So the Burj Al Arab was opened in 1999 and up
until October of 2020, it wasn't open to the public,
only guests could come and stay here. But now they have an experience
where someone can tour for about $100 to see the inside of one of the world's
most iconic hotels. Once you enter, the first thing
you're given is rose water and a hand towel to freshen up
and get you ready for the tour ahead. Absolutely.
Thank you, sir. Thank you so much man. Appreciate you. Thank you. Yes. We're ready. Our Emirati culture is all about hospitality, we love to welcome our guests
and treat them like our own. And here at Burj Al Arab, it's an extension for that tradition,
but taken to the next level. So this is the tallest atrium in the world. It looks magnificent. Bring the camera up. So we're going to go up now
and take a look at the rooms, and it's important to know that there
aren't actually rooms, they're all suites. We're about to take the panoramic elevator
that gives you a 360 view of the ocean and surroundings of the Burj Al Arab. All right, so here we go. We're going up... here to the top in 46
seconds. That's amazing. Yeah, you feel a bit of altitude
pressure on the earlobes. So just have to give it a quick pop.
But we're good to go. Now we're about to go into the Royal Suite, and previously this was not open
to the public and this room here, this royal suite was $25,000 a night. Welcome to the Royal Suite, the jewel and the crown of Burj Al Arab. Please come in, I've been expecting you.
- Thank you. Well, hello. My name's Joanne,
and I'll be your royal suite butler. Nice to meet you.
- It’s my job to make you feel like a superstar so anything you may want or need, it'll be my pleasure to make it happen. It's really good to feel like a superstar.
- Of course. So how spectacular is our entrance hall? It’s amazing, it's beautiful. I love our impressive
golden marble staircase, and if you look up our 24 karat gold plated ceilings, and even our walls. But also your own private elevator.
- Oh! Because why use the stairs, right? Oh. Boy, do I feel fancy! So we're headed into the living room,
get ready for a burst of color. You weren’t joking when you said it's a burst of color like it just hits you. The Royal Suite is filled
with antiques and artworks from all over the world,
just like our Japanese screen right here. I'm about to sit on the royal
couch, right? Yes.
- Yeah. How does it feel?
- It feels nice. Have you ever seen a gold TV?
- No. Please let me show you. We have a 24 karat gold plated TV.
- Of course. Can I touch it?
- Yes, please. So this is what “rich” feels like. It was custom made for the Burj Al Arab,
so I'm pretty sure there's no Netflix on it. So it's kind of worthless now. It’s a gold TV.
- That’s true, but it could’ve got Netflix though. Also in the meantime, I'll head upstairs
and pack your bags and run you a signature scented Hermes bubble
bath. A Hermes bubble bath?
- Yes. How does that sound? A bubble bath is not enough. We got a Hermes bubble bath. All these carpets are handmade
all the way from India. So this hotel was opened in 1999,
and what you're seeing is the complete original setting that has been unchanged
since the day it opened. Now, about that Hermes bubble bath. Yes. We’ll be headed upstairs now. So now we're heading to the majlis area. And the majlis is technically
the sitting area where people greet guests and they all come to sit and relax. Oh wow.
- Yes, very obvious. It's very pink.
- Very pink. Are we going to open it together?
- Yes. Would you like to help me? What are we opening to?
- The Queen's bedroom. Oh, so this is where the Queen goes to bed. Oooh yeah. This is our Queen's bedroom.
- Beautiful. And we have unique materials sourced from all over the world. Just like on our fabric walls, The Queen's.
- The Queen's bed. And look up.
- Oh there's a mirror! They say a person should be able
to admire their beauty from the moment they wake up to the moment
they fall asleep. Salama you could get your beauty sleep here. So I promised you a bubble bath,
so let's see how it's coming along. Great.
- Super. It's ready. Oh, a bubble bath. Here you can indulge
in your signature scent by Hermes. At what point can I take the bath? That is a Leah question. This is not part of the... No.
