The Burj Al Arab
By request … my take on the beautiful hotel with the seven star status …
As most of you probably know, I stayed there for one night (last night in fact!) and I think I’ll be hard pressed to find a hotel to beat it in terms of grandeur and opulence!
On arrival at the airport, James and I were supposed to be met by a Jumeirah representative to take us to our transport. DXB Airport is, however, crammed full of people from various establishments holding signs with names embellished, so we didn’t actually spot our guy, but we caught up with him in the end at the Jumeriah desk by the exit and were whisked away to our Rolls Royce Silver Serif for our transfer to the Burj.
The driver was as polite and courteous as you would hope, offering cold towels and bottles of water, and roses for the lady! You are given a choice of music for your journey too, which was a nice distraction as our driver seemed intent on informing us of the history of the UAE! He did actually give some good information, such as where all the malls and attractions are, and letting us know about all the planned building works in Dubai. Apparently, Jumeirah are building a tower that is to be taller than the Taipei 101 building. He pointed out the construction works to us enroute.
On arrival at the Burj you are greeted with cold towels, drinks and fresh dates, then whisked to your floor. The staff seem to know who their guests are in advance, so on giving your name, they know where to take you. There isn’t a concierge at the lobby level, each floor has its own concierge that takes care of that floors guests. We were on floor 13, about half way up the tower. Check-in was done in the suite, which probably shouldnt be as you are too ‘open mouthed’ in appreciation of the suite to fill in forms! You are brought a drink to your suite on arrival, I had an orange juice but I guess you could have whatever you wanted.
We had booked a ‘Deluxe Suite’, which is really the bottom rung in Burj suites, although it was breathtaking for me! You are given room card keys that open the door by waving them across a sensor. The door opens to a small ‘lobby’ area and then into the sitting area. The two are separated by two marble pillars. There is a huge lounge with plenty of seating, Plasma TV and huge windows with views over the gulf. There is also a small bar and a fully functional business desk, complete with your own laptop for use during your stay. The laptop has wireless internet – but you cant get onto the network with your own equipment – and we did try! There is also a small guest WC downstairs and a room (yes, not a cupboard, a room) to put your luggage. All of the furniture had a fab blue and gold colour scheme to it, which was very luxurious and opulent but not as garish or gowdy as I thought it might be. To the left of the lobby was a sweeping staircase which lead to the upstairs quarters, compromising of bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. The bathroom was great, a full size Jacuzzi, a shower with half a dozen shower heads, and a huge double sink area with masses of vanity products. Hermes toiletries were coming out of the woodworks. There was even a seating area in the bathroom! The dressing area has three large wardrobes and a huge mirrored dresser with stool, and a hairdryer. There are also lots of linen bags for your laundry and robes and slippers. There are also fluffy robes in the bathroom. The bedroom had a fabulous view out to the sea with more beautiful furniture – and a mirror above the bed! Most interesting! Everything in the room is controlled through the TV – from answering the door to opening the curtains, you just use the remote control!
On arrival, our Butler helped us into the suite and gave us a tour, showing us how everything worked. At first it was great, for example, he showed us the groovy intercom system – if you ring the doorbell in the suite, the TV switches to intercom mode and shows you the person outside your suite door (there is a small camera outside) and you can choose to let them in or ignore them. However, after 15 minutes or so of the Bulter still doing his tour, you kind of wanted him to leave you to it. He was great in pointing out what items we could take home and what had a charge attached, he clearly told us that we must take the Hermes toiletries! There is a fully stocked mini-bar of course, and not actually too scarily priced. We had a litre bottle of water which was 20AED, not bad considering where we were!
The suites are well stocked with papers, magazines, and selection boxes of dates, baklava and savoury nibbles. You also get wine and fresh fruit. The butler advised that if we didn’t like the wine, to let him know and he would replace it. He also said that if we had favourite fruits, to let him know and he would get some for us, even if It meant going out of Dubai to get it. The service the Butler provides is very good, he is efficient and courteous but not intrusive, once we were settled in he did not bother us at all but was there if you needed him. That kind of ‘silent observation’ service is just ideal. He also mentioned that he was on call if we wanted the bath ran and there was a menu of bath salts and lotions we could choose from – that would sound impressive, if not for the full booklet in the bedroom from which to choose your pillow!
Some aspects of the Burj like this were a bit OTT for me. The Butler asked if he could unpack our cases, not my cup of tea but im sure many guests delight at those services.
The room was fab! Very nicely sized and much more living space than I had imagined. Splitting the suite to two levels works so well, and really makes it feel that little bit more special. One nice feature that I cant get across on camera is this lovely clock they project onto the wall by the staircase. You can turn it off it you want, but its really lovely!
