Reasons to Visit Dubai

Dubai, The Artificial Paradise on Earth

The architecture of the city of Dubai is absolutely breathtaking. You can tell just by looking at the pictures below.

One of the Emirates of United Arab Emirates, Dubai is known to be one of the most progressive of the Emirates. It showcases the best of worlds: the old and the new. The old and the new cohabit in a harmony that is unique to this place.

One can see veils and hats, souks and malls, traditional villages and skyscrapers, dhows and luxury liners complete in sync with each other. The old and the new both draw equal amount of attention from tourists all around the world.

Easily connected by plane, Dubai is considered to be the shopping capital of the Middle East. Beautiful Burj-Al-Arab hotel in UAE Dubai has a hot subtropical climate, and rains are few and far between.

That does not stop people from enjoying the sights and sounds of Dubai.

One can visit the old Bastakiya districts, the Jumeirah mosque, the Camel Market, and the Heritage Villages in addition to checking out the most magnificent self proclaimed seven star hotel of the world – Burj-Al-Arab.

It is also not a bad idea to go on a shopping spree in Dubai. It is popular for its annual shopping festivals. Buildings Looking like Towers in DubaiDubai is also known for its gold and spices. Tourists throng from all around the world to buy gold from the famous gold souks and add to their coffers.

The spice souk in Dubai is also one of its kinds and offers a spread of the riches and the rarest of spices from world over. One can also visit the modern malls and shop at the designer stores from all around the world. Dubai caters to international tourists.

The Dubai hotels maintain international standards in terms of lodging, cleanliness and security. It promises a lot of sun and beaches, ideal for a relaxing vacation. Beautiful Street in DubaiAnyone visiting Dubai can stay in these Dubai hotels.

Dubai hotels range from anywhere between a two star to a five star, depending on what you can afford.

Burj Al Arab

The other end is the Burj-Al-Arab hotels which is considered the most magnificent all suite hotel of the world.

These Dubai hotels provide state-of-the-art in room facilities as they cater to a lot of international tourists from all around the world.

So what are you waiting for?

Get the feel of the best of both worlds existing in harmonious juxtaposition to each other, waiting for you to set foot there.

Site

The beachfront area where Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel are located was previously called Chicago Beach. The hotel is located on an island of reclaimed land, 280 m (920 ft) offshore of the beach of the former Chicago Beach Hotel.[14] The locale's name had its origins in the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, which at one time welded giant floating oil storage tanks, known locally as Kazzans, on the site.

The building opened on 1 December 1999.

Features

Several features of the hotel required complex engineering feats to achieve. The hotel rests on an artificial island constructed 280 m (920 ft) offshore. To secure a foundation, the builders drove 230 40-metre-long (130 ft) concrete piles into the sand.

Engineers created a ground surface layer of large rocks, which is circled with a concrete honeycomb pattern, which serves to protect the foundation from erosion. It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, while it took fewer than three years to construct the building itself. The building contains over 70,000 m3 (92,000 cu yd) of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel.

Inside the building, the atrium is 180 m (590 ft) tall. The 18 storied atrium is enclosed by 12 individually tensioned two-layer membrane panels form the north facing façade.

Given the height of the building, the Burj Al Arab is the world's fifth tallest hotel after Gevora Hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur and Rose and Rayhaan by Rotana. But where buildings with mixed use were stripped off the list, the Burj Al Arab would be the world's third tallest hotel. The structure of the Rose Rayhaan, also in Dubai, is 333 metres (1,093 ft) tall,[22] 12 m (39 ft) taller than the Burj Al Arab, which is 321 metres (1,053 ft) tall.

Rooms and suites

The hotel is managed by the Jumeirah Group. Despite its size, the Burj Al Arab holds only 28 double-story floors which accommodate 202 bedroom suites. The smallest suite occupies an area of 169 m2 (1,820 sq ft), the largest covers 780 m2 (8,400 sq ft).

Suites feature design details that juxtapose east and west. White columns show great influence.[clarification needed] Bathrooms are accented by mosaic tile patterns.[citation needed]

The Royal Suite, billed at US$24,000 per night, is listed at number 12 on World's 15 most expensive hotel suites compiled by CNN Go in 2012.

The Burj Al Arab is very popular with the Chinese market, which made up 25 percent of all bookings at the hotel in 2011 and 2012.

Services

The hotel has a shuttle service with Rolls-Royces and a helicopter, and a private beach.

Restaurants

There are six restaurants in the hotel, including:

Al Muntaha ("The Ultimate"), is located 200 m (660 ft) above the Persian Gulf, offering a view of Dubai. It is supported by a full cantilever that extends 27 m (89 ft) from either side of the mast, and is accessed by a panoramic elevator.[citation needed]

Al Mahara ("Oyster"), which is accessed via a simulated submarine voyage, features a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 990,000 L (260,000 US gal) of water. The wall of the tank, made of acrylic glass in order to withstand the water pressure, is about 18 cm (7.1 in) thick.

