Atlantis, The Palm is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis but includes distinct Arabian elements. The resort opened on September 15, 2008 as a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar.
Hotel
The 1,539 room nautically themed resort has two accommodation wings, consisting of the East and the West Tower, linked together by the Royal Bridge Suite. It is complemented by the Aquaventure water park and the Nasimi Beach, which frequently plays host to concerts and other events.
Development
Atlantis, The Palm, opened on 15 September 2008 as a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar. In April 2012, Istithmar acquired Kerzner’s 50-percent stake in the property for USD 250 million. The property continues to be managed by Kerzner International Resorts. The architect was design firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo (WATG) an international firm specializing in Luxury Hotels. The principle contractor for the project was awarded to Laing O'Rourke, a multinational construction firm based in United Kingdom. Laing O'Rourke was responsible for the design and construction phases of the 23-story hotel and water park.
Official launch
After the construction of the hotel carried out by Laing O'Rourke it was officially opened on 15 September 2008.
As part of the opening, a light show of moving images was illuminated onto the hotel. 100,000 fireworks, around seven times the amount that were used for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, were let off, lasting 15 minutes.
The display of fireworks across the full 5Â km (3.1Â mi) stretch of The Palm lit up the entire island and Atlantis, The Palm. Custom-made shells shipped in from across the globe created a light spectacle taking off from the 716 firing locations around the island, including 400 balconies at the resort. Display creator Fireworks by Grucci claims the display set a new world record, but records curator Guinness World Records has yet to announce the status.
Dolphin controversy
In October 2007, the hotel received a shipment of 28 bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands, to be used as part of their aquarium exhibit, called Dolphin Bay. The move was decried by several environmental groups, particularly for the fact that the export of dolphins had earlier been banned by the Solomon Islands government (after a similar controversial shipment to Mexico). Hotel managers have said that though the dolphins are being trained to interact with visitors, they will not appear in any sort of show or circus-like performance. They have also stated that the health of the dolphins is paramount, and because the bottlenose is not an endangered species, their shipment did not pose a problem. The deal was done with the approval of the United Arab Emirates and Solomon Island governments, through the company Solomon Islands Marine Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Limited (who had successfully overturned the earlier ban in court). The amount of money paid for the dolphins has not been disclosed.
Popular culture
- A task in the sixth leg of The Amazing Race 15 took place at its water park. The 14 team members had to slide down the resort's Leap of Faith water slide, which dropped them along 60 m (200 ft) and 30 m (90 ft) down an 84° incline and through a tunnel beneath the aquarium's shark lagoon. After retrieving the clue at the bottom of the exit pool, teams had to search the water park for a beach located near a lagoon, which was the sixth pit stop in the race. However, only 13 team members made it down the slide, as one of the team members, Mika was afraid of heights and water, and she and Canaan were eliminated.
- In 2009, an episode of The X Factor was partially filmed at the hotel, with Dannii Minogue using it to choose which female contestants joined her in the live shows.
- In the video game Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, mission 7 takes place in Dubai, in which one can fly through the hotel gates to get an achievement. The achievement will give 10 Gamer score points to the player on Xbox 360 and a bronze trophy on PlayStation 3.
- Bollywood film Happy New Year, directed by Farah Khan starring Shah Rukh Khan, has been shot almost entirely at the Palm. The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Sonu Sood, and Vivaan Shah and released on October 24, 2014.
- In 2016, three season 3 episodes of "The Real Housewives of Melbourne" were based at the Palm Atlantis. In season 3 episode 10 "Gossip Girl", there was a brief visit to the Royal Bridge Suite.
- In the news, Kim Kardashian West has been known to stay at the hotel.
Gallery
See also
- Dubai World
- List of hotels in Dubai
- Atlantis Paradise Island - similar looking Hotel by Sol Kerzner too
References
External links
- Atlantis, The Palm Official Site