Overall, I was really impressed with the Burj. The furnishings were top notch, and not tacky like I thought they might have been. The service was fantastic, always courteous and friendly, and nothing was too much trouble – and that’s how it should be. James and I advised the butler that in the evening we were having dinner with friends, and would it be ok to show them the suite? We were asked to provide our guests names, as the hotel has a gated entrance at the start of the footbridge and they do kind of operate a bit of a ‘sphincter police’ policy on letting people though, although I guess it’s a good thing if it stops hoards of tourists from just wandering in. Bottom line though, was that it was no problem to invite people to the rooms as long as we let the concierge know.
The whole hotel is opulent, there is not one dowdy area, from the grand lobby with its fountains and fish tanks to the elevators and lifts to the beautiful spa upstairs. Every square inch has intricate detail. There are the usual gallery of shops with nobody buying in them, and several high brow eateries. There isn’t actually a lot of signeage in the hotel, so it was quite hard to find where to go if you wanted to go somewhere in particular, although the hotel staff were always on hand to help. In a typical British manner, I like to find things myself so it can get a little frustrating when the staff are always trying to help you.
We had a tour of the spa upstairs which was amazing, again, a high level of detail and everything you could ever want. I cant imagine that it ever gets to full capacity as they have everything from the state of the art gym to a full squash court up there. There is a lovely but modest outdoor pool downstairs too with a swim up bar and sun loungers.
The Burj is walkable to/from Jumeirah beach, taking only a few minutes. I had imagined that you were really isolated, being on this small island, but that isn’t the case. The beach is quite lovely with small waves and marine fish! Ideal for snorkelling and paddling! You can get a free buggy ride to Jumeirah beach and a few other places as a Burj guest although its nice to just stroll along and take it all in. You are frequently stopped and asked if you are a guest at the Burj – again, an attempt to keep the riff-raff out! Once these 'guards' have seen you, they didnt seem to ask again, assumingly memorising their guests.
I’ll follow up about the Al Muntaha restaurant where we had our V-Flyer dinner in a separate posting, but for now, ill leave you with the pictures.
Any questions about Dubai or the Burj, feel free to ask
Thanks,
Sarah
The pictures are all floating around in the gallery ... but i'll link them at the bottom here for your ease ....
Thanks,
Sarah
By request … my take on the beautiful hotel with the seven star status …
As most of you probably know, I stayed there for one night (last night in fact!) and I think I’ll be hard pressed to find a hotel to beat it in terms of grandeur and opulence!
On arrival at the airport, James and I were supposed to be met by a Jumeirah representative to take us to our transport. DXB Airport is, however, crammed full of people from various establishments holding signs with names embellished, so we didn’t actually spot our guy, but we caught up with him in the end at the Jumeriah desk by the exit and were whisked away to our Rolls Royce Silver Serif for our transfer to the Burj.
The driver was as polite and courteous as you would hope, offering cold towels and bottles of water, and roses for the lady! You are given a choice of music for your journey too, which was a nice distraction as our driver seemed intent on informing us of the history of the UAE! He did actually give some good information, such as where all the malls and attractions are, and letting us know about all the planned building works in Dubai. Apparently, Jumeirah are building a tower that is to be taller than the Taipei 101 building. He pointed out the construction works to us enroute.
On arrival at the Burj you are greeted with cold towels, drinks and fresh dates, then whisked to your floor. The staff seem to know who their guests are in advance, so on giving your name, they know where to take you. There isn’t a concierge at the lobby level, each floor has its own concierge that takes care of that floors guests. We were on floor 13, about half way up the tower. Check-in was done in the suite, which probably shouldnt be as you are too ‘open mouthed’ in appreciation of the suite to fill in forms! You are brought a drink to your suite on arrival, I had an orange juice but I guess you could have whatever you wanted.
We had booked a ‘Deluxe Suite’, which is really the bottom rung in Burj suites, although it was breathtaking for me! You are given room card keys that open the door by waving them across a sensor. The door opens to a small ‘lobby’ area and then into the sitting area. The two are separated by two marble pillars. There is a huge lounge with plenty of seating, Plasma TV and huge windows with views over the gulf. There is also a small bar and a fully functional business desk, complete with your own laptop for use during your stay. The laptop has wireless internet – but you cant get onto the network with your own equipment – and we did try! There is also a small guest WC downstairs and a room (yes, not a cupboard, a room) to put your luggage. All of the furniture had a fab blue and gold colour scheme to it, which was very luxurious and opulent but not as garish or gowdy as I thought it might be. To the left of the lobby was a sweeping staircase which lead to the upstairs quarters, compromising of bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. The bathroom was great, a full size Jacuzzi, a shower with half a dozen shower heads, and a huge double sink area with masses of vanity products. Hermes toiletries were coming out of the woodworks. There was even a seating area in the bathroom! The dressing area has three large wardrobes and a huge mirrored dresser with stool, and a hairdryer. There are also lots of linen bags for your laundry and robes and slippers. There are also fluffy robes in the bathroom. The bedroom had a fabulous view out to the sea with more beautiful furniture – and a mirror above the bed! Most interesting! Everything in the room is controlled through the TV – from answering the door to opening the curtains, you just use the remote control!
