The Burj al Arab (or Arabian Tower) hotel is built in the shape of a modern yacht sail to reflect Dubai′s seafaring heritage combined with a modern aspect moving forwards into the future. It accommodates 202 one, two and three bedroom suites.

• The Burj is 321 metres high and is the tallest stand-alone hotel structure in the world.
• The Burj is built 290 metres off the Dubai coast on a triangular, man made, landscaped island with sides of 150 m in length built off the sea bed in 7.5 metres of open sea.
• The gross area of the Burj al Arab is 1.2 million square feet with 28 double height space floors, each floor is 7m high.
• A gently curving road bridge links the island (which is some 450m offshore) to the Dubai mainland.
• The island is protected by special hollow concrete armour units. These present a perforated sloping surface to the sea that absorbs the waves without throwing water onto the island.
• The concrete structure, with exposed diagonal steel wind bracing, is triangular in plan founded on 250 concrete piles which penetrate the sea floor to a depth of more than 40 m.
• The accommodation wings enclose two sides of a huge triangular atrium that runs up the full height of the accommodation floors. The third side, facing the shore, is enclosed by a double skinned, Teflon coated woven glass fibre screen; the first time such technology has been used vertically in this form or to this extent.
• Dicroyic lights illuminating the exterior of the hotel in varying colours throughout the night.
• The atrium is the tallest in the world at 182 metres high.