UAE: Emirates Palace [Visit Only]

May 12, 2019

West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

A luxury hotel managed by Kempinski Hotels, Emirates Palace (5*) is the third most expensive hotel ever built with the project costing around USD 3 billion (~S$4.09 billion). Opened in end 2005, the hotel offers a total of 394 guest rooms, including 92 suites and 22 residential apartments reserved for Heads of State.

It's surpassed only by The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in the USA and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore in terms of total construction cost. Before I even stepped into the compound of the hotel, I was already overwhelmed by one of the grand gates.

No, I didn't stay there, but I did drop by the hotel covering a total area of 243,000 square metres. Given the opportunity to stay there in the future, I'll definitely update this post accordingly.

The colour of the building aims to reflect different shades of Arabian desert sands.

Facing the hotel are other lavish hotels, such as Bab al-Qasr (5*) and Grand Hyatt (5*).

It's said that the design of the hotel is "a playful mix of cherished Islamic architectural elements ... to create a unified whole", such as balance, geometry and hierarchical emphasis, which are clearly evident.

My hands were really itching to place Pikachu and Melon on the seats.

That's the biggest decorative egg I've ever seen to date.

There are 115 domes spread all over the building. Let's take a look at the hall with the grand dome having elaborate geometrical patterns. As I was there in December, there were Christmas ornaments on display.

"O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches~"

I can stare at it all day long.

"What's cooking, Chef Snowman?"

There are ten restaurants, two bars and a café at the hotel. Le Café takes pride in its two cappuccino drinks: one sprinkled with 23 karat gold flakes and another flavoured with camel milk.