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It has been a great start to 2004, one way or the other, though already most of the New Year's resolutions have been well and truly broken. At least that's one thing we could be relied upon to do! Of course the list was pretty predictable; eat and drink less, exercise more, and for this year to travel more. Well the last wish we've already started to fulfil, having just returned from a fantastic week in Dubai, but in doing so we ended up breaking the other resolutions! Well the food was just so good, and in booking full board it was pointless in being so disciplined and show restraint! Anyway, I made full use of the superb sports facilities with a couple of hours in the gym each day. I'll report on the holiday a little further on, and have lots of photos to include.
I thought on the drive up along the M42 that the flashing lights were particularly festive until I realised that they were speed cameras picking us up as we merrily sped along. Normally the motorways are so busy that it'd be an impossibility to exceed the limit, which has been set at 50mph and enforced by no less than 10 cameras. Anyway, to date I haven't received a fine so I'm assuming the film in the camera was used up, as every single vehicle was setting them off! Mum provided us all with a super traditional meal, and the conversation was lively, with the latest update on the children's education proving most informative…I mean, in our day the R.E. lessons taught us about Jesus & Co., now it involves differentiating between a transvestite and transsexual, apparently!! (and I won't say what Rachel had to learn to do with a condom and a banana!) We went down to London and stayed with friends for New Year's Eve, having a super dinner party and later going down to a night club where we were all packed in like sardines on the dance floor. The following day we lunched around the corner at 'The Berkeley' Hotel, and later headed off back home. It's really convenient that the city is only a couple of hours away from us here in The Cotswolds, and we like to travel down there regularly as we really enjoy London town. We were back again the following week to attend the London Boat Show which for the first time was staged in The East End around Docklands. With the extra space, new venue, and fronting the waterways, it seemed a great improvement on the ageing Earls Court, and allowed the bigger boats to be displayed on the water. We were very well received on the Sunseeker stand, meeting up with at least a dozen of the staff whom we've dealt with in the past. They are all a great crowd and the company is going from strength to strength. Back in 1987 when we took delivery of our first boat, the Rapallo 36, it was their flagship model. Sixteen years on, and that would be their starting boat now, and they are currently taking orders for a massive 4 decker 135ft motoryacht, with numerous other equally big projects in the pipeline. We dined in the evening with two of the staff currently setting up the official Sunseeker Yacht chartering division which is a service in demand both by the purchasers of the larger boats who wish to seek some return on their investment, and the likes of us who are boatless but would like to enjoy a Sunseeker again without the hastle and work of ownership. (all the pleasure without the pain!) Having stayed over again with friends in Belgravia, we had a really interesting day joining them in househunting around the capital. First port of call was a newly completed glass and steel block of apartments fronting The Thames. 'Just look at the view!' the estate agent proclaimed as we looked out on the muddy shore of the river, edged in debris, with the modern MI5 building over the water against a dull sky as the backdrop. Those glorious views across the azure Mediteranean from our clifftop villa in Spain suddenly seemed a long distant memory! As we walked around the £4m penthouse complete with it's mimimalistic interior design, we wondered exactly who could be attracted towards such a purchase. Afterwards, the traditional detached villa that we all viewed on Holland Park seemed much more feasible with the only snag being the £12m pricetag! (Well, it did come with a garage!) During the Christmas period we were slumped in front of the T.V. watching an interesting programme on the construction of the World's most luxurious hotel, namely The Burj Al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It looked a fantastic building and has become an internationally renowned architectural icon due to it's amazing futuristic appearance, standing 1,000 feet above the sea and shaped as a sail. We immediately thought 'We must go!' and encouraged by great reports from our two immediate neighbours who had spent the last Christmas there, I was soon surfing the internet for a deal on a week at The Burj. First of all we looked at an atlas to see exactly where Dubai is. Next I found out that 'Emirates Airlines' fly direct each day from our local airport, and finally confirming prices for a super suite in the hotel, full board, limo service and first class flights, all that was left was to choose a date, so with credit cards at the ready we decided on the following Monday for a week which would take in Dennis's birthday on the 14th January. The airline sent a chauffeur to collect us from the house mid morning, which excluded the usual hassle of parking the car and dragging the cases to the nearest shuttle bus at the airport, and so starting any trip in the wrong frame of mind. Instead we were dropped off by the check in and taken to the First Class lounge for the short wait for the flight, which turned out to be really enjoyable. With 7 hours to pass, we watched a film, ate a lovely meal, drank good wine, sobered up with bottles of water, and stretched out in the armchair seats. Arriving at midnight local time, a Burj Al Arab hotel representative met us at the airport, fast tracked us through customs, and saw us to the white Rolls Royce Silver Seraph which was waiting complete with chilled towels and iced water. We were driven through the modern city and along the coast to the Jumeirah Beach resort where the Burj stood out in the distance, illuminated by a multi coloured light show, looking in reality as fantastic as the architectural fantasy that it was designed to be. The hotel entrance features the World's tallest atrium, with the 27 duplex floors towering each side of the inner void filled with dancing fountains, the perfect arced spouts of water jumping down the tiered steps of coloured stone. Primary colours from the rich carpets and mosaic marble and tiles of gold created an atmosphere of opulence. Anyway, I think it's about time to illustrate the Burj with some of the many photos we took to better describe the hotel.
