Inside Dubai’s Exclusive $20,000-a-Night, ‘Seven-Star’ Hotel

Depending on timing and availability, a stay at the Burj Al Arab, which opened in 1999, can run from $1,000 a night for the one-bedroom suite to over $20,000 a night for the hotel’s two-story Royal Suite.

Visitors are often met with an “unforgettable welcome” as they are given the opportunity to be picked up from the airport in a white Rolls Royce Phantom from one of the largest chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce fleets in the world for AED 900 to AED 1,300 ($250-$300). Guests can also be transported by helicopter or Mercedes.

A helicopter pad sits atop the 28th floor of the building and welcomes visitors who pay AED 10,000 (roughly $2,700) for a 15-minute ride around the city. The heli-pad is also where Roger Federer once played a tennis match and Tiger Woods has tee’d off.

The beachfront hotel also runs an exotic aquarium with a full team of marine biologists to look after the well-being of the fish and sharks.

Each of the hotel’s 202 suites stands two floors high and are decorated with elegantly styled furniture and carpet.

The hotel’s Royal Suite offers 8,395 square feet of space and comes with two master bedrooms (that rotate on swivels), two-full sized jacuzzis and two five-head rain showers. The walk-in closets is expansive and the bathroom is stocked with Hermes products. The Royal Suite also include a lounge, a library and a cinema.

The rooms include offices that have either a Macbook or a gold-plated iPad. TVs that emerge from mahogany desks are controlled by a remote that also control the blinds, doors and can notify a personal butler at any time of the day.

The Burj Al Arab is staffed by a team of 1,500 employees who are trained to meet the most extreme of commands, like procuring exotic camels or having the chef cook up personally caught crocodiles.

Every few hours the staff brings in complimentary fresh foods that range from fresh fruit to chocolate decadence desserts.

The hotel has nine bars and restaurants and also a spa with fitness center.