Although the claim as a seven star hotel is self-awarded (there is no official, independent organisation that awards hotels seven stars, and therefore no criteria to judge this claim by), it is highly unlikely that anyone would challenge the claim ? this is opulence at it's most extravagant. However, don't think that you'll be able to drop by and admire the place ? unless you are staying in the hotel, then you will need a reservation at one of the seven restaurants (made with a credit card, with a guarantee of a minimum spend of $100) to get in.

You will be impressed once you get in though ? the entrance lobby features two-storey high aquariums and dancing laser fountains. Each room within the hotel comes with its own butler, a grand marble staircase and a duplex suite. If you splashed out on a royal suite, then you will also get a rotating canopy bed and a private mosque! (This is the 'Tower of the Arabs' after all...)

The hotel also has the honour of being the tallest hotel in the world (verified this time), and they make the most of this by cantilevering one of their restaurants 600 feet above the beach. As with much of Dubai, which also features ski slopes in the desert and a set of man-made islands shaped like the globe where you can 'own' your own country, everything is done in the most extremely impressive way possible. Tourism is after all what this country hopes to rely on once it's (pretty sizeable) oil reserves run out.

If there is one thing you can guarantee, you will feel like you have been treated like an Emir for the duration of your stay and certainly never expect the experience. You just have to be prepared to spend your money as if you were an oil sheikh to get there!