Emirates Palace Hotel

Nothing is impossible

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the United Arab Emirates, and the name of its capital as well. The majority of the country is covered by the Rub al Khali desert, the largest stretch of sand in the world, but above all, the Emirate also holds the world’s record of GNP per inhabitant as a result of its possessing nine percent of the world’s oil reserves and five percent its natural gas. Abu Dhabi is often compared to Dubai, the other large metropolis in the region, because of its taste for gigantic, extravagant projects and its penchant for luxury on a grand scale. An example of this ambition is the Isle of Saadiyat, a tourist and cultural complex scheduled for 2013 with the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, and the Guggenheim created by Frank Gehry. The already existent Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Center, the work of Zaha Hadid, is a futuristic building rushing up to the sea in the form of a huge prow pointing toward the future. Added to these attention getting architectural structures is a hotel like none other in the world.

Gold as far as the eye can see

The Emirates Palace Hotel is an oriental dream come true. Located on a 1,000-hectare property and occupying a surface of 850,000 square meters, its three billion dollar price tag makes it one the most expensive hotel ever built. Its seven star designation equals that of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Opened in 2005, the hotel contains 394 rooms ranging in size from 110 to 680 square meters. Some of the suites are reserved for members of the royal family and foreign heads of state. The entire hotel is paved in marble and covered with gold. One million cubic meters of marble were imported from Italy, China and India, and 6,000 square meters of gold leaf. The atrium in the reception area has the highest dome in the world, measuring sixty meters in height and 42 in width. It’s even larger than the dome of St. Peter’s cathedral in the Vatican. The hotel possesses 102 Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and 10 people are employed for the sole task of cleaning them every day. There are 20 restaurants offering cuisine from all over the world and some incredible special services such as a caviar or a champagne bath. The caviars served are all exclusive like the albino caviar of which only six kilograms are produced annually. It’s the same for the cognacs which run up to fifteen thousand dollars. The luxury offered here is limitless. In addition to the one and half kilometers of private beach, there’s a spa, tennis courts and two heliports. Managed by the German Kempinski group, known throughout the world for the way it receives guests and for its luxurious infrastructures, the hotel employs 2,600 people of 50 different nationalities. The Emirates Palace Hotel is undoubtedly the most precious jewel in a collection of exceptional sites.

The hotel is the only one in the world to have a vending machine that distributes gold. It delivers ingots and coins. The machine itself is covered in gold. What can one say when one is speechless?!