The Burj Al Arab hotel is one of the most famous buildings in Dubai and thanks to its immense height of 321 meters, the hotel can be seen from many parts of the city. The luxurious hotel, which opened in 1999, is part of the Jumeirah hotel group and is known as the only 7-star hotel in the world. This title has been given to the hotel by the owner of the hotel, officially the hotel has five stars as this is the maximum number of stars.
The hotel is built on an artificial island in the Persian Gulf, just 300 meters from the mainland. The characteristic shape of the building is inspired by a dhow, a typical Arabic ship and designed by architect Tom Wright. Thanks to the long access bridge and the location in the sea, the privacy of the hotel guests is optimally protected, not guests and other curious people will not pass the entrance gate at the beginning of this bridge. Only guests, guests and people who have reserved at the Skyview Bar on the 27th floor or in one of the restaurants in the hotel are admitted at the gate.
According to rumors, the construction of the hotel is so expensive that the hotel must be fully booked for 400 years to be profitable. The exact amount of the construction has never been announced but there is talk of more than 650 million dollars. A night’s sleep in the Burj Al Arab hotel is therefore not cheap. The prices vary from more than five hundred to thousands of dollar per night, for the current prices you can take a look at Booking.com. According to what is being said, the two royal penthouses can be booked for 30.000 and 50.000 dollar per night! For that price you get a private butler which is ready for you 24 hours. You will have driver who is always ready to take you around the hotel with the Rolls Royce or Maybach and that of course sounds very nice.
Can I visit the Burj al Arab in Dubai?
For normal tourists, who have not reserved a room in the hotel, it is almost impossible to admire the inside of the Burj Al Arab. However, there are a few opportunities to admire the impressive interior of the Burj Al Arab for a fee. One of these is the Afternoon Sky Tea, which can be booked six days a week from 1 pm to 4.30 pm. Or you can book a lunch or diner at the Burj Al Arab hotel. The other way is the Inside Burj Al Arab tour, which can be booked since October 2021. Read more about this exclusive tour through the luxury hotel on our Inside Burj Al Arab page.
Make sure you arrive in suitable clothing, shorts, bare shoulders for men and slippers are in principle not accepted. See this page for more information about the dress code. Click here for more information about the High Tea in the Burj al Arab.
Photographing the Burj Al Arab
Do you want to take beautiful pictures of the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai? The best location to take a good picture of the Burj Al Arab hotel is the Umm Suqeim Park beach. This beach is near the hotel and from here you can photograph the hotel perfectly in its entirety. Especially right before the sunset you can put the Burj al Arab here in the picture with the beach and the setting sun.
Another original way to view the Burj Al Arab is from the waterfront. You can do a sailing route with the Yellow Boat to capture your own special photo moments. Also a pretty location to photograph the Burj Al Arab is the beach of the Madinat Jumeirah complex. Please note that this is a private beach and therefore only accessible to guests of one of the hotels in the complex. From the Madinat Jumeirah complex you can also take a picture of the luxurious hotel in combination with the palm trees and the beautiful Arabic architecture of the shopping center. More information about the Yellow Boat in Dubai can be found on this page.
Burj al Arab Skyview Bar
On the sea side of the Burj Al Arab hotel there is a wide horizontal section on the 27th floor, here you can find the Skyview Bar. At this bar you can book the popular Burj al Arab high tea in the afternoon or drink a delicious cocktail in the evenings. Please note that you must always book your place, without a reservation you will not be admitted as a non-guest of the hotel in the Skyview Bar.
As you can expect from a luxurious hotel like the Burj Al Arab, a high tea or cocktail in the Skyview Bar is not cheap. There is a minimum spending per person of around 50 dollar, for this amount you can drink two cheaper cocktails or one more expensive cocktail.
One of the restaurants in Burj Al Arab, Al Muntaha (literally “the highest”) is located 200 meters above the Persian Gulf and offers a beautiful view of the Dubai coast and the city itself. Another restaurant, the Al Mahara, which is reached via a simulated submarine trip, is equipped with a large deep-sea aquarium with more than one million liters of water.
