Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the world's only 8-star luxury hotel, operated by Kempinski and opened in November 2005. This massive architectural work is the work of famous British designer John Elliotson.
Emirates Palace is truly an architectural marvel built in the desert and is a luxury structure that only a rich country like the UAE can afford to build. The investment for this hotel is about 3.9 billion USD - a huge number. This hotel is also very famous for using up to 40 tons of gold to decorate some parts of the hotel. Emirates Palace currently has about 2,600 employees, representing about 50 nationalities, with an average of three staff serving each guest.
The hotel was built as a masterpiece, a national symbol, so profit was not the primary concern, even though, besides oil, tourism is the biggest moneymaker in Abu Dhabi.
The Emirates Palace Hotel is set in a stunning 1,000-hectare site, incorporating architecture that reflects the different landscapes of the desert. There is also a 1.6km private beach attached to the hotel. The exterior architecture features 114 impressive domes, up to 60m high and sparkling in the sun thanks to the decoration of pure gold.
The hotel is 8 stories high and has a total floor area of 850,000m², with the west and east wings containing guest rooms. It is decorated mainly with gold and marble combined with advanced technology. The hotel has 394 bedrooms of all kinds. It regularly welcomes heads of state, diplomats, aristocrats, business tycoons, and stars of the entertainment industry around the world.
There are nearly 20 restaurants, three bars, lounges and cafes offering a range of refreshments, cuisine and entertainment. The hotel’s Mezlai and Le Vendome restaurants are famous for their gold leaf desserts, with each chocolate dessert costing around $80.
The complex also has two swimming pools and a spa, underground parking for 2,500 vehicles, a marina and an airport with enough space for two helicopters. The hotel has eight BMW 760s and two Rolls-Royces for airport transfers.
From the East wing of the hotel, visitors can also see the Abu Dhabi royal building. Emirates Palace owns a green park with an area of up to 1,000 hectares, with up to 8,000 trees and they are replanted every 2 years. This place grows many species of beautiful trees, flowers and more than 100 fountains.
Emirates Palace has 6 royal rooms, each room is 680 square meters in area. The main color in the room is a beautiful sparkling gold. This is also the color symbolizing wealth and prosperity. More specifically, each room here always has 7 service staff on duty outside the door 24/7, ready to serve guests at any time. With such a level of luxury and top-notch service quality, it is easy to understand why the room price here is up to 2.7 billion VND/night.
In addition to its luxurious and classy design, Emirates Palace Hotel also attracts visitors with its state-of-the-art high-tech system. Each guest will receive a tablet worth 2,500 USD (56.8 million VND) to set up an alarm, download movies, record videos or call the staff. This is also one of the few places equipped with a gold-plated Gold To Go vending machine.
