Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United Arab Emirates / Dubai / Jumeirah Burj Al Arab
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab
Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Jumeirah · Grand Luxury
Tom Wright of WS Atkins sketched the building's sail form one evening on a napkin at the old Chicago Beach Hotel in 1993; the resulting 321-metre structure, founded on 230 concrete piles driven 40 metres into the seabed of an artificial island 280 metres offshore, opened 1 December 1999 as a deliberate national landmark. Its translucent PTFE fibre-glass façade, the world's largest cloth wall, acts as a solar shield by day and a projection screen by night. It holds a 2025 Michelin Two Keys.
- 202 rooms
- Opened 1999
- Neighborhood: Umm Suqeim
- Architect: Atkins; Tom Wright
- Interiors: Khuan Chew (KCA International, original interiors); John Carolan (KCA International, original interiors); Tristan Auer (2020s restoration)
About Jumeirah Burj Al Arab
- The tower's non-occupiable 39% of interior volume exists purely to maintain the proportions of the sail silhouette.
- The island was built first, construction started 10 July 1994, and took three years to secure; 230 concrete piles, each 40 metres long, were driven into shifting Gulf seabed sand before a single floor of hotel rose above sea level.
- The PTFE glass-fibre façade is technically the world's largest tensile cloth wall: it shields the 180-metre-tall atrium from direct desert sun during the day while becoming a projection surface for colour shows after dark.
- The helipad at 210 metres above ground has served as a tennis court (Roger Federer vs Andre Agassi), a boxing ring, a car race track, and the launch point for the highest kite-surfing jump in history, a use profile no other hotel helipad can match.
- Interior designer Khuan Chew, also responsible for Madinat Jumeirah's Al Qasr, created 26 two-floor duplex suites, each occupying a full slice of the building's V-shaped floor plan; the least expensive costs several thousand dollars per night.
History
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab opened on 1 December 1999 as a purpose-built luxury hotel and has become one of Dubai’s defining architectural symbols. It was conceived from a 1993 sail-inspired sketch and developed by Jumeirah as an ultra-luxury showcase for the city. The building’s dramatic sail form and private-island setting turned it into a global icon of Arabian hospitality. Forbes Travel Guide notes it has been temporarily closed for renovations, and the hotel continues to be presented by Jumeirah as a flagship property.
The setting
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab rises from its own artificial island 280 metres offshore in Umm Suqeim 3 — built from 1994 on the former Chicago Beach site, named for the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company that welded oil tanks here in the 1960s. Designed by Tom Wright and opened December 1999 as a deliberate national landmark, the 321-metre sail-shaped tower is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. Wild Wadi Waterpark is seven minutes on foot, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel thirteen minutes along the shore, and Madinat Jumeirah fourteen minutes by taxi.
Restaurants and bars
- Skyview Bar — Bar · Bar
- Gilt — Bar · Bar
- Bab Al Yam — Restaurant
- Al Muntaha — Restaurant · French · One MICHELIN Star
- SAL — Restaurant · Mediterranean
- Sahn Eddar — Restaurant
- Ristorante L' Olivo at Al Mahara — Restaurant · Italian
- Al Iwan — Restaurant
- Culinary Flight at Burj Al Arab — Restaurant
- UMA Bar & Lounge — Bar · Bar
Amenities
- swimming pools
- spa
- private beach
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
- Condé Nast Traveler Gold List (2025)
- Middle East's Leading All-Suite Hotel 2025 (World Travel Awards) (2025)
Open Jumeirah Burj Al Arab in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More Jumeirah hotels
- Jumeirah Al Naseem — Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
- Jumeirah Al Qasr — Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
- Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf — Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
- Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab — Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
- Jumeirah Mina Al Salam — Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
- Jumeirah Saadiyat Island — Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates · Grand Luxury
More hotels in Dubai
- Armani Hotel Dubai — Armani Hotels · Grand Luxury
- Atlantis The Royal — Atlantis (Kerzner) · Grand Luxury
- Banyan Tree Dubai — Banyan Tree · Grand Luxury
- Bulgari Resort Dubai — Bulgari · Grand Luxury
- Cheval Blanc Dubai — Cheval Blanc · Grand Luxury
- Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre — Four Seasons · Grand Luxury
Jumeirah in The Maison: the brand's idea, history and every house on the atlas.