Rath checks in: Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi

My journey begins in the Emirates Lounge in Munich. The first service check: 30 different relevant magazines, two types of champagne, plus Pinot Blanc, Riesling and a red Italian to choose from. Five different dishes prepared à la minute, the choice of desserts is gourmet.

I’m a frequent guest in the Lufthansa lounges: both airlines operate in the same area and both have similar ticket prices. If I have a choice, I will choose Emirates.

My destination this time: Abu Dhabi (in German it means “father of the gazelle”), the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Like the entire United Emirates, the emirate of the sandy desert stands for immense wealth and monumental construction projects.

My hotel is the legendary Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi. It was opened in 2006, cost three billion (!) euros and has 2000 employees from 50 countries. Under the experienced General Manager Michael Koth, it has been a successful Mandarin Oriental for several years. Koth has the exciting task of leading the former Kempinski house into new dimensions. So much in advance: He succeeds.

I enter the monumental reception hall and feel like a sultan in his palace. Everywhere, really everywhere: gold. I later learn that more than 6,000 square meters of space here is covered with 22-carat gold leaf. Even my “room key” looks like a valuable gold coin.

The magnificent Emirates Palace is one of the largest luxury hotels in the world – and one of the most expensive ever built. The immense building complex has a circumference of 2.5 kilometres, the imposing archway at the hotel entrance alone puts the Brandenburg Gate in the shade at 40 meters in height.

The Emirates Palace: A hotel like a sultan’s palace

On the way to my suite, I notice that the house smells of roses. More than 10,000 are freshly decorated every three days. Later I hear: More than 1000 crystal chandeliers hang in the rooms. The interior with the gold coverings and lots of marble and precious woods looks truly majestic.

The hotel is nestled in around 100 hectares of gardens, which directly adjoin the 1.3 kilometer private sandy beach. After the long flight I go to the spa in the hotel garden. I really like the Moorish style; here, as everywhere in the huge park, I always find my own little oasis of calm under one of the mighty palm trees over the next few days. The relatively small number of guest rooms for the size of the hotel makes this possible.

In the evening I explore the extensive gastronomic offer of the Emirates Palace. From traditional Arabic restaurants to trendy international fusion cuisine, everything is available.

In the Martabaan you can get to know the diverse Indian cuisine from its most diverse side. Now I’m even more looking forward to my trip to India in a few weeks. I was particularly impressed by the Hakkasan with its authentic and modern Chinese cuisine, which I know from the parent company in London on Hanway Place. Here I am sitting in a kind of wooden cage that is illuminated with blue glass and surrounded by a stainless steel frame. The exciting ethnic design on an area of ​​16,000 square meters is complemented by inspiring soundtracks and the flavors of Cantonese. In addition to Martabaan and Hakkasan, guests can dine at nine other restaurants.

All of Emirates Palace’s 302 rooms and 92 suites have a terrace or balcony. The offer includes an omnipresent 24-hour butler service. My suite offers spectacular comfort: the magnificent lounge with chandeliers, embroidered silk fabrics everywhere and the finest marble, a bathroom with a whirlpool function in the XXL marble tub. I have a spectacular 180 degree panoramic view of the sea from my balcony.

What really impresses me these days at the Emirates: every detail, no matter how small, is designed to give me a somehow perfect time here in the house – every wish is read from my lips.

By the way: With all the superlatives and the special level of this house, with clever online research and outside of the high season, you can still find a relatively cheap room rate.

I drive to the current main attraction of Abu Dhabi, the Louvre. Yes, exactly: The Louvre Abu Dhabi has been the first official branch of the famous Parisian museum since 2017. The permanent exhibition here includes more than 600 works of art in 23 different galleries. Plus: 300 masterpieces on loan from French institutions. I am fascinated by this Orient Louvre version and stroll past works by Monet, van Gogh, da Vinci and Matisse. Incidentally, Guggenheim is already building a branch in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi is a dazzling, fairytale city in the midst of the ever-rising Arabian world. This trip to 1001 Nights intoxicated and sensually charged me. When do you ever sleep in a hotel where it feels like everything that glitters is actually gold – and which is itself one of the country’s greatest sights?

Rath’s travel rating (current rating in bold)

1. Explicit Travel Warning
2. Better than under the bridge
3. So-so, not oh, là, là
4. Complaining at a high level
5. If only it were always like this
6. Great cinema

1001 Nights insider tips:

Sightseeing flight: Discover Abu Dhabi’s unusual topography, historic sites and stunning architecture from above by seaplane.

desert trip: Rub’ al Khali, in English “the empty quarter”, is the name given to the impressive desert landscape with dunes and salt lakes outside of Abu Dhabi, which is a must-see. The endless sandy desert, the largest in the world at more than 255,000 square miles, is considered one of the least explored places on earth. The Liwa Oasis is particularly worth seeing. Recommendation: book a quad and cruise through the desert.

Bar: The exclusive wine bar La Cava is located below the Hotel Rosewood on the island of Al Maryah. A spiral staircase leads to the stylish bar with more than 1000 of the most expensive wines in the UAE.

Excursion 1: Anyone interested in Formula 1 should visit the most modern racetrack in the world. The two-hour guided tour of the Yas Marina Circuit Abu Dhabi takes you behind the scenes of Formula 1 and to places that are otherwise only accessible to racing drivers and teams.

Excursion 2: The fascination of racing with its history and rapid development can be discovered in the huge Ferrari theme park in Abu Dhabi. Spectacular: the fastest roller coaster in the world and lavish interactive exhibitions.

Attraction 1: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with over 1000 ornate columns, 82 domes and the largest carpet in the world. It weighs 35 tons and was made by 1200 artisans in Iran.

Attraction 2: The ornate, gold-adorned Qasr al Watan Presidential Palace, the seat of the Cabinet, is open to visitors.

About the author: As a former grand hotelier and operator of the Travelgrand.ch travel platform, Carsten K. Rath is a professional globetrotter. He travels to all the hotels he writes about for the Handelsblatt on his own account. Rath is the brain behind the ranking “The 101 best hotels in Germany”, whose partners include the Handelsblatt.

Carsten K. Rath, Rolf Westermann: The 101 best hotels in Germany.
Institute for Service and Leadership Excellence AG
521 pages
34.90 euros
ISBN: 978-3033088719

Rath is also the author of the book on the ranking. The next edition of the book will be published with the cooperation of the Handelsblatt at the end of November as part of the publication of the next ranking of the 101 best hotels in Germany.

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