By DAHLI ASPILLERA

Burj Al Arab in Dubai is touted to be the most luxurious 5-Star hotel in the world. Its management insist that 7-Star is media-created. I disagree. If Burj Al Arab is 5-Star, then the Waldorf in New York, Wynn and Bellagio in Las Vegas are 3-Star hotels.

At 321 meters, it is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel.

It does not have rooms. It has two-story suites, the smallest of which is 169 sqm, and the largest, 780 sqm.

Its most luxurious suites average at $20,000 a month.

It stands in the sea on an artificial island 280 meters away from the beach in the Persian Gulf, connected to the mainland only by a curving path, so designed to allow guests maximum views of the fabulous surrounding panorama.

It is the only hotel built not for profit but to act as a landmark.

It was built to resemble the sail of a dhow (a Arabian boat ) and intentionally placed in such a way that its shadow does not cover the beach. Near the top of the hotel is a cantilevered helipad.

The hotel is so luxurious and offers most personalized service, check in is done in the privacy of your suite. Unlike all other hotels, the Burj Al Arab has no registration desk.

Decorated with lavish textures and exuberant colors, each suite features a sumptuous living and dining area, state of the art entertainment system and office facilities. Their sheer opulence in every tiny detail is underpinned with technology that does everything from controlling the 42 inch Plasma screen TV to closing the curtains.

An extensive range of full-size Hermes bathroom amenities, a decadent bath menu with music and oils, and an alternative menu offering a range of 13 pillows to choose from, and choice of mattress texture as well, are also provided as standard in all the suites.

The sophisticated private dining menu is served 24 hours, and offers an extensive international array of exquisite dishes and sumptuous treats.

The Burj-Al-Arab features the tallest atrium lobby in the world (180 meters), and the volume of the atrium can accommodate the Dubai World Trade Center building, which, at 38 stories, was the tallest building in Dubai from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. The Statue of Liberty on the NY harbor can likewise easily fit into this atrium.

I looked out of the Al Muntah (meaning "highest", or "ultimate") located 200 meters above the Persian Gulf, offering a view of Dubai from above. It is accessed by a panoramic elevator.

Then Al Mahara (Arabic "The Oyster") which is accessed via a simulated submarine voyage, features a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 35,000 cubic feet (over one million liters) of water. The tank, made of plexiglass in order to reduce the magnification effect, is 7.5 inches thick. Happily living in there are all the exotic fishes including miniature sharks.

The building’s external lighting scheme can vary from white to multicolored, changing every 30 minutes. Occasionally there is a light show, where colors interchange rapidly.

The architect and engineer for the project was Atkins, the UK based multidisciplinary consultancy. The hotel was built by South African construction company Murray & Roberts. It took three years to reclaim the land from the sea, and less than three years to construct the building itself. Burj Al Arab is the first hotel to surpass 1000 ft (305 m).

It is the world’s tallest structure with a membrane façade (the sail). A remarkable element of its architecture is the outer beachward wall of the atrium, which is made of a woven, Teflon-coated fiberglass cloth. Teflon, to resist staining.