Rating

The Burj Al Arab is a five-star hotel, the highest official ranking. While the hotel is sometimes erroneously described as "the world's only 'seven-star' hotel", the hotel management claims never to have done that themselves. The term appeared due to a British journalist who had visited the hotel on a tour before the hotel was officially opened. The journalist described Burj al Arab as "more than anything she has ever seen" and therefore referred to it as a seven-star hotel. In the words of a Jumeirah Group spokesperson: "There's not a lot we can do to stop it. We're not encouraging the use of the term. We've never used it in our advertising.

Notable events

Several events have taken place on the helipad 210 m (689 ft) above ground to attract media attention. These include:

2004: Tiger Woods teeing off.

2005: Andre Agassi and Roger Federer playing tennis.

2006: Ronan Keating shot the Music Video for his single "Iris" at the Helipad of Burj Al Arab.

2007: The Today Show broadcast from the Helipad a segment of Where in the World is Matt Lauer?

2011: Golfer Rory McIlroy performing a bunker shot.

2013: Heli-lift of Aston Martin Vanquish.

2013: David Coulthard performing donuts in a Formula 1 racecar.

2017: Nick Jacobsen kiteboards down to the sea.

2021: David Guetta playing a DJ set on livestream.

Dubai Burj Al Arab

The Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs) is a luxury hotel located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Managed by Jumeirah hotel group, it is one of the tallest hotels in the world, although 39% of its total height is made up of non-occupiable space. Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island that is 280 m (920 ft) from Jumeirah Beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of the structure is designed to resemble the sail of a ship. It has a helipad near the roof, at a height of 210 m (689 ft) above ground.

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Design and construction

The Burj Al Arab was designed by the multidisciplinary consultancy Atkins, led by architect Tom Wright. The design and construction were managed by Canadian engineer Rick Gregory, also of WS Atkins. Construction of the island began in 1994 and involved up to 2,000 construction workers during peak construction. It was built to resemble the billowing spinnaker sail of a J-class yacht. Two "wings" spread in a V to form a vast "mast", while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium.

The hotel was built by South African construction contractor Murray & Roberts, now renamed Concor and Al Habtoor Engineering. The interior designs were led and created by Khuan Chew and John Coralan of KCA international and delivered by UAE based Depa Group.

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Reviews by architecture critics

Burj Al Arab has attracted criticism as well "a contradiction of sorts, considering how well-designed and impressive the construction ultimately proves to be." The contradiction here seems to be related to the hotel's decor. "This extraordinary investment in state-of-the-art construction technology stretches the limits of the ambitious urban imagination in an exercise that is largely due to the power of excessive wealth." Another critic includes negative critiques for the city of Dubai as well: "both the hotel and the city, after all, are monuments to the triumph of money over practicality. Both elevate style over substance." Yet another: "Emulating the quality of palatial interiors, in an expression of wealth for the mainstream, a theater of opulence is created in Burj Al Arab … The result is a baroque effect".

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Dubai Burj Al Arab

The hotel's helipad was designed by Irish architect Rebecca Gernon. The helipad is above the building's 59th floor, and has been used as a car race track, a boxing ring, a tennis match, and the jumping off point for the highest kite surfing jump in history.

Dubai Burj Al Arab

Dubai Frame

The Dubai Frame an architectural landmark in Zabeel Park, Dubai. It holds the record for the largest frame in the world. Whilst described by The Guardian newspaper as "the biggest picture frame on the planet,”it is also controversial as the "biggest stolen building of all time.”

The project was conceived by Fernando Donis,and selected as the winner of a design competition by the Government of Dubai.The designer has alleged that he had his intellectual property stolen and was denied credit for the design.

Dubai Frame

Architecture competition

The design was selected as the winner of the 2009 ThyssenKrupp Elevator International Award from 926 proposals. Participants from all over the world were invited to submit an emblem that would promote “the new face for Dubai". It is near the Star Gate of Zabeel Park and stands at 150.24 m (493 ft)tall and 95.53 m (313 ft) wide.

The ThyssenKrupp Elevator Architecture Award is an international architecture competition first held in 1988 and sponsored by one of the world's leading elevator companies. An international panel of judges selected the winning idea from among 926 design proposals to create a Tall Emblem Structure for Dubai. The original jury consisted of 11 international architects — a former and current chairman of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the regional chairman of ThyssenKrupp Elevator. Dubai Municipality’s director general and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum were listed as ‘honorary’ jurors.

Donis' design was ultimately selected, for which he won an AED 367329.70 ($100,000) prize. According to Donis, when designing the structure he saw Dubai as a city full of emblems and rather than adding another one, they proposed to frame them all: to frame the city. Instead of building a massive structure, the purpose of the proposal was to build a void of 150 meters by 105 meters to continuously frame the development of the past, current, and future Dubai. To become the structure that celebrates yet constrains the city.

Dubai Frame

Dubai Frame

Design

The Dubai Frame is created out of glass, steel, aluminum, and reinforced concrete with designs of the logo of Expo 2020 embedded on the outer facade. It is positioned in such a way that representative landmarks of modern Dubai can be seen on one side, while from the other side, visitors can also view older parts of the city. An observation deck spans the top of the frame, with glass-bottomed floors looking down almost 150 meters onto the building's lower span. The lower span contains a museum showing the history of the city, and a video exhibit predicting the city's future.

Dubai Frame

Dubai Frame

Dubai Frame