around at the moment and like you say, support local businesses.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

It feels good to do that at the moment, I think.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

It feels good to kind of like go into these places, spend money, like you know, and just kind of somewhere you wouldn't necessarily have tried before because you can get a bit more of a deal. And there's some good ones, um, like JA Hatterford, they've got some really good deals on at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

JA Resort as well, which is amazing for kids. They have so many swimming pools, they have uh the golf course for dad, they have horse riding, they have like so many different things. And that's only what half an hour, not even that, half an hour from Dubai, which is and they have really good deals on at the moment. So that's do you know?

SPEAKER_02 15:30

We s we stayed at one in oh what was the it was Anantara on the palm. Yeah, Anantara. And it was like we stayed in this room that looks like those villas out on the water.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Oh yeah, the ones like on the stelts, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

And they had a thing where you could see the fish underneath. It was really cool. It was like a glass panel on the bottom of the floor, and then you could like see the fish swimming below, yeah. But it it felt like I was in. Didn't you side at the Anatara on the part? I think. Yeah. Did you stay in one of those rooms or did you stay in the centre bit with the pool in the middle?

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah, the one with the pool in the middle.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Because that's cool as well, because you can be like literally right on the pool, and it's like it feels it almost feels like you're going into another country because of the theming of the it's a very like Asian brand, and it's very low rise as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Like it just feels really very chill.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

Yeah, and when you're walking through it, it's kind of like all these wooden paths, like all under the trees, and yeah, you're you kind of like step into another reality. I think the hotels here are actually really good at like the theme. Yeah, they're like they pick a whatever it is if it's a chain and it's unique in their own way, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you're making me want to go on holiday now. Actually, just before we came here to record this podcast, we were watching a Disney cruise vlog because that's that's our next on our list. So we're telling ourselves that we're gonna work hard, save some money, and go on a Disney cruise. So do it. I'll book it with you, Pamela. Please.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

They are they look magical. I know, don't they? I did actually book the Raw Caribbean cruise, by the way. Oh, did you? Yeah, me and Sophie are gonna do it. You influenced yourself into myself, exactly, exactly. So yeah, I was watching because we were sharing some of the videos and I just had a quick look and I was like, you know what? We should maybe do that. And yeah, with everything going on, I thought it was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment, uh spontaneous booking. But good for you, yeah. So we're very excited.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

When are you going?

SPEAKER_00 17:17

It's in July, so oh my god, yeah, and it starts from Rome, so that looks really cool. So that would be really fun. But I'd I don't know, I'm kind of torn because you've got two days that you're actually at sea, which I think's great because then you can explore the ship, but even sofa's like we're not gonna be able to see everything on it because there's so much to see, but you want to see all the places that you dock at too. But we could you could probably just stay on the ship for a week and then not leave and have an amazing time.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

That's what I'm planning on doing on the Disney cruise. Yeah, I want everything in the shape of Mickey, so I want cocktails in the shape of Mickey and food in the shape of Mickey, and I'm just gonna sit for a full week and just let the characters come to me. I'm not going anywhere. The ships are incredible. Yeah, they are. I've never done it actually. My husband's done a lot of work on cruise ships, so he knows them at the back of his hand, but I've never done it, so it's definitely on my list. So, what's the benefits? I we did talk about this when we had um Holly and Sarah on this way back in season one. Well, that must have been like episode three, mustn't it, Jen? Yeah, it was one of the biggest ones. Proper, like right early back in the day. Um, what are the benefits of booking with a travel counsellor, with travel counsellors rather than just like trying to figure it out yourself on compare the market.com sort of thing?

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Do you know what I mean? I think now more than ever, having a person at the end of the phone to speak to. Yes. Um, like imagine if you had booked your spring break holiday, your flights cancelled, your accommodation was non-refundable, um, having someone at the end of the phone that can go and deal with all of that for you, having someone who knows the business, knows the industry, just that peace of mind that you're in good hands, yeah. Um, and the knowledge that comes with that. And while I work and I help my clients, I have like a community as well around me that you know, if I don't know the answer, someone I know.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Someone you know will, one of the other girls, yeah, will definitely know. Yeah. Amazing, that's fantastic. Well, listen, I'm gonna I'm gonna wrap it up because we could talk about this forever, and I genuinely could talk about holidays. Maybe I should be a travel counsellor. It's always lovely to have something to look forward to. It's nice to have something to look forward to, and and since we're on that rhythm at the moment in about thinking positive and raising vibrations and all of those things, let's all start thinking about booking our summer holidays, booking those uh those e-book. Book the stay cake, book the e-break, let's support the the ecosystem here and start putting back into it and having fun with our families and reminding ourselves, you know, how lucky we are to be in a place where we can pick a million fantastic little breaks away, and it's on our doorstep, and it's you know wonderful. So it's been amazing having you here today, Pamela. Thank you so much for joining us. Do come back again. Thank you so much for joining us again, Jen. Again on your dining room table slash sofa. And you guys are a part of this now. It was so lovely having Pamela on today. She was ready, all glammed up, ready to go to her brunch tomorrow, so I hope she enjoyed that. Um, guys, I really do hope that you are okay uh this week. We know that it is not what we expected nor what we wanted, but I know that as a community we can uplift each other, stay together, keep on just looking for those little glimmers of hope that we spoke about in last week's podcast. And um we are all sending love and light to you from the British Mumm's team to your homes. Take care, make sure you subscribe, let us know what you want to hear about, and uh, you are a part of this now.