High tea at the Burj Al Arab
For the normal citizen who have not reserved a room in the hotel it’s almost impossible to admire the Burj Al Arab inside. However, there are a few possibilities to admire the impressive interior of the Burj Al Arab against payment. One is the Afternoon Sky Tea which can be booked six days a week from 1 pm to 5:30 pm.
Make sure you arrive in suitable clothing, with shoulders covered with an over the knee length skirt. Also for men they ask that the shoulders are covered and neat trousers and shoes are required. See this page for more information about the dress code. Click here for more information about the High Tea in the Burj al Arab.
Burj Al Arab Terrace
Do you want to enjoy the sun in Dubai in all luxury and be served all day by a butler? That is now possible on the Burj al Arab Terrace, the extension of the super-deluxe hotel Burj Al Arab. This special platform is also accessible to non-hotel guests so that you can enjoy the sun and sea all day in five star luxury.
The expansion of the Burj al Arab includes a 100-meter deck at the back of the striking hotel. The deck is built on piles that are placed in the bottom of the sea so that the entire deck seems to float above the Persian Gulf. The platform includes a normal pool of 612 square meters. Beside there is an infinity pool of 828 square meters with salt water and a pool bar. Around the pools are four Jacuzzis, 32 super-deluxe cabanas including butler and air conditioning, a large sun deck with 126 beach beds and the Scape restaurant including bar.
Luxury cabanas
The Burj Al Arab Terrace has 32 luxurious cabanas, corresponding to luxury beach houses, which are air-conditioned and offer a view of Palm Jumeirah, the Persian Gulf and the impressive skyline of Dubai.
In total there are 24 normal cabanas built and 8 super-de-luxe Royal Cabanas. All Cabanas have air conditioning and offer space for up to four people. Furthermore, the luxury beach houses contain a private minibar full of luxury soft drinks, fresh fruit, espresso machine, Bang & Olufsun TV with couch and luxurious sunbeds. The normal cabanas are 8 square meters, the Royal Cabanas are 75 square meters and have their own private bathroom with shower and veranda.You can make it as luxurious as you want by booking the extra experiences. This must gives you the ultimate feeling and this cabana feel certainly like music to our ears.
Details normal Cabana:
– 8 square meters large beach house by the pool
– Butler service for all guests of the cabana
– Special cabana menu available between 11:00 and 18:00
– A full mini bar (non-alcoholic)
– Fruit basket with fresh fruit
– Free coffee and tea
– Cabana spa menu
Details Royal Cabana:
– 75 square meters large beach house by the pool
– Butler service for all guests of the cabana
– Special cabana menu available between 11:00 and 18:00
– A full mini bar (non-alcoholic)
– Fruit basket with fresh fruit
Prices of the cabanas
Normally, the Burj al Arab is only for non-guests if they have booked a high tea, diner or lunch in the Burj al Arab or you have an invitation from one of the guests of the hotel. With the arrival of the Burj Al Arab Terrace there is an extra possibility to visit the Burj al Arab as a non-guest, but it is not cheap!
The prices start at 2000 dirham (+/- 490 dollar) for the rent of a Cabana for one day. You can make your visit as luxurious as you want by booking the extra experiences. The prices can go up to the bizarre amount of 7000 dirham (+/- 1690 dollar). See below the total overview of the prices of the luxury Cabanas and the Royal Cabanas with the special experiences. Look at the website for the special experiences /additions.
Luxury Cabana Offers
Diamond Experience up to 2 guests for AED 4000,-
Platinum Experience up to 2 guests for AED 3000,-
Gold Experience up to 2 guests for AED 2500,-
Standard Luxury Cabana up to 2 guests for AED 2000,-
Royal Cabana Offers
Diamond Experience up to 4 guests for AED 7000,-
Platinum Experience up to 4 guests for AED 6000,-
Gold Experience up to 4 guests for AED 5000,-
Standard Royal Cabana up to 4 guests for AED 4500,-
The Royal Cabanas are larger and even more luxurious than a normal Cabana. You book a cabana per day from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Reservations can be made via the email address BAAReservations@jumeirah.com or visit the Jumeirah website for more information.
Are you a guest of the Burj al Arab? Then you can visit the Burj Al Arab Terrace at no extra charge and get a 50% discount on the rental of a Cabana or Royal Cabana.