Travel experiences: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The hotels of the world have changed so much since the early days of travel.

Alfred Kuoni who started his famous company 101 years ago would be in awe, the 747, the luxury cruise liner, his voyages would have encountered many problems to reach far off lands, excursions taking days to reach the destination, journeys that took weeks now only take hours.

The hotels too were very different, a hundred years ago running water was a luxury for most, now a spa bath and whirlpool in your own private space is commonplace.

While travelling I have not always booked hotels in advance, Australia has so many hotels and hostels from low budget that are excellent value and are clean and tidy and are adequate if you want to spend your time exploring and moving from place to place.

The cities of the world too are very different, the culture differences are diverse and some of the best hotels in the world are in the Far East, they offer exceptional value for money, excellent service and you are guaranteed sunshine.

Choosing a hotel is a hard decision, the glossy brochures or Internet sites have so many to choose from and making a wrong decision can ruin the holiday.

All great cities have a stunning 5*/6* hotel to show off it’s economic success, the mention to a friend that you have stayed at Raffles, Peninsula, Banyan Tree, Four Seasons makes even the most reserved person become a little envious.

Dubai however has gone one better, it not only has building projects creating accommodation in the shape of islands of the world, construction projects visible from space this once desert oases now the home to the worlds largest building site can congratulate itself on it’s stunning world class 7 Stat Wonder the amazing Arabian Tower – Burj Al Arab.

This hotel which I have not stayed in I must add but have indulged in afternoon high tea, it a masterpiece.

This mega structure can be seen wherever you are in Dubai, it’s unique design which was iconic, it’s designers knew they had to build something that would be recognisable instantly, as all landmarks and monuments they all share the same common fact, when you see a picture of it you know instantly what it is, the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Pyramids, so to put Dubai on the economic map a dream was born to ensure it’s survival when the oil runs out the tourists and residents will have a true legacy built on sand.

It’s construction was so problematic it tested its engineers, architects, builders, electricians to the maximum, the size of the engineering project was huge this would be a structural nightmare to pull off, it would have to be tested not only from sea damage as it is built on it’s own man made island but also earthquake damage too as part of the Arabian Gulf lies on a fault line.

On completion this magnificent structure stood proud on the coastline marking a new beginning in ground breaking design and planning of this beautiful Dhow shaped wonder of the world.

To get to the hotel you drive along a man made bridge so if you want to take a good photo of the Burj do it before you start the bridge, this hotel is so huge it will never fit in the photo. On entering the marble foyer a huge waterfall is there and an escalator takes you to the bar and seating area, this is a rich mans paradise where the ellite mix of wealthy westerners meet sheikhs in white robes who have just landed via private helicopter on the helipad.

The race is on to build an 8 star wonder, but for now the crown is safe Dubai wears it well!