I live literally on The Palm, where the Fairmont is. The explosions started on Saturday morning (28 February). Obviously, we knew what had been going on, and because Dubai has always been considered very safe, we weren’t really worried about it, to the point my daughter went out for the afternoon!

We were just keeping an eye on it. Then it started to build. We could see the lights in the sky where they [the military] were intercepting the missiles and the drones. So by the time it got to the evening, it was feeling a bit more serious.

All us expats were talking on our social media groups, but we were seeing a lot of what the tourists were posting as well. There was a little bit of hysteria starting to build. It was a case of trying to weed through everything and understand what was true and what wasn't.

We were pretty calm at that point. We know the government are really on it here so if anything happened, we knew we'd get an alert. We went to bed at about 11.30pm and it was still going on. And then just gone midnight, we got one of those really loud government alerts on our phones, so we knew it was time to do something.

We also knew by then the Fairmont had been hit with debris. Because we live on The Palm on the beach – we're basically in the sea – and they were trying to take a lot of them [the drones and missiles] down over the sea, we were very aware of things. So we went down to our basement in our car. A lot of our neighbours had done the same thing so it was a weirdly nice atmosphere with everyone looking out for each other.

It got to about 4am and we could hear that things had gone quiet so we went back upstairs. We knew we’d get another alert if anything was happening. We went to bed and heard nothing all night, other than the fighter jets circling.

'That first night, we did wonder if we should leave'

We all woke up on Sunday morning (1 March) and it was very quiet. There were a couple more explosions during the morning but then it was a quiet for most of the day. There were people on the beach! I'm not saying it was completely normal, because the roads were very quiet.

There were a couple more explosions later in the afternoon, but we have heard nothing since. I actually nipped out to the supermarket on Tuesday (3 March). Waitrose was really busy! Don't get me wrong, people [in Dubai] are working from home at the minute, and people aren't going out as much, but they are going about their days.

The UAE has done an incredible job of intercepting the drones and the missiles and that actually makes you feel really safe, because you know they've got the capability. There’s just been a press conference on the TV by the Dubai government, where they said they have got stockpiles that will last a very long time. They are keeping everyone very well informed. The Fairmont fire was put out very quickly too.

(Credit: iStock / Nikada)

Don't get me wrong, that first night, we were wondering whether we should leave for Oman or somewhere else, as anybody would – but none of my friends are now looking to leave. Everybody's staying put and seeing what happens in the next few days.

It does feel more settled, which can be a worry, but the past two days, it’s been absolutely fine. I know a lot of the UK want to make it feel like everybody's hysterical, but they're not. If it had been three days of what happened on Saturday, then we might have felt differently. But at the moment, we feel very safe.

I'm registered at the embassy so they know we're here, but we haven't registered to come home – the situation would have to change dramatically again [for us to do that].

'Dubai tourism will hopefully return to normal very quickly'

Don't get me wrong, if I was a tourist and didn't know Dubai, or I'd never really been before, of course I would be more nervous and I’d be thinking about getting home, but I don't have those worries, because it is my home.

The government has said it will pay for stranded tourists’ hosting and accommodation costs, which they don’t have to do, but they are doing it.

I think the UAE has handled itself brilliantly. It's a small country, but it responded incredibly quickly. It's kept residents and expats as safe as it possibly could in this situation. And I think by paying people's hotel bills, they're doing all the right things.

'Opinion: Dubai has thrived on the perception of safety, which is now under threat'

So if this [tension] all finishes quite quickly, I think Dubai tourism will hopefully return to normal very quickly. There might be a couple of people who are a bit more nervous, but I think generally people will see how the country responded, and that in itself makes you comfortable.

And as a final note, don't believe everything you read. If you're just getting tourist information, then you're not really getting the real feel for the place.

Paula Lacey is a business consultant, who has previously held several senior positions throughout the UK travel industry.

As told to TTG contributing editor Jennifer Morris.