I had a brief stop over in Dubai twice on my way to India in 2014.  Emirates Airlines is based in Dubai, and I flew them from Seattle to Kolkata (India) via DXB (Dubai Airport).  I had a six hour layover on the way to India so I did not leave the airport.  Emirates is a really good airline, and they even gave me a voucher to have dinner at the airport during my layover.  It was a nice break from the 14 hour flight from Seattle.  When I returned to the US from India, I had a 10 hour layover in Dubai so Emirates gave me a nice hotel room for the night.  I got a taxi tour of Dubai at night.  The Burj Khalifa was an amazing building to see up close.  I have seen the Sears (Willits) Tower and Empire State Building, but this building is so freaking tall!  The top was covered by clouds.  I also saw the Dubai Mall from the outside.  Dubai was such a clean city.  There was no grafitti, and there was no trash or liter on the roads.