Atlantis The Palm Hotel, Dubai

The Atlantis Hotel in Dubai is the latest word in Gulf excess - a sprawling £800million resort boasting a £13,000-a-night suite and dolphins flown in from the South Pacific, all housed on a palm tree-shaped island. This stunning luxury hotel opens today and here are some pictures in all its glory.

The 113-acre resort on an artificial island off the Persian Gulf coast is among the city-state's biggest bets that tourism can help sustain its economy once regional oil profits stop flowing.
Much of the focus at Atlantis, modelled on a sister resort in the Bahamas, is on ocean-themed family entertainment.

The resort contains a giant open-air tank with 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures and a dolphinarium with more than two dozen bottlenose dolphins flown in, amid controversy, from the Solomon Islands.

But the hotel's top floor aims squarely at the ultra-wealthy. A three-bedroom, three-bathroom suite complete with gold-leaf 18-seat dining table is on offer for £13,000 a night.

Dubai's development has long been criticized by environmental activists, who say the construction of artificial islands hurts coral reefs and even shifts water currents. They point to growing water and power consumption.

An 1,800-seat theatre nearby will house a permanent Cirque du Soleil show beginning in summer 2011. 'Palm Jumeirah in and of itself will become one of Dubai's major tourist attractions,' said Joe Cita, chief executive of Nakheel's hotel division.

Boosting the number of attractions on the island will not only entice more visitors, he said, but also persuade them to spend more time and money in the city. By 2010, Dubai aims to attract a staggering 10 million hotel visitors annually, up from about 7 million in 2007. Atlantis alone will increase the city's hotel capacity by 3 percent.

Visit the Atlantis Palm Hotel website

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10 Stunning Boutique Hotel Suites

Here some of the coolest boutique hotel suites, rooms, and villas around the world that are designed around the idea of minimalism. Less if certainly more in these hotels!

Lute Suites, Amsterdam
These luxury boutique suites are created by Marcel Wander.

There are currently a total of seven 18th Century cottages that have been transformed into one-of-a-kind suites set along the Amstel River and all command spectacular views of both the river and the beautiful Amsterdam skyline. Each suite features a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom.
The Lute Suites are each an individual work of art with eye-catching wallpaper designs, huge windows, modern designs, and unique furniture throughout. One thing that can be said for sure about these suites is that they are unlike any hotel in the world.


The Racha, Racha Island
This premier island hideaway features 70 luxurious villas set on a pristine stretch of beach on Racha Island.

Even though The Racha Hotel is located far from the hustle and bustle of the big city, each villa is equipped with all of the modern conveniences and furnishings that you?d expect to find in a hotel located in a more urban setting.
Large spa tubs, brightly lit rooms with tons of natural lighting, sleek design schemes, indoor and outdoor showers, and even a private infinity pool in some cases, can be found at The Racha.


The Emperor, Beijing
This urban-themed hotel is one of China?s first, and it sits adjacent to the Imperial Palace.

The 55 rooms here feature a very pleasant facade which consists mostly of minimalistic stylings and modern furnishings. Much of the furniture is unlike anything else in the world with its smooth and curvy lines, which adds greatly to The Emperor Hotel?s overall impressive interior design.
The bright colour scheme and strategically placed mood lighting gives the hotel a very clean and almost futuristic feeling.


The Royce Hotel, Melbourne
The five star rooms here at The Royce represent luxury with a capital L.

The best of the best is the Royal Suite where there?s a 42? plasma, spa tub with LCD TV mounted on the wall, marble floors, huge spacious room, sleek contemporary furnishings, and much more. This room screams urban design with its sleek lines and its ?less is more? feeling throughout.

Hotel Unique, Sao Paulo
Hotel Unique?s 85 rooms and 10 suites are truly one-of-a-kind in terms of architecture and design.
The hotel uses smooth lines and geometric shapes throughout the design of this urban-themed establishment. From the curved wood flooring that resembles a skateboard halfpipe to the red tinted swimming pool, this hotel truly lives up to it?s name in every way.

