Detailed Review
It is easy to exhaust superlatives when describing Burj Al Arab, a hotel that has already become an international landmark. Burj Al Arab's sail-shaped structure, soaring 321 metres above the Arabian Gulf, has become as much a point of reference in Dubai as the Eiffel Tower is in Paris.
Burj Al Arab is setting standards in comfort and service, where the traditions of Arabic hospitality combine with the very latest technology to provide a new Middle East monument.
Burj Al Arab is the world's tallest hotel. With its helipad on the 28th floor and a restaurant seemingly suspended in mid air, the hotel has already become a landmark and icon on the Dubai skyline.
Press Quotes
“One of the world’s most luxurious hotels.” Telegraph 07
"Over-the-top luxury." Travel + Leisure 06
"Guests arrive either by helicopter or by complimentary white Rolls-Royce transfer - very important VIPs have their arrival announced by a jet of flame at the bridge." Telegraph 05
Independent Reviews
-
"An international landmark, the Burj al Arab is a spearhead of Dubai's renaissance; it's epitiomises the city's extravagant appeal."
Burj al Arab
By Vanessa Kaoukji
This high profile hotel easily lives up to its name in architectural design alone. Built on a man-made island and connected to the mainland by a bridge, it is a breathtaking sight. White and sleek from the outside, inside is an assault of colours and noises. People will either love it or hate it, but one cannot help but be awe struck. If you didn’t already know what kind of people the management are trying to attract, the shops that line your path from the entrance to the elevators selling diamonds and emeralds, should give you an idea (one of them is aptly called Rodeo Drive). Each floor has its own check in area and from every floor you can look down the central atrium of the hotel and see the lobby – a tiny speck below you. The hotel only has suites which are two storied and opulent to say the least. The view from the bedroom is unbeatable; the ocean stretches out in front of you – a sliver of mainland fills up the corner of your picture. The rooms are not tasteful but are so grotesquely ostentatious that to stay here is like an adventure in itself. 42” television framed in gold, Hermes products in the bathroom, palm held control centre that will open the curtains, answer the door and will probably summon the personal butler (who I suspect lives the a cubby hole on the first floor). There are three restaurants in this 21 floor building (42 floors if you count two stories in each suite). Al Muntaha at the very top is also a bar and offers unparalleled views. The theme of the bar/restaurant is futuristic and frankly, not very nice but you can see Palm Island being constructed and on a clear day you can see all the sky scrapers on the Sheikh Zayed road looking like cardboard cut-outs against the desert behind them. The food is mediocre and expensive but sunset seen from the top of the Burj is worth the price of the drink. This hotel has to be seen to be believed. It is the kind of place that people should stay in, just to say they’ve been there!
© Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved
Client Reviews
Clearly not the
Posted by Benjamin Ergas on 2004-07-07.
Condé Nast Traveller 2008 & 2007 Gold List
