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Review / Is Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal really the world’s ‘most ultra-luxury’ hotel? We review the Palm Jumeirah resort where Beyoncé made her comeback, home to Michelin-starred chefs Heston Blumenthal and Nobu

The newly launched six-star Atlantis The Royal is the epitome of Dubaian decadence, focused on offering luxury experiences. Photo: Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
The newly launched six-star Atlantis The Royal is the epitome of Dubaian decadence, focused on offering luxury experiences. Photo: Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

  • Atlantis The Palm helped put Dubai on the global map, and now its new sister venue promises to take luxury to another level – even Beyoncé gave a private performance at the ritzy resort’s launch
  • With its distinctive architecture and chic beach clubs, Atlantis The Royal ushers in a new era of sophistication in the notoriously gaudy city – but can 2023’s biggest hotel opening really deliver on its own hype?

“Does Dubai really need another Atlantis?” mused more than one UAE-dwelling friend when I shared the destination of my coming holiday. They had a point – on paper at least.

Since its opening in 2008, Atlantis The Palm has proved perhaps the most enduring icon of distinctly Dubaian decadence, its unmistakable fairy-tale arches looming hazily in the distance some 7km out to sea, crowning the head of the man-made Palm Jumeirah (arguably, only the famed “seven-star” Burj Al Arab boasts a more renowned outline).
Atlantis The Palm is the older sibling of The Royal, resembling a Disney compound from yesteryears. Photo: Atlantis The Palm, Dubai.
Atlantis The Palm is the older sibling of The Royal, resembling a Disney compound from yesteryears. Photo: Atlantis The Palm, Dubai.
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But 15 years is a long time in the lifespan of “the world’s fastest city”, and while the all-new Atlantis The Royal sits snugly next door to its older, bigger sibling, it represents a very different, and much evolved, vision of luxury.

The architecture

Atlantis The Royal boasts a distinctive outline indeed. Photo: Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
Atlantis The Royal boasts a distinctive outline indeed. Photo: Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

This is evident even from a comfortable distance – locals might joke that the hotel’s criss-crossing interlinked towers resemble a toddler’s tower of Lego blocks, but a second glance reveals Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates’ gleaming, teetering, wave-curving design as nothing less than an architectural marvel.

Imposing without being ostentatious, bold but beautiful, the 178-metre tall structure is stunning viewed from any angle – a spark of artistry in a city so often defined by gaudy designs that date like yesterday’s paper. If Atlantis The Palm’s Disney-esque glow spoke of Dubai’s childlike ambition, then Atlantis The Royal ushers a new era of sophistication.

A billboard on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, boldly claiming Atlantis The Royal as the most luxurious resort in the world. Photo: Rob Garratt
A billboard on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, boldly claiming Atlantis The Royal as the most luxurious resort in the world. Photo: Rob Garratt
Rob Garratt
Rob Garratt is an award-winning freelance writer with a specialism in arts and culture journalism. Career highs include interviewing Hollywood icons Martin Sheen, Liam Neeson and Werner Herzog, and music legends Quincy Jones, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock and Noel Gallagher. He previously served as chief production editor of all SCMP’s specialist publications, including Style and 100 Top Tables.