Berth at the Burj Al-Arab
The jury is still out on whether Burj Al-Arab (Arab Tower) is the world’s tallest and most spectacular hotel. What is undeniable, though, is that it is the planet’s most expensive and decadent hotel. KEE HUA CHEE drops (not checks) in.
 |
The cutting edge architecture of the Burj Al-Arab contrasts sharply with its sister hotel, the Souk Madinat (foreground). |
The hotel positions itself as the planet’s only seven-star hotel. Alas, there is no such category when it comes to rating hotels, so in its official brochure, the Burj Al-Arab makes do with calling itself a five-star deluxe hotel.
It stands in solitary splendour on its own man-made island which took two years and required 250 foundation piles to be driven 40m into the seabed.
Designed to resemble a traditional Arabian dhow in full sail, the façade is made of double-skinned, Teflon-coated, woven glass fibre, a technical feat never attempted before on such a scale. Dazzling white by day, the sail changes colour and, for a large fee, will broadcast your name or logo, which can be admired from miles away.
At 321m, Burj Al-Arab is higher than the Eiffel Tower and just 60m shorter than the Empire State Building. As no skyscrapers nearby are allowed to compete with it for supremacy, the structure completely dominates the skyline – a 21st century citadel to conspicuous consumption.
In KL or any city for that matter, anyone can stroll into a Mandarin Oriental, Regent, Shangri-La or Hilton anytime and take photos at will. But not at the Burj Al-Arab. Entry is restricted to hotel guests, certified visitors of guests and restaurant patrons. Armed guards at the entrance 1km away, turn away unwanted visitors
When Burj Al-Arab first opened, so many wanted to barge in that the hotel slapped an “entry fee” of RM210 redeemable for food and drink. This widely-criticised move stopped over a year ago.
“Now all you need is a confirmed booking in any of our eight restaurants or Assawan Spa,” beams PR person Natalie Glorney.
Of course, a minimum amount would have been charged into your credit card to prevent cheapskates from entering and not patronising the outlets.
As for accommodation, there are no “rooms”, only suites. This is a very prestigious hotel, remember? The “cheapest” suite is 6,600 dirham (nearly RM7,000) after taxes, their two-bedroom suite is 13,200 dirham (around RM14,000) and the Royal Suite is around RM47,000 per night!
To add insult to injury, breakfast is not included and costs an additional RM156 per person. At the KL Ritz-Carlton, the butler draws your bath each evening. Here, there is a Bath Menu offering rose petals, jasmine or other exotic fragrant oils but your butler will charge an extra RM215 to draw your bath.
At RM47,000 per night, you would think the champagne, whisky and wine in the expansive bar were free, but no, only the soft drinks and mineral water are. Burj Al-Arab is designed only for platinum cards with very high melting points.
Each suite is 170 sq m while the Royal Suite is 780 sq m. All suites are duplexes so you can entertain on one floor while your kids are closeted upstairs. You can slouch in your armchair, see who is coming and allow them to enter using the remote control and without leaving your chair. The beds rotate and come with mirrored ceilings.
 |
Beds are dressed up to the nines here. |
The dressing area alone in the Royal suite is bigger than most hotel rooms. There is even a private cinema should you tire of pressing the button on your 100-channel TV. A “normal” suite has 14 phones while the Royal suite has 27. Imagine the din each time a call comes through. Each room, oops, suite, comes with RM1,300 worth of upmarket Hermes toiletries, divided into two sets – one for him, one for her. Not piddly samples but sizes big enough to fill a hand-carry bag.
Glorney was horrified when I asked if it was possible to deduct RM1,300 and only pay RM5,700 if I were to forgo my Hermes allocations. I persist doggedly, “I think it makes sense. If I stay for one week, I will end up with RM9,100 worth of Hermes products that will fill a whole suitcase.”
Bold décor
Here, all that glitters is gold. A staggering 2,000 sq m of 22-karat gold leaf adorn the walls, pillars and domes. The 1,200 staff wear uniforms and costumes designed by top British couturier Bruce Oldfield to match the mind-numbing décor imagined by British-based, Chinese lady Khuan Chew.
“Burj Al-Arab” and “minimalism” are not to be placed in the same sentence. Think Disneyland meets 1,001 Arabian Nights fantasy, and you get the idea.
The entrance leads to a multi-storey dancing fountain whose jets of water perform a water ballet according to the intensity of music. Guests glide up past an aquarium that consumes an entire wall. The Atrium Lobby is the world’s largest and highest, stretching 180m towards the sky-blue ceiling.
Every hue of the rainbow has been incorporated into the bizarre colour scheme, and on such a magnificent scale there must be a method to its madness. When you emerge from the hotel, everything – depending on your taste – seems bland or a real relief. W
RSS
