10 Facts you never knew about The Burj Al Arab Hotel Dubai

Located off the Jumeirah coast, The Burj al Arab hotel has been marveled ever since it was unveiled in 1999. A lot of interesting facts surround this architectural wonder.

Royally Expensive

Burj al Arab is one of the most expensive hotels in the world to stay in. A suite can cost around $1,000 per night and increases to over $15,000 per night. The Royal Suite is the most expensive, at $28,000 per night.

Spacial Splendour

The smallest suite of the Burj al Arab occupies an area of 169 square meters, the largest covers 780 square meters. Despite its size, the Burj al Arab holds only 28 double-storey floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites.

Soaring sky high

It is one of the worlds tallest structures. Also, the first five star hotel to surpass 1000 feet in height. This altitude defying structure also has a 24 metre wide helipad at a height of 210 metres above the ground which also doubles as the world’s highest tennis court.

Totally man made

The hotel is constructed 280 meters offshore on an artificial island. To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 40-meter long concrete piles into the sand. The foundation is held in place not by bedrock, but by the friction of the sand and silt along the length of the piles. It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, and less than three years to construct the building itself.

Things that money can buy

The building contains over 70,000 cubic meters of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel. The total cost to construct the hotel was $650 million. The building is heavily guarded, access is only possible with a reservation or an invitation. There is a dress code to be followed which means no sneakers and shorts.

Set a sail

The hotel resembles the sail of a dhow, a type of Arabian vessel. Two “wings” spread in a V to form a vast “mast”, while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium.

Boldly GOLD

The atrium takes up about a third of the hotel’s space and soars 590 feet above the lobby. Strong pillars gilded in 22-karat gold stretch up several floors, and gold spandrels leap and crisscross between them. Every half hour, a jet shoots a stream of water 138 feet into the open atrium.

Luxury redefined

With chauffeur driven Rolls Royce for its guests, private reception desk on every floor and a brigade of well trained butlers who provide around-the-clock service, this hotel promises world class luxury at its best.

Dining underwater!

Six restaurants within the hotel provide a variety of dining options. But, by far the Al Mahara provides the most exquisite experience. A three minute submarine ride transports diners from the hotel lobby to the restaurant entrance. The restaurant entrance where you find a cellar is filled with a selection of the world’s finest wines. The restaurant serves a range of the best seafood available in the city.

Changing facade

The Teflon-coated hotel is brilliant white during a sunny day, but takes on an entirely different look at night. Computer programmed spotlights create a changing tableau of colors on the white facade.