Burj Al Arab

I stayed for 3 nights in the Penthouse and was enveloped by Middle Eastern Luxury almost immediately. Meeting with Government Bankers is normally quite dull; however the magnificent surrounds of this leviathan of the hotel industry made my work so much more enjoyable. Without a doubt this is a magical experience and worthy of your consideration.

Best hotel in the world ? Maybe . Best afternoon tea ? No. However having said that I'm still giving it five stars as the overall setting makes the whole experience very special . The tea itself was seven courses. All courses tasted good. The staff that greeted us and served us were very friendly . They checked on us throughout. Nothing was rushed . Such lovely ladies. They took photos for us and at the end brought out a cake with a candle as it was my birthday ! Lovely touch. I'm glad I got to experience this but for what you pay you are just paying to be at the Burj.

We checked into the Burj al Arab to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday and received exemplary service from start to finish and in particular from our butler, Tushar, who made us feel like royalty! We were upgraded to a club suite which was unlike any club room we had seen before - a 450 sqm duplex with panoramic floor to ceiling glass - which was the icing on the cake and made our stay even more memorable.

I booked the Burj Al Arab for Afternoon Tea as a Birthday treat for my wife for our last day in Dubai. I rang up to book so there would be no confusion that they could cater for my wife's gluten allergy and that they could offer us a window seat. The woman I spoke to on the phone assured me that as a seven star hotel my wife would get a gluten free afternoon tea as delicious as my own and that they could offer me a window seat for an extra 100 AED. After reading the glowing reviews I decided the £260 price tag would be worth the seven star culinary dining experience along with the amazing views! We arrived in a limo taxi as I thought the extra would be worth arriving in style, my wife and I had dressed to impress with my wife wearing an expensive dress and heels. Straight away my wife was saying omg I've over dressed, people had pretty much under dressed for the occasion as if they were going shopping for the day! The hotel itself is gaudy and like someone who got dressed in the dark, there's no fineness its very tired and worn. We stayed in the Atlantis Palm and that was way more impressive and well worth the five star tag. The lift experience to the Skyview Bar was very good, and the views from our seats were amazing but that is where it stopped! The waiter checked about my wife's gluten allergy, and then brought out the first course Chocolate Petit Pot, this was an amazing desert and then it all went down hill from there. The second course came out which was a tiny quiche, and I questioned that it was gluten free? the waiters face turned to horror and he whipped it away and came back seconds later saying the chef was making something special! he came back minutes later with a tiny salad saying this was an artichoke salad, we both looked at each other in disbelief and I said excuse me my wife is gluten free not vegetarian. The waiter then ran off with the salad and said it would be 10 to 15 mins as the chef was preparing something special yet again, it was a chicken dish which my wife said was very nice. Why did we have to go through all that? the hotel had known for weeks my wife was coming so why were they so unprepared? The next course was sandwiches and mine were nice but my wife's gluten free bread was dry so she left some. Next up was the cake stand which I can honestly say was a massive disappointment there was only one cake that I liked and that was a chocolate slice, the others I tried lacked flavour and all had a pastry base, and the fruit cake was dry and just fell to pieces; I decided to just leave it at that and left most of the cakes. My wife's gluten free option would turn out to be even worse than mine! They could only be described as flavourless gelatin on top of various biscuit bases, one looked like wallpaper paste that had set in a bucket then cut into a neat shape to place on top of the biscuit. Next came the taste test; now I try all my wife's food as it is so hard to find nice gluten free food, absolutely disgusting and all I can say is the chef must not taste his own food! One of the biscuit bases was so salty you may even think the chef picked up salt instead of sugar when making it! one of the deserts was granola rolled into a ball with a blob of jelly on top, SEVEN STAR HOTEL? I called over the waiter and was explaining exactly as I have written in my review and he couldn't stop sniggering, then seemed to find it even funnier that I had spoiled his moment as he had a single red rose and a birthday card to give to my wife hidden behind his back! I demanded to see the manager who couldn't apologise enough and said he would refund my 100 AED which is about £22, then disappeared and returned with a bunch of roses.. YOU ARE KIDDING ME! Our last day has been completely ruined and you offer me £22 of the £260 I have paid? I was absolutely fuming! The Atlantis Palm where we were staying managed to make fantastic gluten free cakes and food even at short notice, yet this is only a five star hotel. I did eventually after a lengthy email manage to get a refund of 410 AED which is about £89, which I am not happy about at all. If this had happened at the Atlantis Palm I know for a fact after speaking to their management the whole bill would have been waived with a huge apology! The whole holiday in Dubai was amazing and our last day should have been one to remember, but was tainted by an arrogant and ignorant waiter and the incompetence of a so called seven star hotel!

A bit too much if you ask me! it is really an average hotel! it is just that they fed you the idea that it is very exquisite, and because it is expensive you actually believe it is "THE HOTEL", it is NOT! Food wise: 7/10 Comfort Level" 6.5/10 Privacy: 5/10 Ambiance: 5/10 Pillows: 4/10 :'( Service: 8/10 Staff: 8/10 Activities: 1/10 Money: 0/10 (super expensive), i really thought it would be an experience f a life time, but it wasn't, but however, i did enjoy my time, because I just love to be happy anyway :D, but you must understand that it is my mindset not the hotel!!! they do have variety of places to go to, restaurants and such, but it is kind of a dull place to be at! my overall experience is quite "meh" 5/10 i would rate it at tops