Only in Dubai can this EVER happen...

You're looking at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai, also known as The Palm. It cost $1.5bn to build. Its location is almost as extravagant as the hotel itself - it is situated on a man-made sand island in the shape of a palm tree:

It has got 1373 'spacious' rooms (and I don't doubt that) and 166 suites. The 'Lost Chambers Suites' is literally among the aquatic life. A night at the hotel's best suite will set you back an odd $20 000 or so. That is, if you have that sort of spare change... (but that room does have a gold-leaf 18-seat dining table, so it's worth it).

Check out the Poseidon Suite:

I think it would get unsettling at night... not to mention scary sharing your space with sharks and stingray.

We all know that Dubai is the up-and-coming global city, with the rate of construction rivalling and even exceeding those budding urban centres like Shanghai. Those people in the UAE just can't pump out those multi-billion buildings fast enough... Other construction ideas include an indoor ski slope, the world's first 7-star hotel, more man-made islands, and the world's tallest skyscraper.

Anyways, back to the Atlantis Hotel, their opening gala on the 20th November was reputed to cost upwards of $30m - the world's most expensive private party where 2 000 of the world's celebrities were invited. (Hello Kylie, who got paid $4m to perform for one hour) It also involved a $6m fireworks display and the party guests were given free accommodation.

Of course, the Atlantis isn't only a hotel... It's a mini playground.

Here is the Leap of Faith waterslide - looks pretty hardcore to me...


And after you've been catapaulted down the Leap of Faith, you enter the inner tubes of a shark-infested lagoon... on the inside looking out...

One word.... WOW!!!! How very once-in-a-lifetime...

But that's not all the marine life... Here in the Dolphin Bay, you can have 'shallow-water interactions' (sounds fishy... no pun intended) with two dozen bottlenose dolphins, specially flown in from the Solomon Islands. I'm not joking. Apparently this caused a lot of controversy. (I wonder why... would it be the 30hr flight?)


And if you feel like eating, rather than interacting, their Ossiano restaurant offers great views of your next meal.

This is part of their giant open-air tank with over 65 000 fish and other marine species.

And this is the Atlantis Spa, where you can unwind (if you haven't already been doing that while being catapaulted in a shark-infested lagoon, that is)

The Atlantis Hotel - my next holiday destination. (What recession?!)

~ Hurley Who?