Wayne Rooney's world is open to us all says JON LOCKETT

WHAT better way to celebrate a whopping pay rise than glugging £50 glasses of champagne and scoffing £25 chicken nuggets by the pool of your £2,000-a-night hotel?

Well, we can dream - but you don't have to be on Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney's wages to enjoy Dubai's luxury.

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Wayne and his wife Coleen celebrated his recent £8million-ayear pay rise with a week-long getaway at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel.

Yet for the first time it's actually possible to have a break in the "Land of Gold" on a Benidorm budget.

Dubai has had to adapt after being hit really hard in the global recession.

The tens of billions borrowed to build the world's dream destination came home to roost. And its tourism bosses quickly realised they needed to make the place much more affordable.

After all, what's the point of having a £1billion hotel if half the rooms lie empty?

But it's still the dream holiday destination.

The roads are still packed with cars which would make Jeremy Clarkson drool from his motor mouth.

The world's top celebs still head there in their droves. And aboput half the Premier League's players have homes there.

It boasts the world's tallest building (the mind-blowing Burj Khalifa standing at 828 metres), the world's most expensive hotel (the stunning seven star Burj Al Arab), perfect beaches and 51 luxury shopping malls.

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And the hotels are still sprinkled with real gold. Only now this sumptuous place is accessible to all.

We stayed in two hotels from the Hilton chain.

The Hilton Dubai Creek is a topclass business hotel with a bathroom the size of a small country in our room.

It also boasts a Verre by Gordon Ramsay restaurant where we were treated to a meal cooked by its head chef - superb.

We spent the second half of our break in a more traditional beach hotel - the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah.

Once again the rooms, the food, the service and the general ambience made you feel very special.

But this is the side of Dubai you may already have read about. There is far more to this emirate - one of the seven United Arab Emirates, located on the Persian Gulf and roughly the size of Kent.

In the early 1950s, Dubai was nothing more than a fishing village with a population of 20,000.

Unlike its neighbour Abu Dhabi, it doesn't have a great deal of oil.

So its ruling dynasty set about developing it as the trading, financial and tourism hub for the Middle East.

Today, nearly 1.5million people live there, including 100,000 Brits.

And the Post Office's Travel Services Holiday Money Report claims Dubai is among the locations where British holidaymakers can get more for their money.

Add my stamp of approval.

WHERE THE BARGAINS ARE
HERE is our guide to surviving Dubai on a budget. . .
EAT
AT Al Dhiyafah Street in Satwa where you'll find dozens of terrace cafés. I'd recommend Sidra for rice mixed with toasted pine nuts and topped with roast lamb and yoghurt.
All accompanied by an endless basket of pitta bread, and the whole lot costs about £3.
Bargains are also available on World Trade Centre Road, which has 21 curry houses.

SHOP
ALTHOUGH there are dozens of luxury shopping malls packed with the world's top designer brands, Dubai's best shopping experience is found in Karama.
It's a treasure trove of bargains.
Make sure you haggle - a silk scarf should cost you about £4 and a shawl about £20.
The back streets of Bur Dubai have tailors who for about £90 copy items of clothing or knock up a suit to your specifications in a couple of days.
Precious metal and gemstones are very cheap in Dubai.
You can buy pre-made jewellery, or design your own at the Gold Souk in Deira, or the Gold and Diamond Park on Sheikh Zayed Road.

PARTY
GOING out on the cheap in Dubai is not a problem - especially if you're a woman. The city is famous for its generous ladies' night promotions. Many bars even offer free drinks on certain nights of the week.
During the rest of the week, bars offer excellent happy-hour promotions, allowing you to drink cheaply in relatively prestigious locations in the early evening. A pint costs around £5 and a glass of wine around the same.

EXPLORE
Taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap (less than half the price of most British cabs). Buses are an option - a ride costs around 15 pence, and you can pick up a timetable from the main coach station.
And of course there's the skiing!
Ski Dubai in Dubai Emirates Mall is the world's third largest indoor ski slope, measuring 400metres and using 6,000 tons of real snow. A second indoor ski slope is due to open at the Dubai Sunny Mountain Ski Dome in Dubailand.
It will feature a revolving ski slope, an artificial mountain range, an ice bridge, a cable lift, a snow maze, an ice slide, polar bears, cold wateraquaria and special sound and light effects.
See skidubai.com for information on both.

FACT FILE
SIX nights in Dubai with Virgin Holidays, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow direct to Dubai, accommodation at the five-V Hilton Dubai Creek with breakfast and transfers, start from £951.
Six nights at the five-V Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, including flights from Heathrow to Dubai with Virgin Holidays, breakfast and transfers, cost from £1,164.
Prices are per person based on two adults travelling and sharing a standard room, and include all taxes and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change.
To book, call 0844 557 3859, see virginholidays.co.uk or visit one of their 40 stores located in Debenhams and House of Fraser stores nationwide.