On the 24th of September, Dubai opened it’s newest attraction – Atlants, The Palm – which is located on most of the top of the breakwater of the Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Jumeirah is currently the worlds largest artificial island, and is one of three palm shaped islands on the coast of Dubai, with the other two still under construction. There island consists of a trunk and 17 “leaves”, and a surrounding breakwater with a length of 11 kilometres. The construction of the Palm Island proposed a few environmental problems, with the original breakwater being fully enclosed, which would have presented major problems with the quality of the water surrounding the palm. There were also other problems with the prediction that marine life would disappear as a result of change in tides and water quality. The prediction proved to be wrong, as it is reported that more species of marine life had moved in to the area.
The Grand Opening cost approximately 20 million euro and the resort its self costing more than $1.5-billion US. More than 2,000 world celebrities were invited to the opening and was nicknamed “party of the decade”. The number of fireworks at the opening have been said to be seven times the amount of the ones they set off at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and apparently, were even visible from space.
Atlantis has 1,373 spacious guest rooms and 166 suites located in two pale rose towers, which is linked by a bridge. Within the bridge is a $35,000 a night suite that apparently has a long waiting list. The Atlantis hotel is a sister hotel to one located in The Bahamas. It contains the largest Waterpark in Arabia called Aquaventure, and an aquarium that holds 65,000 fish. Just some of Aquaventure’s attractions are the: “Leap of Faith” is a 27.5 metre near-vertical drop through a clear acrylic tunnel submerged in a shark-filled lagoon and “The Rapids”, with a length of 2.3 kilometres, it’s a path of a tidal river through a tropical style landscape, along with many more rides. Entry into Aquaventure costs AED285. Dolphin Bay is another of Atlantis’s attractions with three lagoons, where you can come up close and personal to the dolphins that are in them, which would set you back AED845 if you are a visiting guest. By early next year, Atlantis will have its own monorail stop, linking it to the rest of the Palm Jumeirah and connecting to the soon to be Dubai Metro.
You can watch a video of the Grand Opening of the Resort at Atlantis’s official website: http://www.atlantisthepalm.com
