This week was inaugurated Atlantis, the luxurious hotel located on an artificial island shaped like palm. This new structure from 1000 and one night has cost the beauty of a billion euros and will host 1539 inside rooms where the price is truly dizzying, in fact we move from 300 euros per night per room as it more simple “, Up to 18,500 euros per night of the” bridge suite “with its 900 square meters, consisting of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a living room with tables in gold.

The real news, in addition to 17 restaurants, conference centers and boutiques that surround the resort, however, is represented from a water park, located in the building and hosting 65,000 fish and a Dolphinarium and mega slides for the fun of great and small, but all this has already triggered the anger of many environmentalists involving serious damage to the reef.

The Emirates Palace resort in Abu Dhabi has announced a Million Dollar Travel package that it promises “incarnates pure opulence.”

Along with first-class airfare and seven nights at a giant suite at the Palace, the package includes:

Chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi.

Daily spa treatments.

Day trip in private jet to Iran where you’ll create your own Persian carpet with the country’s most-exclusive and best-renowned hand-maker.

Day trip to Bahrain in private jet for “a pearl deep sea experience,” with the pearl then hand-designed with jewellery settings.

The Emirates is hoping the trip gets it a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records. But it turns out that Leading Hotels of the World has its own ode to opulence. Its $1 million Around the World in 80 Ways trip, which plays off the storied journey of Phileas Fogg, “lets travelers recreate the 19th-century around-the-world fantasy experience with 21st-century comfort and flair.”

The 28-night trip starts in London and, along with stays in top hotels in 12 destinations, includes:

Camel safari and hot-air balloon ride in Dubai.

Dinner for two at Le Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.

A specially prepared dinner by Chef Oberoi in his studio in Mumbai, along with cocktails on the Taj yacht.

A traditional Japanese tea ceremony in Tokyo.

So as not to seem totally indulgent, both Emirates and Leading Hotels plan to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.

Emaar Properties has recently made public its intentions to build the largest fountains in the world that will overshadow Bellagio’s and be the centerpiece of the Downtown Burj Dubai project. The fountains will be capable of shooting water over 500 ft (150 meters) into the air (the height of a 50 story building), 900 ft (275 meters) in length and will have a surface of over two football fields.The project is estimated to cost around $218 million and will be 25% bigger than the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas that currently hold the record for biggest fountains in the world. The fountains that are yet to be named will feature 6,600 lights and 50 color projectors, creating a visual spectrum of over 1,000 different water expressions. 22,000 gallons of water are expected to cycle through to it at any hour of the day.

The fountain that will be operational in 2009 will be located next to Burj Dubai, the world’s largest building and next to the Dubai Mall, one of the largest shopping and entertainment centers in the world.

Background Information to the United Arab Emirates and Dubai: -

Dubai is one of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE); it is located in the Middle East. The UAE borders the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf and is situated between Oman and Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971 by the then ‘Trucial States’ after their independence from Britain.

The UAE is governed by a Supreme Council of Rulers, the council is made up of the seven emirs and they appoint the prime minister and the cabinet for the country. Despite being ultimately ruled by the Supreme Council, as with the other six states, Dubai maintains a large degree of autonomy from the UAE when it comes to general decision making for the city’s development.

Oil was first discovered in the United Arab Emirates in the 1950s, before that the country’s economy was built on fishing and pearling, since 1962, when Abu Dhabi became the first of the emirates to begin exporting the oil, the country’s economy has been completely transformed. (more…)