Oscar Hotel, Madrid
This 75 room hotel in the heart of Madrid is decorated with colourful paint and fun furniture.
The rooms here are as smooth as silk, and the comfort level is always high. Each room sports a great view of the Plaza Vazquez de Mella. The Oscar Hotel is the definition of an urban, chic hotel.

Hotel Sezz, Paris
With an outstanding view of the Eiffel Tower high upon its hilltop location, Hotel Sezz is a classic hotel with an artsy facade and contemporary interior.
This hotel has managed to make it onto plenty of top 10 lists over the years, and for good reason. The design of Hotel Sezz is unparalleled with its chrome and leather-filled interiors, and its sharp lines and colours that do an awesome job of blending the past with the present. The high-end Paris hotel has a total of 27 guestrooms, and an unlimited amount of style.

Seekoo Hotel, Bordeaux
This cool hotel was opened in 2007, and the word ?Seekoo? means ?iceberg? in the Inuit language.
This modern hotel in the Bordeaux countryside is laced with clean lines and clever mirror effects, such as the black lacquer ceilings and clever inscribed writings on the bathroom mirrors. The white, black, and chrome minimalism throughout the rooms are accompanied by warm wood tones, slate, and soft chenille materials. The bed is even cool, as it?s in the shape of a circle.

Jeronimos 8, Lisbon
Jeronimos 8 Located right at the center of town near Lisbon?s major museums and monuments,
Jeronimos 8 is Lisbon?s first ever design and urban resort. One of this hotel?s minimalistic features is its colour scheme throughout the design, which features three main colours: Chocolate brown, Carmine red, and a relaxing cream colour.

All of the 65 rooms here have a calm, tranquil feeling about them. Lots of natural light, marble floors, calming water flowing outside, and awesome views of Lisbon from the sun deck are some of this hotel?s greatest features.

Puro Urban Oasis Hotel, Majorca
This chic hotel is located in the heart of Gothic old town and attracts guests in the jet-set, creative demographic. The elegant rooms here are very minimalistic in every way.
From clean lines, smooth geometric shapes, tranquil colour schemes, and lots of in-room state of the art technology, this place has got everything needed to be considered as one of the most slick and hip hotels in all of Majorca. Puro Urban Oasis has been described as a ?funky urban boho-asis for party people and hippy-chic fantasies? - if that?s not enough to tantalise the senses, then I don?t know what does. Rates here start at about 170 EUR.

Luxury Bus

A Luxury Bus that you won't believe until you see these pictures! Remember the bus off 'meet the fockers'? Well that bus has nothing on the luxury this beauty has to offer. Travel in sheer luxury in this cool bus. Check out the pictures.

Futuristic Luxury Hotels

The most futuristic hotels and concept hotels that are the future of the luxury hotel industry.

The fast changing modes of travel would certainly one day make a big dent on the hotel industry. Only those will survive who have something special to offer or, at least, I would never settle down at a place with belts of my flying car or jetpack intact.

The designers of the hotels of tomorrow, perhaps, have kept this in mind while creating futuristic hotels to lure the global nomads.

Here are ten futuristic hi-tech luxury hotels which are a living proof of the remarkable change we?re witnessing. Welcome aboard!

Commercial Space Station Skywalker:
The Inflatable Space Hotel

• Designer: Bigelow Aerospace, Las Vegas
• Location: 515-kms above Earth
• Status: The human space complex will be accessible by 2015
• Estimated project cost: $500 million
• Cost per person: $1 million a night

Certainly, we?ll have to stop this constant to and fro journey and make space our permanent base. And to make this a reality, the assembling of ?CSS Skywalker? kicked off with the launch of ?Genesis I? from Russia mid last year. Solar cells will power the inhabitable complex made of various sections that will inflate to take their real form in space. The sections or rooms of the CSS will allow rockets to dock. In future, the modules will be used as basis for space yachts and moon cruisers.

