Review / Is Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal really the world’s ‘most ultra-luxury’ hotel? We review the Palm Jumeirah resort where Beyoncé made her comeback, home to Michelin-starred chefs Heston Blumenthal and Nobu
- Atlantis The Palm helped put Dubai on the global map, and now its new sister venue promises to take luxury to another level – even Beyoncé gave a private performance at the ritzy resort’s launch
- With its distinctive architecture and chic beach clubs, Atlantis The Royal ushers in a new era of sophistication in the notoriously gaudy city – but can 2023’s biggest hotel opening really deliver on its own hype?
“Does Dubai really need another Atlantis?” mused more than one UAE-dwelling friend when I shared the destination of my coming holiday. They had a point – on paper at least.
But 15 years is a long time in the lifespan of “the world’s fastest city”, and while the all-new Atlantis The Royal sits snugly next door to its older, bigger sibling, it represents a very different, and much evolved, vision of luxury.
The architecture
This is evident even from a comfortable distance – locals might joke that the hotel’s criss-crossing interlinked towers resemble a toddler’s tower of Lego blocks, but a second glance reveals Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates’ gleaming, teetering, wave-curving design as nothing less than an architectural marvel.
Imposing without being ostentatious, bold but beautiful, the 178-metre tall structure is stunning viewed from any angle – a spark of artistry in a city so often defined by gaudy designs that date like yesterday’s paper. If Atlantis The Palm’s Disney-esque glow spoke of Dubai’s childlike ambition, then Atlantis The Royal ushers a new era of sophistication.
