Amazing Hotel - Burj Al Arab

The Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 321 metres (1,053 ft), it is the second tallest building used exclusively as a hotel, after Rose Tower, also in Dubai. However, the structure of the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel is nine meters taller than the Burj Al Arab, and the Rose Tower, also in Dubai, which has already topped Burj Al Arab’s height at 333 m (1,090 ft), will take away the title upon its opening.



The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai’s urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat.


Construction of Burj Al Arab began in 1994. It was built to resemble the sail of a dhow, a type of Arabian vessel. Two “wings” spread in a V to form a vast “mast”, while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium. The architect Tom Wright said “The client wanted a building that would become an iconic or symbolic statement for Dubai; this is very similar to Sydney with its Opera House, or Paris with the Eiffel Tower. It needed to be a building that would become synonymous with the name of the country.”


The architect and engineering consultant for the project was Atkins, the UK’s largest multidisciplinary consultancy. The hotel was built by South African construction contractor Murray & Roberts. The hotel cost $650 million to build.