With a volume of 1,500.00 m3 and mass of 100,000 kg, the CSS Skywalker will have a maximum diameter of 30.00 m (98.00 ft).

The concept is a big challenge while it tests inflatable technology and fights to survive in hazardous conditions. Hope it?s made to face the wrath of the meteorites, though the hull of each module is made of three protective layers with an outer 18-inch-thick shield made of alternating woven graphite composite and foam to protect against orbital debris. (Photo Credit: CNet)

Galactic Suite
Designer: Xavier Claramunt of ADD+ARQUITECTURA
Status: On hold, prototype is ready

Designer Xavier Claramunt has tried to imbibe things especially to whet a adventurer?s dream with the Galactic Suite which will have around 22 rooms, measuring 7X4 meters, free of straight lines or angles and huge windows. It is termed as the first global project of its kind, next to Robert Bigelow?s space hotel. Different capsules will act as bars, restaurants, reception, and more. The prototype is still waiting for investors to shell out their fortunes to make this project a reality.

Aeroscraft
The flying luxury hotel of tomorrow

Designer: Igor Pasternak (Worldwide Aeros Corporation), Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG)
Status: Prototype under development

The ?Aeroscraft? is a gigantic 400-ton blimp designed to carry passengers in its spacious luxury cosmos onboard. The flying hotel with an area equal to two football fields hangs in air with 14 million cubic feet of helium, huge electric and hydrogen fuel cell powered propellers and six turbofan jet engines. The hotel can accommodate 250 passengers driving them at a speed of 174 miles per hour up to 6, 000 miles.

Flying 8,000 feet above in the air, the 165�244x647 feet airship will provide tourists hi-tech amenities including casino, restaurants and staterooms.

Designer Igor Pasternak has also plans to float a cargo-carrying version too once the project takes off. (Photo Credit: WATG)

The Lunatic Hotel
Hotel on the Moon
Designer: Hans-Jurgen Rombaut, Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG)
Status: Blueprint ready, will take real shape by 2050

Orbiting in space seems more thrilling but Moon brings in a nostalgic aura. Perhaps, the Lunatic Hotel concept will serve it all with spectacular views sprinkled with joys of low gravity and an alien feeling. Designer Hans-Jurgen Rombaut of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture in the Netherlands is quite optimistic to complete the dream project by 2050.

The ?sensation engine?, as the designer calls it, will allow tourists to indulge in low-gravity games with the help of two 160-meters high slanting towers. The towers will be equipped with teardrop-shaped ?habitation capsules? which will serve as spaceship like suits for tourists.

The 50-cms thick hull made of Moon rock and layers holding water will protect inhabitants from the harsh lunar environment including extreme temperatures and lethal cosmic rays and solar particles. If the whole concept comes out successful, we can expect a real lunar village too. (Photo Credit: NASA)

The Hydropolis
A self-acclaimed 10-star underwater hotel



Location: Dubai
Designer: Joachim Hauser, Crescent Hydropolis Resorts
Estimated project cost: $500-million

The Hydropolis Undersea Resort, especially designed keeping in mind that we?re around 60% water, endeavors to deliver the serene beauty of the ocean in its true colors. The one of its kind resort will encompass a whopping 1.1-million-square-foot of area offering shopping mall, ballroom, island villas, restaurant, high-tech cinema and surprisingly, a missile-defense system for your security 60-feet underwater.

Tourists can enjoy their stay in 220 theme suites within the submarine leisure complex. It is one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world, covering an area of 260 hectares, about the size of London?s Hyde Park.

The resort is designed with a petal-like retracting roof to organize open-sky events.

Around 150 firms are involved in the project, which is expected to complete this year if all technical, land, and financial challenges are met, but it?s delayed as per the latest reports. Following the line and determined of the success of the Hydropolis, Crescent-Hydropolis is now planning a chain of underwater hotels around the world.

