Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

Burj Al Arab is the single most recognisable building in Dubai — a sail-shaped, all-suite landmark on its own island off Umm Suqeim, reached by causeway beside Madinat Jumeirah. Around two hundred double-height duplex suites climb twenty-eight storeys, each with a 24-hour butler, an attentive staff ratio of roughly eight to one, Hermès amenities, a seventeen-option pillow menu and floor-to-ceiling Arabian Gulf windows, rising to two Royal Suites with a private cinema and a rotating canopy bed. Dining spans the 27th-floor Al Muntaha from a Ducasse-trained kitchen, the underwater-aquarium Ristorante L'Olivo at Al Mahara, poolside Mediterranean at Sal, Arabic cooking at Al Iwan, afternoon tea in the soaring atrium at Sahn Eddar and 27th-floor drinks at the Skyview Bar and Gold on Twenty Seven. The Talise Spa keeps private treatment suites with an indoor infinity pool and a jacuzzi, while The Terrace adds two pools, thirty-two cabanas and a stretch of private beach. Arrival is part of the theatre, by chauffeured Rolls-Royce or by helicopter to the rooftop helipad. On a room-only or bed-and-breakfast basis, around 25 to 30 minutes by road from the airport, it suits couples and celebratory, bucket-list stays — the icon of the city.