The Burj Dubai is now open!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Looking for new ways to get high? Skip the local street dealer, and book your flight to Dubai. Today, the Burj Dubai is open to the public, and the views from its 124th floor observation deck can’t be beat. Now the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai captures the spirit of its hometown – you know, trying to make Las Vegas look small and humble. Also, in true Dubai style, money gets you to the front of the line: pay a little more than twice the normal ticket price to get up to the observation deck faster.

If you want to stay in the tower, you’ll have to wait a little loner, though. The Armani Hotel Dubai – a luxury property which represents the collaboration between Giorgio Armani and Emaar Properties – won’t open until March 18, 2010. This will be the first in a series of Armani properties that will include hotels, resorts and residences around the world. Expect demand for these rooms to be palpable, so if you want to be among the first to stay in these rooms, book your stay in late January, when reservations will start to be taken.

The Burj Dubai opens on Monday as the tallest building in the world

by Scott Carmichael on

On Monday morning, Dubai developer Emaar Properties will take ownership of the tallest building in the world. Despite a brutal economic climate, and the very real chance that Dubai will soon be bankrupt, this 2,683 feet tall structure was completed in six years. With 160 stories, the Burj Dubai towers over every other building in the city.

Monday is also the first day that the general public will be able to visit the observation deck on the 124th floor. According to the developers, most of the spaces in the building have been sold. Just 37 of the 160 floors are for office space, the rest will house new Armani residences, and an Armani hotel will open later this year. A total of 12,000 people can live and work in the tower, though it is obviously unclear whether the current economy will force many would-be owners to change their plans.

As you can see from the video posted above – this building is immense. To put things in perspective – the Sears Willis Tower in Chicago is a mere 1450 feet tall, with just 108 stories. Skidmore, Owings and Merril are the architects behind the Burj Dubai, the same ones that designed the Sears Tower back in 1973.

(Via Luxist)

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Photo of the Day (12.19.2009)

by Brenda Yun on


Despite the recent news from Dubai stating its property and building crisis, the city is alive and well, and visitors like our faithful photographer jrodmanjr continue to have inspiring shots to offer us — like this one. Only in the Middle East can you snap a sunset like this one. That round, glowing sun lowering on the horizon must have been a sight to behold.

The dawn of a new decade is just weeks away, and while the sun will set on the beginning ten years of this millennium, there are plenty of beautiful things to look forward to.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!

Crisis in Dubai creating fantastic bargains for travelers

by Scott Carmichael on

After years of building new hotels at a record speed, Dubai is starting to pay the price for overcapacity. Hotel prices in this desert state have already dropped more than 25%.

The average price for a room used to be $305, and in just one month, it dropped to $230. This means that tourists coming to Dubai for a week can save over $500.

Of course, this all has to to do with more than a bit of hotel overcapacity. The recent news about the financial situation of Dubai is helping people consider the destination for their next vacation.

A similar thing happened when Iceland stood on the edge of total financial meltdown. Bad news for one country, means great bargains for others. Unless of course that country is the United States, in which case the government comes up with new and improved ways to scare tourists away.

The Dubai numbers come from the UK division of Hotels.com where they noticed a massive increase in search requests for Dubai hotels. Since Dubai released their doom and gloom financial news, searches for Dubai hotels increased by 570%.

Dubai always wanted to make its money from tourism (it doesn’t have much oil), so perhaps by turning into a budget destination, they’ll finally have their wish granted.

Photo of the Day (12-9-09)

by Jamie Rhein on
This photo titled “Peace” by jrodmanjr, the fellow who took it, is a lovely depiction of an alley away from the hubbub of a city. As he noted, time away from the souks in Dubai, the city with the tallest building in the world, was well needed.

In the comment section, he also gives details about why he framed the shot the way that he did. If he had moved the camera to the right, “the bright clutter, crates, and trinkets ended up to be too much of a distraction. “

As it is, we become the witness to the life of a man who reads in quiet repose.

If you have captured a quiet moment of repose, or any other sort of moment, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool, It might be chosen as a Photo of the Day