I lived in Dubai for 5 years and had many occasions to use this hotel, from a tourist point of view it suffers from a location point of view (not on the beach) and on the "ever so busy" Shk Zayed Road. Considered more of a business hotel it is still a great place to stay.
In my opinion, having spent a lot of time in Dubai hotels, this is still the best. it has stature, character, discreet opulence, a great cigar/wine/piano bar and Spectrum, probably the best restaurant in Dubai.

Great location specially for the business traveller. Rooms are fully loaded with small things which come very handy. Breakfast was a little dull though.

My wife and I were in Dubai in early April for a medical conference. We opted to stay at the Fairmont as it was very conveniently located on Sheikh Zayad Road within a few minutes of the Trade Centre. From the moment our cab door was opened by the doormen, to the efficient and pleasant registration desk, from the excellent service in the restaurants (Spectrum on One and the Cascades and room service), we cannot say enough about this great hotel. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Anticipation of the needs of the guests at each level made our stay very special. The bonus was to meet one of the managers, Mr. Donato, who went out of his way make sure that our return visit to the hotel, later in the month, was equally, if not more pleasant by offering us an upgrade to a suite. Great care was taken to ensure the highest standards in service and when one of the fish dishes in the restaurant was not quite to our liking, within minutes, completely redone dish (from scratch) was cooked up by the anxious chef to ensure our total satisfaction. Their legendary beds are as comfortable as described by others. Highly recommended and we would certainly come back. Well done Fairmont Dubai - keep up the excellent work at all levels of service we encountered.

Dubai offers lots of choice for business travelers, the Fairmont has a couple of great restaurants and a good spa - the rooms are spacious and it's proximity to the exhibition centres is a real plus. The buffet is terrible do eat in one of the other restaurants, but the hotel overall comes up trumps for a peaceful, relaxing time and has a decent spa if you get time to enjoy it.