For us, the Burj Al Arab is next to the Burj Khalifa the most beautiful building in Dubai and a unique and beautiful hotel with a breathtaking architecture. But it is not so easy to look at the hotel up close and take pictures. In our travelogue we tell you how we got into the hotel and what the most beautiful photo spots are for the Burj Al Arab.
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The Luxury Hotel Burj Al Arab
Things to know & intersting facts about the Hotel
The Burj al Arab has been one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in the world since its opening in 1999 and, together with the Burj Khalifa, the landmark of Dubai.
Due to the stunning sail-shaped architecture and the exposed location on an artificial island, the building is distinctive and easily rectable in photos. With its 321 meters, the luxury hotel is 14 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower and only 60 meters lower than the Empire State Building. The design of the tower in the form of a sail is complemented by the helipad mounted on the 28th floor to the land side and the restaurant protruding at a height of 200 meters to the sea side.
Construction of the hotel began in 1994. Originally it was planned to build the hotel directly on the coast. However, this plan was rejected because the building would have cast too large a shadow on the beach. The excavation of the island, located 280 meters away from the coast of Dubai, took two years, the subsequent construction of the hotel itself took another three years.
The Burj al Arab has 202 rooms, 60 floors, 18 elevators, numerous world-class restaurants and a luxurious beach terrace (“Burj al Arab Terrace”) with two swimming pools. For the construction of the hotel, in addition to 43,000 square meters of glass, 70,000 cubic meters of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel, 13,000 square meters of Carrara marble, 12,000 square meters of granite, 32,000 square meters of Italian mosaic and 10,000 square meters of gold leaf were used. The Burj Al Arab has suites exclusively, with the smallest suite still 169 square meters in size and the largest suite 780 square meters. The operator is the internationally operating Jumeirah Group, which is owned by the ruling family of the Emirate of Dubai.
Officially, the Burj al Arab is “only” a 5-star hotel, although it is often called a seven-star hotel due to its luxurious facilities. The official hotel classification only goes up to 5 stars.
The Luxury Hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai
How to get to the Burj Al Arab?
As a tourist, you unfortunately have (almost) no way to get closer to the Hotel Burj Al Arab, let alone to see it from the inside. The entrance to the hotel leads via a guarded gate to a 340-meter-long private bridge that connects the hotel to the mainland. If you are interested in the prices for the cheapest suite, you are welcome to take a look at Booking.com. The cheapest price (we could find) in a 170 m² Deluxe Suite Marina is €1,100 per night incl. breakfast. 🙂
One of the few ways to enter the hotel as a “non-guest” is to book an afternoon tea or cocktail at the Skyview Bar or make a table reservation to eat at one of the hotel’s restaurants.
These can be booked on the official website of the hotel or you can use the offers of GetYourGuide e.B. for lunch or a cheap combination package together with the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Aquarium.
We had opted for a tea time at 4.30pm at the Skyview Bar. In 2012, this Team Time cost us AED 425 per person (around 95 Euros). In the meantime, however, the price has probably risen to over AED 600 (130 Euros). So this is not a cheap pleasure for an afternoon tea 😉
The location of the Burj Al Arab
The Atrium & the Hotel Lobby
We took a taxi to the Burj Al Arab and had to show our booking of tea time at the hotel gate. This allowed us access to the private hotel grounds and allowed us to continue by taxi to the hotel entrance.
From here we went directly into the atrium of the hotel, which with its approximately 180 meters ceiling height is the largest atrium in the world. Here you will find gold leaf columns, a staircase-like fountain, a huge aquarium along the escalator, shops, the reception and the elevators to the Skyview Bar.
Tea Time at the Skyview Bar
The Skyview Bar is located at an altitude of 200 meters on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab. The bar is quite modern and offers magnificent views of the city.
We were welcomed with a glass of champagne and then spoiled at the table with a cup of tea or coffee and all kinds of goodies (finger sandwiches, soft buns, mini patisseries, home-made scones, hand dipped chocolates and mignardines). Overall, we spent a good 2.5 hours in the Skyview Bar and enjoyed the fantastic view of Dubai ❤
The illuminated hotel in the evening
When we left the hotel around 7pm, it was already dark. So we were able to take some nice photos of the illuminated Burj Al Arab.
