The Burj Al Arab: Dubai’s Most Recognisable Building and Whether to Stay There

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah stands 321 metres on a small artificial island connected to Jumeirah Beach by a private road. It opened in 1999 and immediately became the shorthand image for Dubai’s ambitions: a hotel shaped like the sail of a traditional dhow at a scale that makes the sail analogy feel literal. The hotel markets itself as “7-star,” a designation it invented; the formal hotel rating system stops at five. This self-appointed superlative is the most useful single fact about the Burj Al Arab: a place confident enough in its own significance to simply create the category it wanted to occupy.

The question most people actually have is not whether to stay (most don’t; entry-level suites start around AED 5,000 per night, approximately $1,400/€1,300) but how to see the interior without paying suite rates.

Visiting Without Staying

You cannot simply walk in. The hotel requires either a restaurant reservation or an afternoon tea booking to access the interior. Afternoon tea in the Sky View Bar on the 27th floor costs around AED 500-600 per person ($135-160) and gives you access to views across the Palm Jumeirah, the Dubai coastline, and, on clear days, the Abu Dhabi distance. This is the most affordable access option and the view is legitimately exceptional.

Dinner at Al Muntaha (27th floor, French-influenced cuisine) costs considerably more. Cocktails at Skyview Bar are priced accordingly but require no booking beyond a table reservation.

The Architecture

The structure is a genuine engineering achievement rather than simply an expensive exterior. The sail-shaped form created wind load problems for a building with a large surface area exposed to Gulf crosswinds; the double-skin facade (white Teflon-coated fibreglass with a gap behind it) functions as insulation while providing the visual texture. The atrium rises 180 metres internally – one of the tallest hotel atria in the world. The interior decoration involves gold leaf, strong saturated colours, and a maximalism that is either expensive excess or exactly what this context demands, depending on your aesthetic position. Both readings are defensible.

The Broader Jumeirah Area

Jumeirah Beach is accessible to non-hotel guests. The JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence) area 15 minutes north has a public beach, waterfront restaurants, and a more accessible beachfront experience at prices that reflect normal Dubai tourism rather than Burj Al Arab pricing.

Dubai’s genuinely good dining has largely migrated to the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) and the La Mer area. The food at the Burj Al Arab is competent and expensive; neither attribute is surprising given the context.

The Dubai Mall (metro to Dubai Mall station) has the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, an indoor ice rink, and the indoor waterfall. These are all better as experiences than anything at the Burj Al Arab for visitors who are not buying the luxury proposition but want to see Dubai operating at full spectacle.