Burj Al Arab
Aug 15, 2003 | 3:35 pm
#16
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Europe
Programs: AC Elite *G :: LH Sen *G :: IC Royal Amb :: PC Plat :: HH Diamond
Posts: 2,000
Great report Uli!
We were in Dubai for 11 days in march, weather was just great with temps around 30 degrees celsius. One day after watching the European Tour Dubai Dessert Classic golf competition we asked the taxi driver to stop by the Burj Al Arab, amazing! Just seeing it from the outside (non guests are not allowed to walk inside without paying a fee) makes one wanna stay there. The only lack for this hotel is its location -in the middle of nowhere. Would indeed be great to stay there for one or two night to just use the facilities but I still prefer downtown Dubai (we stayed at Intercontinental).
Could you pleas tell as about the prices Uli? Like dining and such things, and also whats included in the room rate (breakfast?).
Gustaf
We were in Dubai for 11 days in march, weather was just great with temps around 30 degrees celsius. One day after watching the European Tour Dubai Dessert Classic golf competition we asked the taxi driver to stop by the Burj Al Arab, amazing! Just seeing it from the outside (non guests are not allowed to walk inside without paying a fee) makes one wanna stay there. The only lack for this hotel is its location -in the middle of nowhere. Would indeed be great to stay there for one or two night to just use the facilities but I still prefer downtown Dubai (we stayed at Intercontinental).
Could you pleas tell as about the prices Uli? Like dining and such things, and also whats included in the room rate (breakfast?).
Gustaf
Aug 15, 2003 | 4:58 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: FRA
Posts: 2,179
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gustaf:
Great report Uli!
We were in Dubai for 11 days in march, weather was just great with temps around 30 degrees celsius. One day after watching the European Tour Dubai Dessert Classic golf competition we asked the taxi driver to stop by the Burj Al Arab, amazing! Just seeing it from the outside (non guests are not allowed to walk inside without paying a fee) makes one wanna stay there. The only lack for this hotel is its location -in the middle of nowhere. Would indeed be great to stay there for one or two night to just use the facilities but I still prefer downtown Dubai (we stayed at Intercontinental).
Could you pleas tell as about the prices Uli? Like dining and such things, and also whats included in the room rate (breakfast?).
Gustaf</font>
Great report Uli!
We were in Dubai for 11 days in march, weather was just great with temps around 30 degrees celsius. One day after watching the European Tour Dubai Dessert Classic golf competition we asked the taxi driver to stop by the Burj Al Arab, amazing! Just seeing it from the outside (non guests are not allowed to walk inside without paying a fee) makes one wanna stay there. The only lack for this hotel is its location -in the middle of nowhere. Would indeed be great to stay there for one or two night to just use the facilities but I still prefer downtown Dubai (we stayed at Intercontinental).
Could you pleas tell as about the prices Uli? Like dining and such things, and also whats included in the room rate (breakfast?).
Gustaf</font>
breakfast was not included. you could chose from a 4 page breakfast menu. if you sleep until lunchtime as we did, no need for breakfast. coffee comes for free from the butler service, by the way.
prices for dining are perfectly the same like in 5-star-hotels all around the worlds, pretty standard, no surprises. wine is a little bit over the average, but alcohol is expensive in UAE countries anyway. one free bottle is in each room, and you can bring one or two per person from the duty-free.
Aug 15, 2003 | 5:59 pm
#18
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: LAX
Posts: 733
Thank you Uli for this terrific report on the Burj. I am glad that I booked two days there in December and am pleased to know that I will be treated "royally".
I am not a big fan of Hermes bath products, but they will do! I did love the Jo Malone bath products at the Mandarin Hyde Park in London. The floor manager/butler gave me six extra bottles to take home, and they aren't cheap!
Thanks again.
I am not a big fan of Hermes bath products, but they will do! I did love the Jo Malone bath products at the Mandarin Hyde Park in London. The floor manager/butler gave me six extra bottles to take home, and they aren't cheap!
Thanks again.
Aug 16, 2003 | 12:50 am
#20
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Mid-tiers with no tears: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*S, VA Silver, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,441
Great report, Uli! I've been fascinated by the thought of staying at the Burj ever since it opened.
The most economical way of staying there that I have seen was some great package deals through www.airnet.co.uk a few months ago - IIRC it was business class flights on Emirates LHR-DXB and 4 or 5 nights at Burj Al Arab for 1200 or so twin share. Seemed like a pretty good dea to me! It may have been while Gulf War Mk II was on, so those sort of prices may not be normal, but I've seen other excellent deals as well, so could be worth checking them out.
