Atlantis, The Palm

Atlantis, The Palm stands on the outer crescent of the Palm Jumeirah, the artificial island off the coast of Dubai, with the city skyline behind it across the water. It opened in 2008 as the first resort on the Palm and is still the largest, a hotel of 1,539 rooms built around a waterpark, an aquarium and a strip of private beach. Among the luxury hotels in Dubai it is the one built for families and for events on a very large scale.

History

The resort was developed by Kerzner International, the company founded by Sol Kerzner, with the Dubai developer Nakheel, on the model of Kerzner's Atlantis in the Bahamas. Construction began in 2006 at the centre of the Palm's crescent, reached by a vehicle tunnel under the sea and by the Palm monorail. The hotel opened to guests on 24 September 2008 and held its official opening on 20 November 2008 with a firework display over the Palm that was reported around the world, weeks into the financial crisis that slowed Dubai's building boom.

In 2013 the Investment Corporation of Dubai took full ownership of the resort, with Kerzner continuing as operator. A second resort, Atlantis The Royal, opened beside it in 2023.

Architecture and design

The building is a pair of pink towers joined by a central arch, 23 storeys high, in a style that borrows from the Bahamas original: domes, turrets and sea motifs on a very large scale. The arch frames the Royal Bridge Suite, which spans the two towers. The lobby, under a dome, holds a tall glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. The Ambassador Lagoon, an aquarium tank of about eleven million litres, forms a wall of the lobby and of the Lost Chambers, a sequence of galleries themed on the legend of Atlantis.

Rooms and suites

The 1,539 rooms and suites are divided between the East and West towers, most with views of the Gulf or of the Palm and the Dubai skyline. The Underwater Suites have floor-to-ceiling windows directly onto the Ambassador Lagoon from the bedroom and bathroom. The Royal Bridge Suite in the arch is the largest.

Dining

The resort has more than twenty restaurants and bars. Nobu serves Japanese cooking, Bread Street Kitchen is Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, and Ossiano is the fine-dining room built against the aquarium wall, where tables face the fish. There are further restaurants for seafood, Italian and Middle Eastern cooking, several buffets, and bars on the beach.

Wellness

The spa has treatment rooms and a hammam, and there is a large fitness centre. Aquaventure, the resort's waterpark, is included for guests and has grown to cover around 22 hectares with slides, river rides and a beach, and the Lost Chambers Aquarium is home to about 65,000 marine animals. Dolphin Bay and Sea Lion Point offer encounters with marine mammals.

Weddings and events

Atlantis, The Palm has one of the largest conference and banqueting complexes in Dubai, with a ballroom, a conference centre and outdoor venues on the beach and lawns, including the Asateer tent used for Ramadan and large galas. It hosts weddings of several hundred guests, product launches, incentive groups and its New Year's Eve celebration, one of the most attended in the city.

Location

The resort is at the top of the Palm Jumeirah crescent, reached by the Palm monorail from the Gateway station at the base of the island or by road through the undersea tunnel. Count about fifteen minutes by car to Dubai Marina, about 30 to Downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa, and around 40 to Dubai International Airport. The nearest Dubai Metro station is at the foot of the Palm, connected to the monorail by a short walk.