The most beautiful photo spots for the Burj Al Arab
We described above, as a tourist it is not possible to get to the Hotel Burj Al Arab for photos. But there are still a few nice photo spots outside the premises to photograph the extraordinary hotel.
The view from the Souk Madinat
A great view of the Burj Al Arab you definitely have from the Souk Madinat. The most beautiful photo spots we found from the bridge at the entrance (location in Google Maps)and from the many viewing terraces outside the souk.
Alternatively, you can also take a boat tour(Burj View Abra Tour)for AED 50 along the souk. We ourselves have not done these. But we think that you also get a very good view of the hotel here.
A boat tour in the Souk Madinat
The view from a helicopter
Certainly the best view of the hotel and the entire area is from a bird’s eye view. For this you can book a helicopter flight, where you can also see the Burj Khalifa, the Palm Jumeirah, the Hotel Atlantis and the beaches of Dubai.
The view of the Burj Al Arab from the helicopter flight over Dubai
The view from Jumeirah Beach
The beach section directly opposite the Burj Al Arab belongs to the sister hotel Jumeirah Beach and is unfortunately not open to the public. But if you have a guest of the hotel, then you can enjoy a direct and unobstructed view of the Burj Al Arab.
The view of the Burj Al Arab from Jumeirah Beach
The view from um Suqeim Beach
Completely free, however, is the view from the slightly further north um Suqeim Beach (location in Google Maps). This beach is open to the public.
The view of the Burj Al Arab from um Suqeim Beach
The view from the Palm Island
Also from the palm island you have a view of the Burj Al Arab. We were able to.B take a photo of the Aquaventure water park in the Hotel Atlantis the Palm.
The view of the Burj Al Arab from the Aquaventure water park
The Souk Madinat
South of Hotel Burj Al Arab is the Souk Madinat. The Souk Madinat is the modern replica of a traditional Arab market and part of Dubai’s luxurious Madinat Jumeirah Resort.
Here you will find 75 small shops, which mainly offer antiques, handicrafts, textiles, jewelry, oriental food and spices or souvenirs. In addition, there are 25 cafés, bars and restaurants around the artificial lagoon. The shops are open from 10:00 to 23:00, the cafes and restaurants usually from 08:00 to 02:00.
A map with all attractions in Dubai
On Google MyMaps we have marked all important sights and attractions in Dubai.
A map with all attractions in Dubai
Our travelogues from Dubai
Dubai is an insanely diverse city and has quite a few attractions to offer. In our previous vacations, we had gotten to know the city only as a classic "stopover destination". Thereby, we didn't really have much time to explore the many sights of the city. And the desert metropolis is a true photo and Instagram paradise. One motif is more beautiful and spectacular than the other. The tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa), the largest building in the world in the form of a picture frame (Dubai Frame), the largest shopping center (Dubai Mall), the largest Ferris wheel (Ain Dubai), the largest flower garden (Dubai Miracle Garden), the tallest hotel (Burj Al Arab) to the largest fountain system in the world (The Plam Fountain) and many more.
In addition, Dubai has developed so rapidly in recent years, so that we now had enough time to explore the desert metropolis on the Persian Gulf a little better due to a longer vacation. Here you can find our travel reports about the city of superlatives.
» The 20 most beautiful Photo Spots & Instagrammable Places in Dubai
» The Swissôtel Al Murooj & our first long-haul flight with baby
» Burj Al Arab – Photo Spots & Tea Time in the Skyview Bar
» Das Hotel Atlantis the Palm, Lost Chambers Aquarium & Aquaventure Waterpark
» Dubai Miracle Garden & the Dubai Butterfly Garden
» The Pointe – The Palm Fountain at Palm Jumeirah
» Al Seef Dubai, Dubai Museum, Spice Souk & Gold Souk
» Dubai Marina – JBR, The Walk, The Beach & Ain Dubai
» Dubai Frame in Zabeel Park & Dubai Garden Glow
» La Mer – Beach, Shopping & Boardwalk in Jumeirah
» Dubai Creek Harbour – The new harbour district in Dubai
» Dubai Mall, Dubai Aquarium & the Underwater Zoo
» Burj Khalifa – The most beautiful Instagram photo spots
» Burj Khalifa – Things to know, At the Top & Dubai Fountain