Review Atlantis the palm Dubai: you never want to leave

This is one of Dubai's iconic structures, along with the Burj al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel or Burj Khalifa the world's tallest skyscraper.

Located at the tip of the palm tree, that is, the complex built in the middle of the sea whose silhouette is visible only from the sky.

The two wings of the structure have 1,400 rooms, with the most exclusive suite costing more than 10,000 euros per night. A truly unique resort that houses an aquarium, a water park, a dozen restaurants (including a three-star Michelin) and others run by chefs of the caliber of Nobu, Ramsey or Locatelli, the current judge of Masterchef.

In addition to those in the water park, guests have access to a swimming pool in the central part of the facility and, of course, plenty of beach with sun beds, cabanas, and all sorts of other amenities.

The hotel is so vast that in order not to get lost, guests are given a map to help them get around safely.

The new Atlantis the Palm is under construction and will be a completely different design located a few hundred meters from the current hotel. If all goes well, it will open for the opening of the Expo in Dubai in October 2021.

When the two facilities are operational they will enter the Guinness Book of Records with many records: the largest water park in the world, the number of restaurants within a hotel ,the number of starred restaurants within a hotel, and who knows how many more.

Reservation

Atlantis has its own loyalty program, but in this case I booked through the American Express travel portal taking advantage of the offer that allowed immediate cashback of €100 against a minimum spend of €300.

I opted for an Imperial Club room, and the benefits proved particularly attractive.

The cost of the final reservation using also Payback points and a 150 euro voucher included in my American Express Platinum was only €240 per night compared to an initial cost of €549.

Probably if only the stars of the restaurants were counted, at the very least it would be a 10-star hotel.

Check-in

I landed from London at 8:30 a.m., and by 9 a.m. I was at the hotel.

Upon my arrival at Dubai airport, as I exited Terminal 3, I went to the Atlantis arrival lounge where an attendant took my luggage and escorted me to the car that would take me to my hotel, a journey of about half an hour.

The lobby is huge, it couldn't be otherwise, and the check-in/out lines can be similar to those at an amusement park on a very high season day.

In my case, however, I was able to take advantage of one of the privileges of Imperial Club guests. Guests who choose this type of room can proceed directly to the dedicated lounge to check in and skip the queue.

Formalities hurried in 5 minutes. The anti-covid protocol requires that each room be sanitized and then left empty for at least 24 hours before being occupied by a new guest. So although it was only 9 a.m. I went straight up to the room even though normally rooms are made available after 3 p.m.

The room

My room was on the 12th floor with a view of the open sea, to say huge does not give the idea.

The bathroom? A mini-bath, with a sliding tub wall that allows you to take a bath while admiring the endless blue of the Arabian Gulf.

Excellent mattress and choice of pillows. The 60" TV seemed small in such a large room.

Also convenient is the work space lit by the full-height window. In other parts of the world, there would be 3 rooms in the same space.

In the room I found a fruit basket, numerous bottles of water, an Illy coffee machine, as well as the classic kettle and tea selection. Also appreciable was the package of surgical masks and a small container with sanitizing liquid.

Imperial club, what it includes and why it's a bargain

As mentioned my reservation included upgrade to "imperial club" services, rooms without this kind of benefit had a lower cost of about 80€.

In detail, the services offered are:

• Chaffeur service to and from the airport with a hotel car. To have a term of comparison, a cab from the airport to the hotel costs about 100/115 aed (20/25 euros)
• Access to the Imperial Club lounge with dedicated check-in area and all-day dining and drinking from breakfast through evening apericena. Alcohol included.
• A room upgrade if available
• A basket of fresh fruit in the room on the day of arrival
• Two spa treatments for the price of one. The savings is about 800 aed (€180), but may vary depending on the massage you choose.

In such a facility, lounge access amounts to a kind of all-inclusive. Impossible to put a value on the service, but this type of room saves on breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and, if one is content, even dinner, while also being able to drink excellent cocktails or wine by the glass unlimitedly.

It is clear that the savings far outweigh the difference in room cost, whether staying with a couple or a family with children.

Example savings for a couple staying 1 night:
Transfer to/from airport 40€.
Breakfast, lunch, drinks and appetizers 100/150€
Two spa treatments 160€

Beach and swimming pools

The hotel is in the middle of the sea, and the beaches are very long and very white, facing both the open sea and the mainland.

Available to guests then is the central swimming pool, surrounded by huge loungers, canopies, or megalets.

Then there is the small water park for children near the main pool.

The water park and aquarium

One of the special features of the Atlantis is that it offers its guests, and outside visitors, a huge water park and aquarium. In the case of the aquarium, it is also possible to dine "underwater" in the three-Michelin-starred Sorisso restaurant.

The interesting thing is that all guests are given free access to both facilities, for each night of stay one access is given. The low season ticket costs about 65€ per person, so again it is a benefit that allows you to "discount" the price of the room.

The water park has many attractions from the most adrenaline-pumping to children's attractions,. Hotel guests can use the pools and children's areas without limitation, while access to slides and other attractions in the park requires a hotel-provided wristband or purchase a ticket.

The aquarium is also a little gem and, being inside the hotel, contributes to the unique "Atlantis" experience.

The facility also offers two even more exclusive facilities. The first is Dolphins Bay, the aquarium's outdoor pool where children and adults can swim together with dolphins. The second is Sea Lion Point, which is the opportunity to play in the water with sea lions.

Last but not least the third "optional extra: the chance to dive together with the divers inside the main tanks of the aquarium among all the fish.

The SPA

Covid-19 regulations have also arrived in Dubai, but at the Atlantis they have decided not to close the SPA but to limit the number of people who can access the various services.

The hotel has two areas, one for male guests and one for female guests. The two areas are connected with treatment rooms. They range from classic massage to cryotherapy. There is also a barber shop and a hair salon service for women.

Restaurants

There are more than 10 restaurants throughout the facility, from the most renowned such as Gordon Ramsey's Bread Street Kitchen, Nobu, and Ronda Locatelli.

There are restaurants also in the water park, a brasserie, and many other corners to eat.

Separate discussion deserves Ossiano, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant that is in the middle of the aquarium and allows dining in a unique setting.

In conclusion

This facility does not fit the definition of a hotel, much less a resort. Let's say it is comparable to some hotels in Las Vegas or Macau, although it lacks (at the moment) a casino (gambling is still illegal in the Emirates).

Here is my advice: if you are passing through Dubai, spend two days and one night at this hotel. If your flight arrives early in the morning, it might be an ideal choice to "acclimatize to Dubai" before moving to a more central facility. Conversely, if as is often the case, your return flight is in the late evening, it might be ideal to move here on the morning of the penultimate day of your vacation to take full advantage of the two days and enjoy all aspects of this incredible wonder.

• trip to Dubai