A Peek into the Future of Dubai

by Justin Glow on

Today, the city of Dubai announced it has purchased the Queen Elizabeth 2, “one of the world’s most majestic cruise liners,” to convert into a luxury hotel. The QE2 will be completely renovated and parked at the world’s largest man-made island, Palm Jumeirah. The restoration process will stay true to the original design of the ship, and a museum will be built inside to educate visitors on the liner’s legacy.

What’s else in store for the booming city of Dubai? Here’s a quick rundown of current, future, and conceptual projects in the United Arab Emirates’s oasis in the desert.

We talked about it earlier today, but the outrageousness of the resort complex dubbed The Cloud makes it worthy of another mention. Nadim Karam, a Lebanese architect, presented this resort-in-the-sky concept at the International Design Forum in Dubai last month. The actual resort will resemble a cloud floating 300 meters in the air, with slanting support beams that look like sheets of rain. Take that, Sandals! [Stage: Concept]

Who needs Disneyworld when you’ve got Dubailand? Announced in 2003, this super-sized mega theme park (the builders prefer to think of it as a true city) will consist of six poorly named “worlds”: Attractions & Experience World, Retail and Entertainment World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Eco-Tourism World, Sports and Outdoor World, and Downtown, each containing a total of 26 “sub-worlds.” Downtown will feature the world’s largest shopping mall, called Mall of Dubai. Coffee lovers unite: the Mall of Dubai will eventually feature the world’s largest Starbucks. [Stage: Under Construction]

Bigger is better, and Dubai has its sites set on the sky with the Burj Dubai. When construction finishes in 2009, the Burj Dubai will most likely be the tallest “land-based structure” (which includes buildings and towers) in the world. Why most likely? “The projected final height of the Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition,” according to its Wikipedia entry. Makes sense — why announce an official height when you can just continue building if someone else announces a larger project? Clever. [Status: Under Construction]

Italian-Israeli architect, David Fisher, unveiled in April a 68-story “spinning tower” he hopes to see join the the Dubai skyline in the future. Unlike existing structures that have a single revolving floor (San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas comes to mind, among many others), “[e]ach floor would rotate independently, creating a constantly changing architectural form,” says the Wall Street Journal. This is by far the coolest concept building I’ve found, Dubai or not. It reminds me a bit of Jenga, only…you know…much cooler. [Status: Concept]

HotelChatter’s Best WiFi Hotels for 2007

by Justin Glow on

HotelChatter has released the 2007 findings in their annual search for the best wifi hotels. They boldly claim that the “hotel WiFi landscape has reached an impasse.” No longer is the list made up of hotels that simply offer free wireless, but instead hotel chains like Omni make the cut because they have fewer restrictions. “For instance, you can get free WiFi in the lobby, but in-rooms it’s ethernet and it starts at $9.95. Or you can get free WiFi in your rooms but you need to belong to a hotel’s loyalty program or be assigned a code with a special password.”

Topping the list is Marriot, whose Residence Inns, SpringHill Suites, and Courtyard “all have strong, free, fast, working wireless in the rooms and the lobbies.” The only thing keeping them from a perfect score is a lack of property-wide access — some Marriots are good, some are bad.

For the full report, head over to HotelChatter.

[via boingboing]

How Many of The World’s 500 Greatest Hotels Have You Visited?

by Willy Volk on

I’m not really into spending money on fancy hotels; I’d much rather spend my money on meals and entertainment. However, if you’re planning your Trip Of A Lifetime, and you’ve got some dollars to discard, you should check out Travel & Leisure’s list of the 500 greatest hotels. Sorted by region, the list is a veritable who’s who of the hotel-igentsia.

In addition to providing fast facts on each hotel, the list tips you off on which rooms are best and and which activities you’ve just got to add to your To-Do list. Moreover, the folks at T&L took the time to place all the hotels on Google Earth, meaning you can see exactly where your hotel is in relation to, say, Ngorgoro Crater or the Taj Mahal.

Though I haven’t slept at even one of the hotels on the list, I’ve eaten dinner at one of them; enjoyed high tea at another; walked the grounds of a third; and swam past a fourth. [Very, very important update: I’ve eaten dinner inside the Bellagio, too.] That means I’ve enjoyed exactly 0.08% 0.1% of the world’s finest hotels. Top that!

Oscar Tourist’s Guide To Eating And Accommodation

by Jonathon Morgan on

Chances are, you weren’t invited to the Oscars this year. But for those of you interested in celebrity watching, it’s a great time to visit L.A. If you do plan to visit Tinsel Town, here’s a few suggestions that should help maximize your star-studded vacation.

-Keep a camera on you at all times. You never know when you’ll bump into someone famous.

-Also, eat and drink like locals — most film actors and actresses live in L.A., or, at the very least, spend a considerable amount of time there. They’ll know the best places to grab grub — whether it’s fancy, or fast food. Try local arts and culture sites like LAist to get an idea of where everyone’s heading.

-When looking for hotels, don’t forget to book early. Especially if you want to stay close to the action, there’s very few rooms open to the public.

-Lastly, while it’s no longer an option for this year, keep in mind for future Oscar-themed visits that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences makes 300 bleacher seats available to the public for one week every September. The competition is fierce — over 10,000 people tried for this year’s seats — but it’s worth a shot.

And lastly, have a blast! You’re in L.A. for crying out loud.

Wag Hotels

by Adrienne Wilson on


Forget traveling with the kids. On my flight out from Jersey into Orlando I noticed unusually high numbers in canines on board and few children. Unless everyone flying in with their dog was heading home then they had to be taking their pet to some animal-friendly hotel, but where? Since I don’t have any pets, nor do I live in Orlando I didn’t exactly set out to find pet-friendly hotels in the Orlando area, rather just hotels catering to puppy and kitty in general. That being said, I bring to you Wag Hotels. Based out of California, this line of uppity, yet affordable pet boarding and kenneling, looks like a pretty nice place to take your pooch. During their stay at Wag Hotels pets will have the opportunity to play with other pets and make new friends all under the care and supervision of the extensively trained staff. Does your dog need a massage? How about a swim the pool or even a peaceful nap? Wag’s experts can see that it happens. In short, if you happen to be in the Sacramento or San Fran, CA areas or heading there make sure you don’t over look placing your pup in some average old pet-friendly haunt. Give them star treatment!