- Oh, okay. Alright, I’m sorry. And you're not allowed to touch the robes, Khalid. I know you had your eye on it. We've only just seen the Queen's Room. We obviously have to go and see the King’s room. So there is somewhere for the king to stay.
- Of course. All right.
- Would you like to see your room? Thanks for calling me the king. It’s good. I'm not even the king of my own house.
(pained laughter) In our King's Room, you’ll find we have more hand-stitched gold on our fabric walls. Sourced from the archives of the best fabric houses in Europe. And you'll notice our TV is set into the ceiling. However, if you ever get tired of
what's on TV, you simply rotate your bed at a touch of a button. A rotating bed for the king. You’ll notice there's no mirror on top,
but there is one just behind the bed. Ooh! And then you get a view of the palm
right there. This is gorgeous. Feels great. So now we're in the King's bathroom, and there's -- ooh! You see that? It’s like it knew I was coming. Is there an automatic bidet as well? Oh, there’s the bidet.
- Yes. And they have the infamous golden shattaf.
- Yes. This is...
- 24 karat gold plated shattaf. Are you serious?
- Yes. Everything you see that is gold is 24 karat gold plated. So when it comes to eating, where do we eat here, ini this Royal Suite? Let's look at the dining room. Oh, wow. So right now we're at the royal dining table where upto twelve guests could be hosted
and everything is perfect. Everything is in place.
Everything is pristine. Important topics could be talked
about here, like the economy. Yes.
- Or politics, or... If pineapple should be on pizza. I mean, we all... it's a lifelong debate. Now we’re going to the experience suite,
which gives us a lot of history of the Burj Al Arab, of the guests
that stayed here, of how it was built, why it was built. What went into
it. This is the exciting stuff. So now we’re in the architect's studio,
and we're going to take a look at the very first sketch
that was made of the Burj Al Arab hotel that was originally called the Chicago
Beach Hotel. The interior architect was a lady called Khuan Chew, and this is where she did
all her design work. And here you can see
the materials that were being used in the room where they were being tested
and researched. And here we've got some of the sketches. It says there “Chicago Beach Resort development”. Before it was called the Burj Al Arab. The 24 karat gold plates that they used. This bolt that you see in front of you
weighs as much as a Mini Cooper car. That's how heavy it is.
- Oh wow. We had to bring it in. Hoist it up. The Burj Al Arab is actually built
on a manmade island, and the island itself took two years to build
and the hotel took three years to build. So in total, it took five years
just to get the reclaimed land in place. For those who don't know, a lot of iconic
things have happened in the Burj Al Arab,
more specifically the helipad. And we're going to go in here into... There's a full on Formula one car
right in the middle of a hotel. David Coulthard did donuts on the helipad. Crazy, right? And we have a lot of the other
memorabilia. Tiger Woods,
when he hit a golf ball off the helipad. Andre Agassi and Roger Federer's tennis rackets
when they played tennis on the helipad. So there we have a picture of the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and we have his son, the crown prince, Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum “They say the sky is the limit for ambition. We say the sky is only the beginning.” When you set limits for yourself
or for anything you want to do in life, then khallas, that's the bar. Like,
you never think beyond that. But if you just think
anything is possible, what can be achieved
when you think that way? I mean it's a beautiful quote to live by. This iconic building was the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, and it was all based on
“What can we have in this country...” And we're talking about 1999, the 90’s. What can we have that’s iconic? That when you think about
like the Sydney Opera House or any of these monuments
that are just known within a city that when you go to that city,
you have to see it. And that's
where the vision of this came up. And we are a country
when we talk about the history and where we were and what we've become. It's all about vision, believing in that vision and working hard
every day to bring it to life. And this is a testament to that. So it's a very strong reminder
of the power of vision and belief in what you're trying to do. And to me, that is what this tower,
this hotel, and this landmark represent. So there you have it.
Inside the Burj Al Arab. Much love, and God bless. So apparently to go on the helipad,
you need security clearance. I accept that. So here's my suggestion... let's do it and then see what happens. Can you hold yourself up against
10 to 15 security guards? Yes. Dubai.
