How you can stay in Abu Dhabi’s most luxurious hotel

IT has seven stars and rooms comes with a personal butler. But it’s not as ridiculously expensive as you’d expect and there is a good reason.

Abu Dhabi’s seven-star Emirates Palace is the height of opulence — and not as expensive as you’d think. Picture: Leah McLennan

HERE’S a short quiz. Four questions.

Where can you stay in a seven-star hotel? Abu Dhabi.

Should you visit? Absolutely.

Why? Because accommodation doesn’t get any better than this. Plus, unlike the world’s other seven-star hotels, this one is not the exclusive domain of high-profile sports people, champagne-sipping celebrities and gold encrusted royals.

And finally. How much? Not much more than a night in a five-star hotel in Australia.

Yep, this is some pretty fancy stuff.

Welcome sir or madam to Emirates Palace, a place where the staff to guest ratio is 3:1, women guests are welcomed with a bouquet of roses and limousines are used like hotel taxis.

Yet despite the spectacular opulence — and unlike the seven-star Burj al Arab in Dubai — room prices do not kick off with four-figures.

It’s a seven-star wonder.

Lavish rooms at Emirates Palace start around $A440 a night.

As I sit down for lunch on the terrace of Le Vendome Brasserie, one of the palace’s elegant restaurants, hotel representative Mohammed Alaoui discusses how visitors can get the wrong idea about the palace.

Time for bed? Picture: Leah McLennan

“There is a misconception that Emirates Palace is only for rich people. That’s not the case,” he says.

“The hotel is the people’s palace and it’s not out of reach.”

SASHAYING INTO GOLD CLASS

Arriving at Emirates Palace is like stepping into an Arabian fantasy tale. Visitors enter through a formal garden and then the path sweeps upwards to the enormous, coral pink building.

At check-in, a man in a dishdasha offers a petite glass of rich, strong Arabic coffee and invites guests to pick from an enormous pyramid-shaped plate of dates.

Stepping inside the lobby. Picture: Leah McLennan

Once the ladies have their white roses, guests are then escorted through the lobby, which could be a tourist attraction in itself.

Looking up at the 70-metre high shimmering dome (measuring 42m across) you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a mosque.

The gold theme carries through to the rooms, which feature silk brocade sofas, a personal butler, Swarovski crystal chandeliers and bathtubs raised by marble steps.

Inside the hotel. Picture: Leah McLennan

Exquisite dining room. Picture: Leah McLennan

Some parts of the one kilometre wide, Abu Dhabi-government owned palace are off limits to everyday guests — there are six ruler’s suites reserved for Royal families.

Although these rooms are off limits, private dining at the palace is not the exclusive domain of the rich. Emirati restaurant Mezlai has three private dining facilities that you can use at no extra cost (try the 23k gold camel burger on a gold-dusted bun).

Inside the lobby. Picture: Leah McLennan

NOT OFFICIALLY 7-STAR

A masterpiece of Kempinski Hotel group, Emirates Palace is referred to as a seven-star hotel, however no such official rating exists.

“Emirates Palace is a five-star hotel,” Mr Alaoui said.

“There is no such ranking [seven stars].”

There’s a complimentary kids club so parents can relax.

Rumoured to have cost several billion dollars to build, this whopping price tag might seem out of step with the hotel’s returns. This is because the hotel wasn’t conceived so much as a profitmaking venture but as a way to put Abu Dhabi on the map.

And this is why guests who are not paid huge salaries can get their foot in the door.

So when is the cheapest time to visit the palace?

The water park is accessible to all guests.

“Summer [June, July, August] is the lowest season in the year and the rates are the lowest in this period,” Mr Alaoui said.

But if you can’t handle the heat, the shoulder seasons of April/May and September/October are also the times when rates tend to be lower than peak season.

Camels resting on your doorstep.

If you don’t stay at the palace you might need a restaurant booking to get in (depending on the volume of operation on the day).

“If you only have one hour at Emirates Palace, spend that hour enjoying the famous Palace Cappuccino,” Mr Alaoui said.

“Sprinkled in real 24k gold flakes, this is the epitome of indulgence at the palace. So making a reservation is always better.”

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*The writer travelled to Abu Dhabi at her own expense; in country she was a guest of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).