Atlantis

Atlantis Hotel

Dubai never ceases to amaze me. When we left I thought it could not get any more cutting edge than building a fully functional indoor ski slope or a hotel that boasts to have rooms for 100,000 bucks a night! But, in the few months we were gone, Dubai has produced places that are bigger, brighter, and more posh than anything they offered before.

One of those places is the newly opened Atlantis Hotel. Atlantis sits on the tip of the Palm Jumeirah, which is only one of the massive man made islands in Dubai. Before we left Dubai, we could only drive about a half a mile on the island and after a quick glance at our mere Honda MRV that was (gasp!) 2 years old, we were asked to turn the other way. Apparently, the island was only open for Ferraris, Porches, Bentleys, and other cars that cost more than most American homes.

The Palm

This is taken at the tip of the island. It took a lot of convincing from me to stop Axel from jumping that wall to go see what kind of fish were out there.

But, now that the Atlantis hotel is open to the 'public' (ie. those who are white and appear to have money), Axel and I enjoyed a very costly but delicious breakfast.

A very flattering photo of me eating and our grand consumption.

The entrance with Dale Chihuly art

The minute you walk into this hotel your jaw drops to the sparkling floors. It truly feels like you are under the sea. There are areas of the hotel that are open to the common folk (that I described above) and other's who have proof purchase of staying there for the night get to stroll the other unknown areas. Axel and I viewed the underwater aquarium containing a Whale Shark and many other impressive seawater creatures swimming around. They did a great job of making it appear like a lost city undersea. Incredible.

We then went to check out the water park with a clear water tube that passes through the shark tank. We didn't bring our bathing suits, which was a little disappointing. It was 75 dollars a pop, but I am sure it was worth it.

We finally strolled through the many posh stores. Most of the display models were wearing clothing that you would have to pay me to wear. The rich Russians that were there for a conference were not just looking, but buying, and lots of it.

As I drove away from the hotel I couldn't help but think of how different things are in Dubai. Dubai caters to those who have too much money and they don't know what to do with it. Believe it or not, Atlantis has a room (the area that connects the two large buildings together) for 1 MILLION DOLLARS A NIGHT! Who has that kind of money???? And why would they spend a million dollars to sleep in a bed and watch TV? I don't get it.

So, the next time you have a million dollars and you don't know what to do with it, you now know where to spend the night. Oh, and please invite me cause I told you all about it.

It is a small finder's fee, no?