The hotel sits in the sea on it's own man made island, approached by a causeway. The white Teflon façade of the atrium resembles a billowing sail, whilst the dark glass suites occupy the corners. The disc perched up at the top is the helicopter landing pad, whilst from the other side a large horizontal wedge 'slotted' in to the centre of the tower seems to pivot precariously, and is, in fact, the principal restaurant, offering an amazing panoramic view of the city and coast, 1,000 ft below.
These night time photos were taken whilst we were dining at The Jumeriah Beach club. The colours were constantly changing whilst flashing spot lights ran up and down the exterior pillars. Here are another 4 shots of the bizarre exterior before we show you around inside.
Incidentally, I thought I had my work cut out cleaning the windows at home, but the job pales into insignificance compared to the acres of glass at The Burj. Whilst we sunbathed on the poolside terrace, we could see the window cleaners abseiling precariously around the wedge of the restaurant in order to give the panoramic windows a wipe over!
Now lets have a look at the interior, starting with our bedroom suite.It must be one of the most comfortable and well appointed rooms we've ever stayed in. The double height marbled lobby had a sweeping staircase that led up to the principal bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. Meanwhile, downstairs was a study, complete with laptop computer, fax and printer, a bar, open plan dining room and lounge with plasma screen cinema T.V. also doubling up as a computer. A portable control panel operated everything from opening the curtains to calling our butler. The decorations were very colourful as in the foyer, again with mosaics and patterns of marble and plush carpet covering the floors, and lots of gold detailing on the walls. We even had a large mirror on the ceiling above the beds(!) which the butler informed us was to reflect the 'feng shui' movement of the waves 20 floors below.
We enjoyed the room enough to want to stay in after our evening meal and watch a film rather than propping up the bar too long, and in fact the overall quality of the whole hotel, it's amenities, and especially the staff really encouraged us to remain there and centre our stay around the Burj and The Jumeirah Beach resort within it's group, rather than participate in some of the tours on offer, so the camel ride and dune buggying will just have to wait until our next visit there! There's lots to report on the country and city of Dubai but first I'll complete the tour around the hotel, with some photos of the luxurious gym and spa facilities. Well after a massive buffet breakfast, another massive buffet lunch each day, and the substantial evening meals, it was only natural that we hit the gym each afternoon for a couple of hours!