On arrival, our Butler helped us into the suite and gave us a tour, showing us how everything worked. At first it was great, for example, he showed us the groovy intercom system – if you ring the doorbell in the suite, the TV switches to intercom mode and shows you the person outside your suite door (there is a small camera outside) and you can choose to let them in or ignore them. However, after 15 minutes or so of the Bulter still doing his tour, you kind of wanted him to leave you to it. He was great in pointing out what items we could take home and what had a charge attached, he clearly told us that we must take the Hermes toiletries! There is a fully stocked mini-bar of course, and not actually too scarily priced. We had a litre bottle of water which was 20AED, not bad considering where we were!
The suites are well stocked with papers, magazines, and selection boxes of dates, baklava and savoury nibbles. You also get wine and fresh fruit. The butler advised that if we didn’t like the wine, to let him know and he would replace it. He also said that if we had favourite fruits, to let him know and he would get some for us, even if It meant going out of Dubai to get it. The service the Butler provides is very good, he is efficient and courteous but not intrusive, once we were settled in he did not bother us at all but was there if you needed him. That kind of ‘silent observation’ service is just ideal. He also mentioned that he was on call if we wanted the bath ran and there was a menu of bath salts and lotions we could choose from – that would sound impressive, if not for the full booklet in the bedroom from which to choose your pillow!
Some aspects of the Burj like this were a bit OTT for me. The Butler asked if he could unpack our cases, not my cup of tea but im sure many guests delight at those services.
The room was fab! Very nicely sized and much more living space than I had imagined. Splitting the suite to two levels works so well, and really makes it feel that little bit more special. One nice feature that I cant get across on camera is this lovely clock they project onto the wall by the staircase. You can turn it off it you want, but its really lovely!
Overall, I was really impressed with the Burj. The furnishings were top notch, and not tacky like I thought they might have been. The service was fantastic, always courteous and friendly, and nothing was too much trouble – and that’s how it should be. James and I advised the butler that in the evening we were having dinner with friends, and would it be ok to show them the suite? We were asked to provide our guests names, as the hotel has a gated entrance at the start of the footbridge and they do kind of operate a bit of a ‘sphincter police’ policy on letting people though, although I guess it’s a good thing if it stops hoards of tourists from just wandering in. Bottom line though, was that it was no problem to invite people to the rooms as long as we let the concierge know.
The whole hotel is opulent, there is not one dowdy area, from the grand lobby with its fountains and fish tanks to the elevators and lifts to the beautiful spa upstairs. Every square inch has intricate detail. There are the usual gallery of shops with nobody buying in them, and several high brow eateries. There isn’t actually a lot of signeage in the hotel, so it was quite hard to find where to go if you wanted to go somewhere in particular, although the hotel staff were always on hand to help. In a typical British manner, I like to find things myself so it can get a little frustrating when the staff are always trying to help you.
We had a tour of the spa upstairs which was amazing, again, a high level of detail and everything you could ever want. I cant imagine that it ever gets to full capacity as they have everything from the state of the art gym to a full squash court up there. There is a lovely but modest outdoor pool downstairs too with a swim up bar and sun loungers.
The Burj is walkable to/from Jumeirah beach, taking only a few minutes. I had imagined that you were really isolated, being on this small island, but that isn’t the case. The beach is quite lovely with small waves and marine fish! Ideal for snorkelling and paddling! You can get a free buggy ride to Jumeirah beach and a few other places as a Burj guest although its nice to just stroll along and take it all in. You are frequently stopped and asked if you are a guest at the Burj – again, an attempt to keep the riff-raff out! Once these 'guards' have seen you, they didnt seem to ask again, assumingly memorising their guests.
I’ll follow up about the Al Muntaha restaurant where we had our V-Flyer dinner in a separate posting, but for now, ill leave you with the pictures.
Any questions about Dubai or the Burj, feel free to ask
Thanks,
Sarah
The pictures are all floating around in the gallery ... but i'll link them at the bottom here for your ease ....
Thanks,
Sarah
. Yes ok, its a lot more money than some of the other hotels that are very good properties, but the Burj really is something else and is something you have to experience at least once in your life. Life is not a spectator sport! 
