We stayed in Golden Sands 3, a comfortable apartment with a small kitchen and a minimum of cutlery - no tea-towel, dishcloth or washing-up liquid- so you may want to pack these. It is ideal for snacks or ready meals. If you don't want to cook there is a restaurant on site, if not there is a grocery shop just first left from the hotel.For a real selection of fantastic food go to Spinneys near Golden Sands 10 - about 10-15 mins walk. The staff at Golden Sands are extremely helpful and will direct you. We were also grateful that the receptionist was able to give us an early check -in before I fell asleep at the restaurant breakfast table after arriving at 8a.m. Golden Sands 3 has a tour desk and we booked two really fantastic excursions on the Dhow with a lovely meal and Dune bashing - where we went out in a 4x4 with a great driver who took us on an adventure ride over the dunes - after is a meal at a bedouin camp where you can dress as an arab, hold a falcon, have a 5 min camel ride (as many times as you like), get a henna tattoo - ALL FREE. You may even get an opportunity to get up and belly dance....the dancer was lovely and it is fine for non-dancers to join in- if you're shy she won't press! There were also dune buggies - like quad bikes available at the camp - I don't know if there was a charge or not. We walked to the old Dubai area by the creek from the apartment - about 45 mins. Really nice and near the old souk. Be aware that Golden Sands is spread out over a large area - so check which one you are going to for the taxi and print off the map. Golden Sands does have a shuttle bus back to terminal 1 but not 3. We caught it at 12 noon. I think it runs every two hours. We would definitely recommend the Golden Sands if you want to self-cater at your own pace. It also has great staff and you will find tours/swimming pool and shops. It runs a shuttle to Jumeirah beach. For anything else - you can ring for a taxi.