I was really annoyed...

hopping mad, in fact.

After all, it's not every day that you pass up a chance of winning a brand new luxury car delivered free to your home or your own weight in jewellery.

What made me even more frustrated was I was one of the first travel writers to tip Dubai as the world's hottest new destination.

However, when it came to cashing in my own chips I got it very wrong!

You see, each year this most lavishly exciting state of the United Arab Emirates stages a draw with the most exotic prizes.

Cars, jewellery, almost priceless trinkets are up for grabs each day.

Trouble was I gauged my break after the gold rush had ended ...

But I did console myself that I still managed to find gold!

Because, as a resort destination, Dubai with its constant, blistering sunshine and awe-inspiring hotels, really is very hard to beat.

Temperatures in July, for example, bubble along at a boiling 105F - against our 70 degrees.

And when we are shivering in January, this remarkable Gulf hotspot calmly notches up a daily 76 degrees - more than enough to give you a lasting, golden winter tan.

Most significant though, is that while other countries have been content to let the sunshine be their magnet for netting tourists, Dubai - with its vast wealth in oil revenues - has shrewdly ploughed its money into building a sophisticated infrastructure of high quality hotels.

In fact, I reckon there are now few places on the planet that can match them for sumptuous luxury and innovation - coupled with fine dining and facilities you only see in a James Bond film.

And one enterprising, London-based tour operator, aptly named Just Dubai, has been quick to seize on the country's runaway success with a brand new brochure giving UK holidaymakers the widest choice of 19 top hotels on the market.

Prices at the Metropolitan Beach and Resort Club, for example, lead in at just £596 per head, based on two sharing bed and breakfast accommodation in late August.

This includes return flights on the award-winning Emirates Airlines from Gatwick, Birmingham or Manchester, return hotel transfers, with connecting flights from other UK locations priced from as little as £56 return.

However, if you took your five-night break in April, with more bearable temperatures, expect to pay around £850 a ead.

Just 25 minutes from the airport and 15 minutes from the main shopping area, the hotel has 90 double rooms all with satellite TV, private bath-shower and, of course, obligatory air conditioning as standard.

But this doesn't stop you seeing just how the rich and famous really live ...

by slipping over the doorstep of the sumptuous Burj Al Arab which dominates Jumeirah Beach.

Shaped like a giant sail, this architectural masterpiece towers 321 metres above the Gulf waters on its own man-made island.

In its myriad of space-age firsts, the hotel boasts an exclusive seafood restaurant, Al Mahara, reached by a three-minute submarine ride, where diners are surrounded by stunning marine life - eat your heart out James Bond!

The hotel has its own heli-pad and a fleet of Rolls Royces to cosset any high-rolling lottery winner willing to splash out on a break.

Five nights in Summertime costs more than £1,800 a head, based on two sharing.

That makes breakfast at a mere £36 an absolute snip.

Back to earth, shopping is a must with everything on tap in cool, state-of-the-art malls - an ideal way to beat the midday sun - or the crowded, narrow lanes of the souks (markets) in nearby Deirba.

Yes, I promise you really can buy everything from a humble, felt-tipped pen to a Rolls Royce.

There are marvellous excursions, too, with a chance to share the magic and mystery of desert travel on specially prepared four-wheel drive vehicles.

You could take dinner under the stars on the deserted dunes with a belly dancer and watch the spectacular sunset as you feast on barbecued meats, and Arabic sweet dishes.

I particularly enjoyed the half-day trip called the City of Merchants which chronicles the region's amazing history.

It also gives you a chance to visit the gold and spice markets reached by water taxi.

And, if you are a golfer, don't miss out on their choice of four world-class grass courses - three championship standard - and a unique sand course which is ideal for honing up on how to get out of tricky bunkers back home.

Do remember though that Dubai is predominantly Muslim and alcohol is not generally available outside of hotels.

The minimum drinking age is 21.

By the way, if you want the chance of winning unbelievable prizes the famous shopping festival takes place next March.

But don't rush ...

because I will definitely be first in the queue