The most economical way of staying there that I have seen was some great package deals through www.airnet.co.uk a few months ago - IIRC it was business class flights on Emirates LHR-DXB and 4 or 5 nights at Burj Al Arab for 1200 or so twin share. Seemed like a pretty good dea to me! It may have been while Gulf War Mk II was on, so those sort of prices may not be normal, but I've seen other excellent deals as well, so could be worth checking them out.
Aug 16, 2003 | 3:01 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: FRA
Posts: 2,179
dining and drinking at the burj
i am sorry I do not remember the names of all the places.
besides some lobby restaurants, there are basically two famous dining spots at the burj. if you stay there for one day only, make a reservation in advance ... even as a hotel guest it is not guaranteed as the places are always booked.
below the sea
you have sure heard about the under water restaurant of the burj. there is a special elevator to a lounge with a bar (very nice bar, by the way) from which you board a small submarine that takes you to he restaurant. the restaurant is located about 200m outside the burj below sea level. if you are there, you are surrounded by fish everywhere. a beautiful please. you will even have small sharks looking at your food while you are dining. for people like myself who do not eat seafood at all, there are lots of meat and also vegetarian choices. top notch service, great bread selection, and a great ambience. this is a must-do when you are at the burj. prices are pretty normal for a famous restaurant, and the wine-list is very extensive. even some German wines are there
of course, the submarine is not a submarine but a submarine simulator and just delivering you one floor lower to the basement of the house. but still, the "virtual" submarine ride is quite nice. i love the marketing idea. if you are a hotel designer of a hotel that has great views all over, how can you fill a restaurant in the basement that does not offer any view? cool.
in the sky
another restaurant is attached to the top floor of the building. "attached" means that it is not part of the original structure but an extra building "hanging" at the burh. if you look at it from downstairs you will think he architect was crazy.
the restaurant is divided in a bar and in a restaurant. make sure you get a windows table, no matter if in the bar or a the restaurant. food selection is international, everything was superb. the lady selected to drink a bottle of roederer crystal before the meal not knowing what it might cost, but this is sure no place for price considerations
room service
hehe, this is what i like most if i stay in a suite. room service at the burj is outright perfect. everything is available 24 hours, no restrictions, menu list is huge and if you like to eat something else they will make it for your. as you have at least one dining table in your "house", you can eat like in a private restaurant. or if you like, just order a night snack before you go to bed. the service is fast, and never made a mistake.
jumeirah beach hotel
the 600-something room rotel shaped like a huge wave opposite to the burj belongs to the same group. you can reserve tables in restaurants there, and also have the charges transferred to your burj room bill. i also always felt reservations from the burj were handled with prioriy. as we stayed in burh for eight days, we ran out of dinner choices at the burj. the jumeirah beach hotel has about 15 restaurants, Arabic, Italian, even German etc ...
first, we tested the Argentinian restaurant. first time in my life i eat a 500gr tenderloing steak. if you put the knife on it, it went right through it, it was tender like butter. the Italian restaurant there was also really nice. nice brunello to drink there, and food is always a surprise as everything tastes and looks better than you imagined before. tiramisu is prepared freshly right at the moment you order it. very personal service.
emirates towers
this is the tallest building in dubai, also belonging to jumerirah group. you can get there by a rolls-royce and enjoy the VU restaurant on the top floor of the building. besides the great view, the restaurant was not full. food was nice, but no more surprises. nice to go there, but not a must. the most interesting thing is a small machine that they put on your table that delivery the tooth-picks
they do have two nice sauternes there, one is also available by the glass.
the bar, even one floor higher, is great and seems to be a place-to-be also for locals and a meeting place for flight crews.
burj beach
having lunch at the private beach of the burj is a superb experience. you should eat one of their special rosemary-garly-breads that comes with five dips, then something light that matches the beach setting, like tomato with mozzarella and avocado cream or garlic, baby spinach salad etc. everything sounds quite simple but is prepared in a way that will surprise you. this is the first time in the burj that i went right away in the small beach kitchen to congratulate the chef for his skills. he was quite overwhelmed and from that day on we got a free sorbet with our meal each day service at the beach is white-glove service as well but you can sit there in you swimming pants with no problem.
they offer you a wide selection of cigars and different alcohols, including the very nice 95 rose veuve clicquot.
