Part of the architectural brief was to design a building so unique that it could be drawn by hand in 5 seconds and be easily recognised.
The design can be seen almost replicated in Donald Trump's Ocean Club in Panama. In 2008 the contractor sought a court protective order to prevent the owners of the Burj Al Arab from threatening a lawsuit over the design.
The 182-metre high atrium takes up one third of the interior space. It is one of the tallest in the world.
The hotel is home to the Al Mahara underwater restaurant where diners are surrounded by a floor to ceiling aquarium.
This is the tallest operating hotel building in the world (not counting mixed-use buildings like Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai or the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea).
All the hotel's 202 rooms are two-storey suites, ranging in size from 170sq m (1,830sq ft) to 780sq m (8,396sq ft).
The Al Muntaha restaurant is located 200 metres above the Persian Gulf, offering great views of Dubai. It is accessed by a panoramic elevator.
The hotel has a total of eight restaurants and bars.
The building's design is influenced by the profile of an Arabian sailing ship.
The building's external lighting schemes, from white light to a multicoloured one, change from one to another every 30 minutes expressing the evening's progress.
Burj Al Arab is the world's tallest structure with a membrane facade.
A 24-metre (79-foot) wide helipad projects from the building 210 metres above the ground.
The 'Assawan Spa' is situated on the 18th floor.
'Burj' is Arabic for 'Tower'.
From Burj Al Arab it takes roughly 17 minutes to drive to Dubai Mall, 12 minutes to Palm Jumeirah and 18 minutes to The Walk JBR.*
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is roughly 25 minutes' drive and the new Al Maktoum International Airport is roughly 40 minutes' drive.*
The map below shows the location of Burj Al Arab and just below are summaries of the nearest attractions, parks, beaches, golf clubs and cinemas.
Burj Al Arab has many schools nearby including Raffles International School at 1.0 km and Raffles World Academy at 1.1 km.
In terms of performance there are six schools nearby that have achieved either of two highest government inspection rating of 'Very Good' or 'Outstanding' including Kings' School Dubai which has a rating of 'Outstanding' and GEMS Wellington International School, Dubai which also has a rating of 'Outstanding'.
We've partnered with LadiesNightDubai.com and BrunchCrunch.ae to give an overview of the current Ladies Nights and Brunch offers in the vicinity of Burj Al Arab.
Explore communities that are either adjacent or close to Burj Al Arab.
Images depicting the initial concept designs for Burj Al Arab.
Projects often go through a number of design revisions as they progress and developers may or may not honour their original plans when it comes to architectural designs, amenities and landscaping. The images below are provided as a means to compare the original plans with the realised development.
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