Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai is widely acclaimed to be a 7-star hotel, despite being officially rated 5-star. If you are wondering if it is possible for a hotel to be rated 7-stars, the answer is NO… not officially anyway. Officially, a hotel can only be rated up to five stars. Burj Al Arab Hotel has its facilities and services that are pushing beyond the boundaries of a 5-star hotel.
The 7-star Quality of Burj Al Arab Hotel
If you are wondering why the luxurious sail-shaped hotel Burj Al Arab Hotel is regarded as a 7-star hotel, check out the blog by Becky Pemberton for Mail Online – My night in the billion dollar hotel: From revolving beds to chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces at my beck and call, is Dubai’s seven-star Burj Al Arab all it’s cracked up to be?
“Gold plated iPads in every room, a revolving bed in the Royal Suite and 17 types of pillow that can be selected from a menu – there is nothing modest about the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
Shaped like a sail to represent Dubai’s nautical heritage, the hotel’s distinctive silhouette has become a symbol for the nation and an Instagram favourite for the tens of thousands of Britons who flock there.
MailOnline Travel was invited inside the luxurious hotel to see whether the hotel was blissfully refined or ridiculously brash.”
Here are some of the most amazing and most luxurious amenities and service that she was spoiled with:
- The “royal” pick up from the airport. The luxurious life starts when you arrive in the airport. The ride in a chauffeur-driven white Rolls Royce is an ultimate experience in comfort and elegance as you are whisked away in high fashion. Can it get classier than this? Yes; there is a helipad in the top floor, which means you can shun the Rolls Royce and arrive by air.
- The “grand” welcome. From the white Rolls Royce and a bunch of fresh blooms, you’ll step into the hotel’s spectacular lobby festooned “with fountains that shoot high into the air and draw the eye upward through the hotel’s core to the top.” Each of the 202 duplex two-floor suites, oozing with elegance and comfort. In the room, the grand welcome can’t be better expressed with a tray of complimentary gold leaf chocolates with a handwritten greeting (which is replenished with a fresh supply every time) and a greeting that flashed on the TV screen.
- The Royal Suite. This suite is fit for the kings with its palatial size –all of 8,395 square feet. It has a rotating bed, library, majlis style lounge, and a movie room. The bedrooms and bathrooms are to die for – two (his and hers) master bedrooms and bathrooms fitted with full-size Jacuzzis, a huge bathtub, individual 5-head showers and Hermes perfume and toiletries to further pamper your body. What else can you ask for? Oh yes, there is even a valet to unpack and run a plush bath for you. If you’re here on business, the meeting room is spectacular with a round table and a sky décor.
- It’s no ordinary suite. No need to sweat it out when no valet is around; the suite has a remote control that moves and whizz things around – the blinds, the electronics, etc. The room has an Apple Mac computer as well as dazzling gold iPads that you can use while in the hotel. The two floors are connected by a staircase that’s covered in leopard prints and there’s a huge walk-in closet.
- The Burj Al Arab food experience. If you love seafood and if dining at a tiny table near a gigantic aquarium is something you fancy, then Al Mahara is for you. The food experience in an ethereal and luxurious ambiance starts upon entering the most iconic restaurant in the hotel – the Al Mahara. There are nine signature restaurants that try to outdo each other in the Burj. If you prefer a casual ambiance, pick between the Bab Al Yam with an ocean front and an alfresco restaurant near the pool. For a perfect view from the top floors near the helipad, you can enjoy Al Muntaha and its Sky View Bar.
- The 7-star service. Burj has a total of 1,500 personnel to provide service to the guests, but 200 of them are dedicated to meeting the hardest of the demands. They all go through rigid screening and training.
What’s in a star? With most consumers being “star-struck,” those who are looking and can afford luxury generally use the number of stars as a guide in selecting their hotel. Being acclaimed as a 7-star means Burj Al Arab has exceeded what can be expected from an opulent 5-star hotel as “though someone had splurged on every design they had ever had the urge to buy…. But then again, this suite represented all the Burj Al Arab is about, pushing the boundaries of luxury opulence until it nearly teeters off the edge of obscenity.”
Pemberton writes, “Burj Al Arab encourages you to Leave the Ordinary Behind.” This is why Burj Al Arab is a 7-star hotel.
