Burj Al Arab Coastal Causeway Overlook
Why is it significant?
Stand at the entrance of the sweeping curved bridge that connects the mainland to the private artificial island of Burj Al Arab. Rising 321 meters, or 1,053 feet, above the azure waters of the Persian Gulf, this colossal monument is universally recognized as the global symbol of Dubai.
Key Facts
| Place | Burj Al Arab Coastal Causeway Overlook |
|---|---|
| Address | Jumeirah St & Burj Al Arab Bridge, Dubai, UAE |
| Geo Coordinates | 25.13850, 55.18650 |
| Part of Walk | Dubai: Madinat Jumeirah and the Burj Al Arab Coast |
| Generated | Generated |
Stand at the entrance of the sweeping curved bridge that connects the mainland to the private artificial island of Burj Al Arab. Rising 321 meters, or 1,053 feet, above the azure waters of the Persian Gulf, this colossal monument is universally recognized as the global symbol of Dubai. Inaugurated in December 1999, the hotel was designed by British architect Tom Wright of WS Atkins to mimic the billowing sail of a modern J-class racing yacht. Security checkpoints guard the private bridge, where a continuous fleet of white Rolls-Royce Phantoms and customized Mercedes limousines ferries VIP guests to the royal suites.
The engineering beneath this artificial island is a marvel of maritime construction: the island sits 280 meters offshore on 250 concrete foundation piles driven forty-five meters into the seabed. To protect the hotel from violent storm waves, engineers surrounded the island with a specialized honeycomb barrier of hollow concrete armor blocks that absorb wave energy without splashing. Near the pinnacle of the hotel, a cantilevered circular helipad projects twenty-four meters out over the open sea, famous for hosting exhibition tennis matches between Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
The hotel's interior, designed by Chinese-British designer Khuan Chew, represents the pinnacle of Arabian palatial extravagance. Over eighteen hundred square meters of twenty-four-karat gold leaf were hand-applied to the soaring interior columns, elevator cores, and vaulted ceilings. The central atrium rises one hundred and eighty meters through the core of the building—tall enough to comfortably contain the Statue of Liberty within its golden interior volume.
At night, external computerized spotlights project shifting geometric patterns onto the white fabric sail, transforming the building into a giant 321-meter canvas of light.
Walk east along Jumeirah Street for three hundred meters toward the colorful falcon gate of Wild Wadi Waterpark.