$1.5B Dubai ‘Super Hotel’ Opens Its Doors on Palm Island

The latest in Persian Gulf excess has finally had its ribbon cut: a $1.5 billion resort that boasts a $25,000-a-night suite and dolphins brought in from the South Pacific, all of which mind you, is atop a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree.  A favorite target of criticism from environmentalists, Palm Jumeirah island and the newly-opened Atlantis hotel now has analysts wondering if the current global financial turmoil will dash Dubai’s big hopes for tourists.

Standing strong, the 113-acre resort is among the city-state’s biggest bets that tourism can help sustain its economy once regional oil profits stop flowing.  “You don’t build a billion-and-a-half dollar project just anywhere in the world,” said Alan Leibman, president and managing director of Kerzner International, the hotel operator that teamed with Dubai developer Nakheel on the resort.

With its own oil reserves running dry, Dubai remains hopeful in its attempts to lure those eager to make money and those who know how to spend it, even as much of the global economy continues to sour.  A key piece of the strategy has been to cultivate an image in the West as a sun-kissed tourist destination despite its intense summer heat, conservative Muslim society, and lack of historic sites.

Among the daring projects are an indoor ski slope, the as-yet-incomplete world’s tallest skyscraper and a growing archipelago of man-made islands such as Palm Jumeirah - the smallest of three such projects planned.  Much of the focus at the Atlantis, modeled on a sister resort in the Bahamas, is on ocean-themed family entertainment. The resort has a giant, open-air tank with 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures and a dolphinarium with more than two dozen bottlenose dolphins flown in from the Solomon Islands.

The hotel’s top floor aims squarely at the ultra-wealthy. A three bedroom, three bathroom suite complete with gold leaf, 18-seat dining table is on offer for $25,000 a night.  “Palm Jumeirah in and of itself will become one of Dubai’s major tourist attractions,” said Joe Cita, chief executive of Nakheel’s hotel division.  And so far, demand appears strong. The Middle East had the highest hotel occupancy rates in the world during the first half of the year, with Dubai leading the region at over 85 percent.