general notes
dining at the burj requires a tie. they will let you in without it, but you will feel a little like to destroy the atmosphere. sneakers are also not the right choice for the restaurants. no kids allowed for dinner in the under-water-restaurant (but you can resreve a private dining room). on the other hand, you can always go to the jumerirah beach hotel (you do not go there, they will drive you with the golf carts) which is more relaxed if you prefer this (I dont ) and a paradise for kids.
the house champaign in the burj (available everywhere plus in the minibar) is ruinart, which is a very good choice. not to pricy but very good!
you will not leave the burj hungry ...
i am sorry I do not remember the names of all the places.
besides some lobby restaurants, there are basically two famous dining spots at the burj. if you stay there for one day only, make a reservation in advance ... even as a hotel guest it is not guaranteed as the places are always booked.
below the sea
you have sure heard about the under water restaurant of the burj. there is a special elevator to a lounge with a bar (very nice bar, by the way) from which you board a small submarine that takes you to he restaurant. the restaurant is located about 200m outside the burj below sea level. if you are there, you are surrounded by fish everywhere. a beautiful please. you will even have small sharks looking at your food while you are dining. for people like myself who do not eat seafood at all, there are lots of meat and also vegetarian choices. top notch service, great bread selection, and a great ambience. this is a must-do when you are at the burj. prices are pretty normal for a famous restaurant, and the wine-list is very extensive. even some German wines are there
of course, the submarine is not a submarine but a submarine simulator and just delivering you one floor lower to the basement of the house. but still, the "virtual" submarine ride is quite nice. i love the marketing idea. if you are a hotel designer of a hotel that has great views all over, how can you fill a restaurant in the basement that does not offer any view? cool.
in the sky
another restaurant is attached to the top floor of the building. "attached" means that it is not part of the original structure but an extra building "hanging" at the burh. if you look at it from downstairs you will think he architect was crazy.
the restaurant is divided in a bar and in a restaurant. make sure you get a windows table, no matter if in the bar or a the restaurant. food selection is international, everything was superb. the lady selected to drink a bottle of roederer crystal before the meal not knowing what it might cost, but this is sure no place for price considerations
room service
hehe, this is what i like most if i stay in a suite. room service at the burj is outright perfect. everything is available 24 hours, no restrictions, menu list is huge and if you like to eat something else they will make it for your. as you have at least one dining table in your "house", you can eat like in a private restaurant. or if you like, just order a night snack before you go to bed. the service is fast, and never made a mistake.
jumeirah beach hotel
the 600-something room rotel shaped like a huge wave opposite to the burj belongs to the same group. you can reserve tables in restaurants there, and also have the charges transferred to your burj room bill. i also always felt reservations from the burj were handled with prioriy. as we stayed in burh for eight days, we ran out of dinner choices at the burj. the jumeirah beach hotel has about 15 restaurants, Arabic, Italian, even German etc ...
first, we tested the Argentinian restaurant. first time in my life i eat a 500gr tenderloing steak. if you put the knife on it, it went right through it, it was tender like butter. the Italian restaurant there was also really nice. nice brunello to drink there, and food is always a surprise as everything tastes and looks better than you imagined before. tiramisu is prepared freshly right at the moment you order it. very personal service.
emirates towers
this is the tallest building in dubai, also belonging to jumerirah group. you can get there by a rolls-royce and enjoy the VU restaurant on the top floor of the building. besides the great view, the restaurant was not full. food was nice, but no more surprises. nice to go there, but not a must. the most interesting thing is a small machine that they put on your table that delivery the tooth-picks
they do have two nice sauternes there, one is also available by the glass.
the bar, even one floor higher, is great and seems to be a place-to-be also for locals and a meeting place for flight crews.
burj beach
having lunch at the private beach of the burj is a superb experience. you should eat one of their special rosemary-garly-breads that comes with five dips, then something light that matches the beach setting, like tomato with mozzarella and avocado cream or garlic, baby spinach salad etc. everything sounds quite simple but is prepared in a way that will surprise you. this is the first time in the burj that i went right away in the small beach kitchen to congratulate the chef for his skills. he was quite overwhelmed and from that day on we got a free sorbet with our meal each day
service at the beach is white-glove service as well but you can sit there in you swimming pants with no problem.they offer you a wide selection of cigars and different alcohols, including the very nice 95 rose veuve clicquot.
general notes
dining at the burj requires a tie. they will let you in without it, but you will feel a little like to destroy the atmosphere. sneakers are also not the right choice for the restaurants. no kids allowed for dinner in the under-water-restaurant (but you can resreve a private dining room). on the other hand, you can always go to the jumerirah beach hotel (you do not go there, they will drive you with the golf carts) which is more relaxed if you prefer this (I dont
) and a paradise for kids.the house champaign in the burj (available everywhere plus in the minibar) is ruinart, which is a very good choice. not to pricy but very good!
you will not leave the burj hungry ...