The first photo was taken from the foyer looking up the atrium at the 27 floors above, whilst the others illustrate the indoor pool on the 18th floor which also accommodated the men's and ladies' separate gyms, spas and beauty and therapy rooms. Next I think we should mention the food. Well, it was all fantastic; the variety, the quality, the service and the locations. For breakfast we had the choice of a buffet outdoors overlooking the pool and sea, or the more formal dining room inside. I tended to start with a plate of freshly cooked assortment of fish, followed by full fry up together with a fillet steak, and finished off with pastries and toast. For lunch we chose to 'dine around' at various other restaurants within the extensive resort, including fabulous buffets at 'Beachcombers' at The Jumeirah Beach hotel and amazing curries and Thai style food at 'Al Muna' at the newly opened Mina A Salam hotel nearby. As for dinner, we experienced the European cuisine of 'Al Muntaha' in the spectacularly located 'wedge' at the top of the Burj, for the first couple of nights, including Dennis's birthday, when the chef presented him with a chocolate cake. During other nights we dined outside in the balmy evening on the beach with the illuminated hotel as a backdrop, but saved probably the best meal for the last night when we experienced the underwater seafood restaurant of the Burj, called 'Al Mahara', complete with it's floor to ceiling seawater aquarium. I was closely watched all evening by a rather aggressive looking moray eel who seemed to disapprove of my close proximity! The 5 course meal was exceptional and a perfect end to a wonderful week there. Well there's plenty more to report than just the food you know! What about The Shopping, Wild Wadi Water park, and the city itself with it's futuristic developments. First we'll cover the Wild Wadi, a super family water park complete with two dozen different water rides, and yes, we tried the lot! (and the bruises to prove it too!) The adventure park is situated on 12 acres immediately next to The Jumeirah Beach, another top luxury hotel within the group that is shaped like a massive wave. With it's dozen restaurants, every sports facility, clean wide sandy beach and even a marina, it's another superb venue to stay and just across the causeway from The Burj. During the morning the Park even simulates a sudden thunderstorm with torrents of water flowing down the rocky outcrops, and we're even rained upon to cool us down. As for the rides, they were excellent. I tried a spot of surf boarding on the wave machines but didn't last too long on the board, so we took to the inflatable boats that were shot upwards through the rapids by water jets before descending through the funnels and troughs and down to the starting position. Here are some photos taken at The Wadi Park.
Such is the unusual sight of these buildings, we couldn't help but try and get them in to every shot, as you can no doubt see from the above! The last photo of 'The Wave', (Jumeirah Beach Hotel) was taken from the indoor pool at The Burj Al Arab, 18 floors up.
As for Dubai city itself, well it's recent development is quite an achievement. You could almost describe it as The Las Vegas of The Middle East but without the casinos. Everywhere is manicured. The gardens and in particular the lawns are something else; an example of just what can be achieved with the right planning , foresight and investment. Formerly barren desert, the late Sheik Maktoum had the vision to create a progressive modern, almost 'Westernised' country, investing in the best infrastructure that money could buy, hence the abundant and reliable supply of water, electricity, communications. Some of the current building projects are almost outrageously ambitious, including a totally underwater hotel, the World's future tallest building, numerous more 5,6 and 7 star hotel projects on the go, and an amazing island shaped as a palm tree stretching miles out to sea and built from the rocks of a mountain excavated from Iran and shipped across The Gulf! On this reclaimed land are to be no less than 40 new hotels, a dozen marinas and hundreds of private building plots, with every one already sold. The shopping 'is to die for' so we were told, and so for one morning only we ventured in to a substantial shopping mall where every top quality brand in the World was represented, plus hundreds of quality jewellery shops. For anyone 'into' shopping, Welcome To Paradise! As for us, we bought a refill for my 'Mont Blanc' ballpoint pen and then retired back to The Burj for lunch! Boats are more our thing, and so on another excursion we had a look around the new marina just down the coast, and discovered yet another amazing new development. The principal marina already sheltered many 'megayachts;' and an inland waterway led to an area currently heavily under development to provide a harbourside village of hotels, apartments and shops. Here we are wandering around the port.
We also found time to explore other hotels stretching along the beautiful beaches, including the Royal Mirage, surrounded by beautifully cultivated gardens and in the style of a traditional Arabian Palace, complete with tented tables around the inner courtyards in which to dine under the starry night sky.
Well, overall we can't recommend the whole place highly enough as a destination for a wonderful holiday, but must find time to mention the superb staff that made our stay at The Burj and adjoining venues so enjoyable, including Suzanne who was in charge of taking care of all the guests need on our floor. We told her about this imminent newsletter and our website, so we hope you don't mind, Suzanne, that I include this photo I managed to take of you without your knowledge!
The return flight to Birmingham was as enjoyable as the outward bound journey, and with the Emirates chauffeur waiting at the airport on our arrival, the homecoming was trouble-free, and we returned to 'Oakfield' by early afternoon with plenty of time to get the washing machine on and make a tea of eggs and bacon! Over the last week we have been tidying up around the garden, getting the borders nice and clean for the arrival of Spring, though apparently a cold front with snow is due any time from tomorrow. This Friday we are heading down to London again to join up with friends for dinner, but before then we are having our first helicopter lesson with instructor arriving on the back lawn in a new Bell Jet Ranger. We'll let you know how it all goes in the subsequent newsletter, but for now we'll write off by sending our Best Wishes to everyone. Colin & Dennis. |
