The most luxurious hotel in the world? Probably

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  Burj Al Arab, Dubai

It's 10 years since the world’s first "seven star" hotel opened in Dubai. Although that classification doesn't actually exist, the Burj Al Arab is certainly one of the most luxurious in the world. Built on its own man-made island, it was the tallest hotel in the world when it opened and the first to have all guestrooms as duplex suites.

The billowing sail shape of the Burj Al Arab quickly became the icon of Dubai but how does it look a decade later?

Well, it’s still one of the key landmarks. Wherever you look in the Jumeirah beach area, people are having their photographs taken with the hotel in the background - as if they were in Pisa or near the Eiffel Tower. 

On arrival, you are escorted up the escalators past tropical fish tanks and dancing fountains into the huge atrium – when you look up, you feel like you’re in a colourful honeycomb. It all still looks fresh, modern and innovative.

But the lasting impression is the no-compromise nature of everything related to the guest experience – the room, the amenities, the restaurants, the spa and above all, the standard of service. However good the physical product of a hotel, it is the quality of the staff that really forms the strongest memory of the overall experience.

Each floor has a maximum of just 10 rooms and has its own dedicated reception and butlers. Check-in takes place in your suite and is done in minutes. Enter any suite at Burj Al Arab and the first impression is of the sweeping, marble staircase that leads up to your huge bedroom. Downstairs are your cloakroom, desk with laptop – on and connected ready for you to go online - lounge and dining area separately accessible by the butler should you wish meals to be catered and served in-room. The floor-to-ceiling windows offer wonderful views over either the Palm Jumeirah or the reclaimed islands of The World.

Despite the iconic status of “The Burj” and its own tagline of “the most luxurious hotel in the world”, the service and staff are pleasantly human and unstuffy, with a genuine feeling that they wish to make your stay personal and memorable. A good example was mentioning to our butler – the wonderful Vinay – that my wife had a watch bracelet that was three links too large. We left it with him. When we returned later that day, Vinay had located a jeweller in a Dubai shopping mall who had performed the necessary link removal and arranged for a hotel car and driver to take the watch there and deliver it back. All done with no fuss – and the cost? Just the ten dirhams (less than the three US dollars) they had paid to the jeweller.

The Burj has a landcaped pool area by the side of the hotel and its own private beach just across the causeway. The memorable restaurants include Al Muntaha – which can be seen protruding from the top of the hotel and serves lunch, dinner and an excellent afternoon tea – and the seafood restaurant Al Mahara, where you dine while looking into the tropical fish tanks. Junsui is particularly recommended and offers an outstanding buffet, served from live cooking stations.

So, yes, Burj Al Arab is certainly still remarkable as a landmark and as a hotel. And is it the most luxurious hotel in the world? Probably.

By Nick Perry

Location: Dubai