Aug 16, 2003 | 3:06 am
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: FRA
Posts: 2,179
and now to the hotel points and frequent-flyer miles!!!
for more information, consult the jumeirahinternational.com website. when checking in, i saw a plate at the reception desk offering different frequent flyer miles. i remember they did not offer LH or KL miles, but they offered Delta, Emirates and something else.
i choose to join the jumeirah groups own point scheme. i think you receive 1 point for 3 USD spent. for our stay, we received about 2 free burj nights in return, because our F&B bills were large and higher than the room charges (dont ask me how this could happen )
the jumeirah program also allows you to buy upgrades, spa treatments etc with your points.
besides, for such a bill, you need to carefully choose which credit card you are using for the payment to get the most points. but who am i telling this
for more information, consult the jumeirahinternational.com website. when checking in, i saw a plate at the reception desk offering different frequent flyer miles. i remember they did not offer LH or KL miles, but they offered Delta, Emirates and something else.
i choose to join the jumeirah groups own point scheme. i think you receive 1 point for 3 USD spent. for our stay, we received about 2 free burj nights in return, because our F&B bills were large and higher than the room charges
(dont ask me how this could happen )the jumeirah program also allows you to buy upgrades, spa treatments etc with your points.
besides, for such a bill, you need to carefully choose which credit card you are using for the payment to get the most points. but who am i telling this
Aug 16, 2003 | 3:09 am
#24
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: FRA
Posts: 2,179
thank you for reading it. i just planned a small report, and now it is more like a burj guide
it is not really a trip report in the style we are used to describing a stay from the beginning to the end, but i received so many burj questions by private email already on my KLM flight report so I thought this way you can make more use of it.
i hope that not too many of you will book the burj now, because this bring the prices up !!!
Aug 16, 2003 | 5:47 am
#25
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Austria (Vbg)
Programs: LX SEN, BA Gfl/GGL, IC Dia, HH Dia, Hyatt LT GLOB
Posts: 1,605
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JAP:
Where can one get the best rates for the Burj ? LHW website gives 650 Euro per night ... The Amex Centurion gave you 450 - any other ideas?</font>
Where can one get the best rates for the Burj ? LHW website gives 650 Euro per night ... The Amex Centurion gave you 450 - any other ideas?</font>
[This message has been edited by Frequent_Flyer1 (edited 08-16-2003).]
Aug 16, 2003 | 5:56 am
#26
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Austria (Vbg)
Programs: LX SEN, BA Gfl/GGL, IC Dia, HH Dia, Hyatt LT GLOB
Posts: 1,605
Thanks Uli for this great report! The Burj-Al-Arab is really superb!
I must admit, far better than my usual hotels: The Four Seasons ... and this does mean a lot!
Cheers,
Christoph
I must admit, far better than my usual hotels: The Four Seasons ... and this does mean a lot!
Cheers,
Christoph
Aug 16, 2003 | 8:28 am
#28
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Stuck on this planet - mainly in STR and LAX
Posts: 5,032
Uli,
great report! I was staying there one night (beeing a cheap person i tried to maximize the time there by arriving early one day and leaving late the next day (on an OW RTW).
Great hotel. Different from any other hotel. You have to see it to believe it. Your description is really good, but the reality is even better......
Everybody should stay there at least once in their lifetime.
Otherwise there is not much to do and see in Dubai......
And it is hot. Really hot. Very hot. Extremely hot. Winter is the best time to go.
great report! I was staying there one night (beeing a cheap person i tried to maximize the time there by arriving early one day and leaving late the next day (on an OW RTW).
Great hotel. Different from any other hotel. You have to see it to believe it. Your description is really good, but the reality is even better......
Everybody should stay there at least once in their lifetime.
Otherwise there is not much to do and see in Dubai......
And it is hot. Really hot. Very hot. Extremely hot. Winter is the best time to go.
Aug 16, 2003 | 8:35 am
#29
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Europe
Programs: AC Elite *G :: LH Sen *G :: IC Royal Amb :: PC Plat :: HH Diamond
Posts: 2,000
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Uli:
1850 DHr is what we paid, I was not so sure about the conversion</font>
1850 DHr is what we paid, I was not so sure about the conversion</font>
Again, great report