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The Burj al-Arab (”Tower of the Arabs”) is a luxury hotel in Dubai , United Arab Emirates. At 321 metres (1,053 feet ), it is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel and one of the most distinctive structures for a hotel building in the world. It stands in the sea on an artificial island 280 metres (919 feet) away from the beach in the Persian Gulf , connected to the mainland only by a path. The path is extremely curvy, with most corners being almost 90 degrees.
Construction of the hotel began in 1994 , and its doors were opened to guests on December 1 , 1999 . It was built to resemble the sail of a dhow (a type of Arabian vessel) and intentionally placed in such a way that its shadow does not cover the beach. On top of the hotel is a large helipad, extending from the side of the hotel over the ocean and supported by cantilever .
A remarkable element of its architecture is the outer beachward wall of the atrium, which is made of a woven, Teflon -coated fiberglass cloth. The Burj al-Arab does not have ordinary rooms; rather it is divided into 202 duplex suites. The smallest suite occupies an area of 169 square metres (1,819 square feet), and the largest one covers 780 square metres (8,396 square feet). It is one of the most expensive hotels in the world to stay in.
The prices for the least expensive suites are in the range of $1,000 to over $6,000 a night. The most expensive suites can cost over $15,000 a night. However, the hotel will likely never be profitable; it was built to become a major landmark in Dubai, not to be a source of income. The full amount it cost to build the hotel and furnish it has not been publicly released.
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