Please guvnor, can I have some caviar? And lobster? And those little red round thingies? and...

I went to the Burj Al Arab yesterday for brunch.

If you're not familiar with the place, it's one of the most expensive hotels in the world (I think about $8000 a night). They charge you Dhs 250 (US $ 69) just to take a tour of the place. It's built on an island they created off the coast of Dubai. It looks like a sail, awesome looking structure.

This is one of those "gotta try it once" dealies. They do Friday only brunches at some "I can only do this once" rates.

We had to make a reservation a week in advance since the place tends to get full. We got a confirmation email and it included a bunch of rules that you had to follow at the place.

I’ve never really had to dress up for a brunch before. I wasn’t really sure what smart casual was, but I definitely wasn’t overdressed when I got there.

This is the hotel from the beach. Notice the white sandy beaches. Typical of Dubai ( and most of UAE beaches).
It's next to the Jumariah hotel (2nd most expensive hotel). What a bargain. Got left out of rich grand fathers will? It's ok, the Burj Al Arab might not take you, but then there is always the Jumariah hotel. But I digress...




Before you can get into the hotel grounds, the guy at the door will confirm your reservation. No idle strolling into the hotel. A security checkpoint for a hotel. Talk about feeling exclusive. I don't like this whole joining exclusive club thing. As the marx brother(I say brother because it was one of them that said, not all three), I would'nt want to join any club that would have me as a member.

Some views of the hotel...
This is the lobby area.




Here is where I had brunch.



Which explains the views below. The beaches look much nicer from here.


In the one above, you can see the almost complete Jumairah palm project, which is a series of man-made islands.


The view from our table (above).










This is the Jumariah Beach hotel I was talking about earlier


More inside shots...

The amount of luxury at that place was ridiculous. Got some really nice shots of the place from the top of the place. The restaurant was at the top of the hotel and you could see the ocean for miles from our table.

And then there was the food. So much food. From all over the place. From Lobster , clams, shrimp, sushi (alas no eel), 10 different imported cheeses, 10 local cheeses, lamb, roast beef, fois gras(never really did like the enlarged liver of a goose force-fed too much seed, too mushy and icky), caviar and the list goes on and on. Then there was a whole section dedicated for just desert. We must have sat there for 4 hours just eating.

Even though the place said no cameras, we saw a couple of folks walking about with video cameras taking in the view. I didn’t feel as bad about sneaking in with one anymore. So I would eat, let the food settle, roam the place to get some shots and then eat again.

That's some good brunching...