Inside Burj Al Arab: Touring a 7-Star Hotel in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
When I found out that the Burj Al Arab hotel offered paid guided tours, I didn’t hesitate for a second: I absolutely had to do it.
The Burj Al Arab hotel is one of Dubai’s pride and joys. It sits on an artificial island (it took them 3 years to build the island), connected via a bridge with very selective access. Without a reservation at one of its many bars or restaurants, you’re not even allowed to set foot on the bridge. The privatized beaches around the hotel belong to the Jumeirah group. In short, there’s no way to get close to the hotel without paying.
From afar, the hotel looks like a boat. Since it opened in 1999, it has hosted countless celebrities and royal families. A journalist, after visiting the hotel, said it should be given “7 stars” instead of 5 stars. Hence the term “7-star hotel,” even though in reality, no organization awards 7 stars.
Practical info
Booking (and payment) is done very quickly on the official website: https://insideburjalarab.com/
We just had to pick the date, time, and decide if we wanted a drink with it (paid, of course). In total, we paid around €177 for two people before two drinks.
You need to go to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. On the left, there’s the “Inside Burj Al Arab” desk that’s hard to miss.
After showing our reservation, a staff member takes us to the Burj Al Arab hotel in an electric train.
We feel super privileged, especially seeing about thirty tourists stuck at the barrier, trying to snap a photo of the hotel from afar. As soon as we cross the bridge, we spot the beaches with sand that’s been cleaned and smoothed by hand. The water is absolutely stunning.
They stop us mid-bridge for souvenir photos. With the hotel’s camera, of course. JB managed to snap a stolen shot of me with his smartphone. You can see at the very top of the hotel the 25-meter-diameter helipad the hotel is very, very proud of.
Hotel Tour
Another person greets us and explains the schedule for our 1.5-hour tour.
Then, we’re invited to walk through the lobby without taking any photos. That’s to keep people from posting pictures of their wealthy clients on social media. Each room costs a minimum of €2000/night, so yeah, only wealthy clients. On both sides of the lobby, there are two aquariums, but there are so many ostentatious elements that it’s easy to overlook them.
Because the lobby’s highlight is that ceiling height of over 300 meters. The highest in the world, apparently. I nearly broke my neck looking up at the ceiling 😀 Note the color variations.
We take the elevator (with a view)…
And it’ll be the best view we get of the hotel’s pool (the pool tour isn’t included in the program).
From above, you get a great view of the lower floors. But you can’t be afraid of heights. Lots of elements are gold-plated or even solid gold. You don’t know where to look; there are too many beautiful shots.
During this tour, you get to see the most stunning suite: the one reserved for kings, queens, and celebrities. It’s not often occupied, so they figured it was better to show it to us.
All rooms here are suites and have a private staircase. But only two suites have this type of staircase: the royal suite plus another suite converted into a museum. So it’s a butler who takes over and shows us around this suite. A second staff member watches us from afar.
It’s extremely bling bling, very over-the-top, very luxurious. Everything’s in the details: furniture, chandeliers, gold flat-screen TV, gold-covered bathroom… Just cleaning the windows takes them several weeks. But fear not, window washers won’t see the guests.
6 months to create continuity in the marble patterns. The toiletries provided here are from Hermès.
We leave this busy place to visit a similar suite that has been converted into a museum.
It’s a chance to look at some drawings made before the hotel was built, especially those of the indoor pool, which we don’t have access to.
From here, we are very close to the helipad that the hotel is so proud of.
The view of the other Jumeirah Group hotels is very satisfying. The white sand is even more beautiful in real life. And the color of the water!! No need to go to Thailand seriously 😀
From here, we can also see the Palm, the overly luxurious artificial island next door.
We watch a short documentary about the fish species they have in the different aquariums (in the lobby and in the restaurants). We pretend to order dishes at the restaurant (the dishes are shown virtually on plates) 😀
This is followed by a few anecdotes about the hotel’s exceptional service. A room is dedicated to the cool experiences that have taken place on the hotel’s helipad (skydiving with landing on the helipad, golf swing, Formula 1, etc.) – we could have called them “what do you do to have fun when you have too much money?”
The 1 hour 30 minutes pass super quickly, and I admit we dragged our feet a bit because from the museum onward, we can stay as long as we want in each area. After seeing everything and asking all the questions that cross our minds, we finally arrive at the bar on the first floor, where we have a sort of tea time.
JB opts for an orange juice while I force myself to have a cappuccino with gold.
The sweets are delicious. I admit I don’t like coffee – I wouldn’t know how to tell you if this one is good. I ordered it because my mother came here before and told me I absolutely had to try it. It’s like going to Paris and visiting the Eiffel Tower. A cappuccino with gold leaf is a must-have experience, that’s all!
A musician plays the harp nearby, while we admire this ceiling height that is unique in the world.
From the other side, we can admire the private beaches and the hotel’s private bridge.
It’s already time to leave this luxurious world. We quickly walk past the hotel bar before getting back on the electric train.
Since we’ll never have the budget to spend a night here, I really enjoyed the tour. I truly loved the view, the service, being accompanied by no fewer than 10 employees! The tour cost us 177€ for two (drinks included). It’s an “affordable” way to access this luxurious world. I highly recommend it!
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