The Poseidon Undersea Resort

Location: Fiji, The Poseidon Mystery Island
Designer: Bruce Jones
Status: Under construction, will be completed by September 2008
Estimated project cost: $105 million
Cost per person: $15,000 per week

Our pursuit of unique spaces now goes straight 1,200-square feet under the sea in the lap of Poseidon undersea resort. The world?s first underwater resort will be ready by the end of next year with breathtaking coral reefs where you can literally immerse yourself.

Surrounded by 5,000-acre lagoon, the Bruce Jones? Poseidon Mystery Island offers luxurious 550 square feet large suites.

Not only this, the Poseidon Resorts website says, ?the first 1,000 guests will have their names permanently inscribed on two monuments one on the island, and one on the floor of the lagoon.? Now, that?s incredible!

Tourists can indulge in submarine piloting, deep reef excursions, scuba diving, sea track on the sea floor, water sports, para-sailing, cave exploration, and much more.

Waterworld


Location: Songjiang, China
Designer: Atkin?s Architecture Group
Status: Concept

This spectacular design by Atkin?s Architecture Group deservedly won the first prize award last year in an international design competition. The 400-bed resort hotel features underwater public areas, guest rooms, cafes, and restaurants. The major attraction is the extreme sporting facilities including a luxurious swimming pool, rock climbing and bungee jumping.

What more to say, the pictures are screaming BLISS. (Photo Credit: TheCoolHunter)

The Hotel Burj al-Arab

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Designer: Tom Wright (WS Atkins PLC), Khuan Chew
Status: Complete
Estimated project cost: $650 million
Cost per person: $1,000 to over $28,000 per night, $75 to have a glimpse from inside

Considered, unofficially, the world?s first and only 7-star hotel, the Burj al-Arab is a truly the most luxurious hotel imaginable and hence we couldn?t help including it in this list of futuristic hotels, which also perhaps triggered architects around the world to look beyond the fence.

The tallest, 321-metres (1,053 ft), hotel, designed as a sail of a dhow, is constructed on an artificial island 280-metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach. The hotel boasts of the world?s tallest atrium, which is 180-meters (590 feet) tall.

The suspended helipad on the top adds to the grandeur of the hotel. The lavish interior skillfully mingles the best of design ethics from both the east and the west. The 8,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf and 24,000 square meters of 30 different types of marbles give the hotel an enigmatic touch.

The 28 double-story floors of the hotel accommodate 202 luxury suites with prices ranging from $1,000 to over $28,000 per night (for the Royal Suite). The hotel also features 8 restaurants, including bars and lounges, latest business, conferencing, fitness and recreational facilities. Carved in the midst of white beaches and the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf, the Burj Al Arab is a dream come true.

Foldable Hotel Pods

Designer: m3 Architects, London
Estimated project cost: $72 to $104 million

The foldable and fully transportable pods are for those traveling geeks who find it hard to shun all the amenities of their luxurious life. You can move the pods to exotic locations around the world and the amazing concept abodes will come with ?Active? walls and floors where guests can focus images of their choice and a disposable unit to care of all waste. (Photo Credit: m3architects)

The Apeiron Island Hotel

• Designer: Sybarite
• Status: Concept
• Estimated project cost: $500million

The ?Apeiron? island hotel is a seven star resort with a total floor area of 200,000m. It is 185-m high and boasts of over 350 luxury apartment suites.
The hi-tech futuristic hotel screams of luxury and comfort with its own private lagoon, beaches, restaurants, cinemas, retail shopping, art gallery, spas and conference facilities. Its out of the world design is magnetic enough to deliver a spell-bounded experience to visitors. (Photo Credit: Sybarite)

One last cool hotel to mention is the Diamond Ring hotel which is just a concept right now but looks impressive!

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