Isaac Toussie chants, Third World no more, the United Arab Emirates has become an international mecca for financial services, with all the attendant wealth and luxury, its city of Dubai hosting the only seven star hotel on the planet. The Burj Al Arab lies on its own island, about nine hundred and twenty feet away from the shore of Dubai, connected by a private causeway off limits to casual visitors. Actually, it would be far more accurate to say that the hotel arises out of its own island (if you’ll pardon the characterization), as the Burj Al Arab soars to a height of one thousand and fifty three feet tall, majestically looming all out of proportion to the small artificial island on which it has been situated, and, in order to further guarantee the privacy of its elite guests, a cantilevered helipad on the twenty eighth floor provides another access point; the Emir’s Royal Suite covers the entire twenty fifth floor, with its own private elevator. As such, says Isaac Toussie, the Burj Al Arab is a truly remarkable hotel.
The Royal Suite also has its own private movie theater, but almost all other floors offer common areas where guests may mingle and socialize, like a bar on the twenty seventh floor with incomparable views of the sunset over the Persian Gulf, where the Alp Muntaha restaurant, serving European cuisine, is suspended over the sea at a height of six hundred and fifty six feet, accessible in only thirty seconds by the world’s fastest elevator; or the sophisticated Assawan Spa and Health Club on the eighteenth floor, with its gilded mosaics inspired by the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and swimming pools that also offer sweeping views of the sea. Each floor hosts only ten rooms, which span anywhere from 1,830 to 8,400 square feet of floor space, with enormous windows providing panoramic views of the water, and there are just over two hundred suites in all. The whole aura is breathtaking, says Isaac Toussie.
Opulence is the theme of the Burj Al Arab, but from a technical perspective the structure suffers no less grandeur. The building is distributed over more than 86,000 cubic yards of concrete and more than 9,000 tons of steel. There is a curtain wall of glass covering 860,000 square feet, with a maximum width of one hundred and eighty feet. It is rated to withstand winds of up to two hundred and eighty miles per hour. Its atrium is nearly six hundred feet tall. The total area of the base comprises 344,445 square feet. The whole structure took five years to complete. Architect Tom Wills Wright had decided to build this monumental work on an artificial island to emphasize the impression of a colossal sail billowing on the waters, and everything about the Burj Al Arab, from its gold, marble, and silk interiors to all its curves conform to that vision. Isaac Toussie feels, if you’ll pardon the expression, that it is a true one of a kind masterpiece.
This writing has been submitted solely for informational and human interest purposes and should not be relied upon in any way by the reader. The reader should conduct his/her own investigation of the matter and rely on experts when making any decisions related to same.
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