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Atlantis, The Palm
Interactive map of the Atlantis, The Palm area
Hotel chain	Atlantis, The Palm
General information
Location	Jumeirah Palm, Dubai
Construction started	2006[1]
Opening	September 24, 2008 (2008-09-24)
Management	Kerzner International Resorts
Height	93.0 m (305.1 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	22
Design and construction
Developer	Kerzner International Resorts
Other information
Number of rooms	1,544[2]
Number of suites	Suites (Regal, Terrace, Executive) Super Suites (Royal Bridge, Grand Atlantis, Underwater, Presidential)
Website
www.atlantis.com/dubai/atlantis-the-palm
[3][4][5]

Atlantis, The Palm is a luxury hotel resort located at the apex of the Palm Jumeirah in the United Arab Emirates. It was the first resort to be built on the island and is themed on the myth of Atlantis^[6] but includes distinct Arabian elements. The resort opened on September 24, 2008 as a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar World.^[7]

The 1,544 room nautically themed resort has two accommodation wings, consisting of the East and the West Tower. It is complemented by the Aquaventure water park and the Lost Chambers Aquarium, home to over 65,000 marine animals. Atlantis, The Palm is also known as the culinary destination in the region where guests can take their pick from a collection of 35 world-renowned restaurants including Bread Street Kitchen & Bar, Street Pizza, Hakkasan, Nobu, En Fuego, Seafire Steakhouse & Bar and the award-winning underwater restaurant, Ossiano.^[8]

The Poseidon and Neptune Underwater Suites at Atlantis The Palm are two of only a tiny handful of underwater hotel rooms around the world, and regularly appear in lists of the world's most unique accommodation.

Measuring 165 m² (1,780 sq ft) in total, the upper, entrance floor is at ground level while the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom are submerged. The almost floor to ceiling windows in both the bedroom and bathroom face out on to the resort's Ambassador Lagoon, home to a multitude of exotic sea creatures.^[9] The floor-to-ceiling windows includes 65,000 marine animal aquarium in Dubai and will be amazed as sharks, rays and fish glide right past your bed.^[10]

Atlantis The Palm, opened on 24 September 2008 as a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar World. In April 2012, Istithmar World acquired Kerzner's 50-percent stake in the property for US$250 million. The property continues to be managed by Kerzner International Resorts. The conceptual design architects were Northpoint-South Africa. The architect of record was design firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo (WATG) an international firm specializing in Luxury Hotels. The principal contract for the project was awarded to Laing O'Rourke,^[11] a multinational construction firm based in United Kingdom. Laing O'Rourke was responsible for the design and construction phases of the 23-story hotel and water park.

The hotel was officially opened on 24 September 2008.^[12]

Days before the opening ceremony, the hotel's grand lobby caught fire^[13] and became engulfed in flames which caused concern over the hotel's opening. Work was done to repair the damage caused and the hotel opened on time.^[14][15]

As part of the opening, a light show of moving images was illuminated onto the hotel. 100,000 fireworks, around seven times the amount that were used for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, were let off, lasting 15 minutes. The display of fireworks across the full 5 km (3.1 mi) stretch of The Palm lit up the entire island and Atlantis, The Palm. Custom-made shells shipped in from across the globe created a light spectacle taking off from the 716 firing locations around the island, including 400 balconies at the resort. Display creator Fireworks by Grucci claims the display set a new world record, but records curator Guinness World Records has yet to announce the status.^[16] The launch party costed an estimated £15m in total, with Kylie Minogue earning £2m for a 60-minute performance for the hotel's 2,000 guests.^[17][18]

The Telegraph gave the hotel a 8/10, commending the underwater theme and facilities available.^[19] A 2024 review by The Sunday Times gave the hotel a score of 9/10, complimenting the architecture and appeal to all age groups.^[20]

In October 2007, the hotel received a shipment of 28 bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands, to be used as part of their aquarium exhibit, called Dolphin Bay. The move was decried by several environmental groups, particularly for the fact that the export of dolphins had earlier been banned by the Solomon Islands government (after a similar controversial shipment to Mexico). Hotel managers have said that though the dolphins are being trained to interact with visitors, they will not appear in any sort of show or circus-like performance. They have also stated that the health of the dolphins is paramount; because the bottlenose is not an endangered species, their shipment did not pose a problem. The deal was done with the approval of the United Arab Emirates and Solomon Island governments, through the company Solomon Islands Marine Mammal Education Centre and Exporters Limited (who had overturned the earlier ban in court). The amount of money paid for the dolphins has not been disclosed.^[21][22]

The hotel faced controversy in 2010 following the captivity of a whale shark, nicknamed Sammy, in an aquarium exhibit for 18 months.^[23] The female juvenile was caught off a coast in Jebel Ali in August 2008 after appearing in distress.^[24][25] At the time, whale sharks were listed in appendix 2 of CITES, stipulating that they can "only be held for scientific purposes provided that it does not harm the survival of the species". The captivity sparked outrage among animal rights groups and activists, including PETA and actress Pamela Anderson.^[24] Gulf News launched a campaign with thousands of supporters calling for the release of the shark.^[26] Atlantis would release a press release, stating:

"After several months of planning, Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai has returned a female whale shark to the waters of the Persian Gulf from where she was rescued. The Atlantis Fish Husbandry Team utilised their experience and skill to save the animal in compliance with all CITIES regulations."

Ali Bin Saqr Al Suwaidi, president and founder of the Emirates Marine Environment Group, another group involved in the campaign, confirmed the shark was set to be released.^[23] Scepticism surrounding the release persisted afterwards due to a lack of images being circulated, with Steve Kaiser, vice president of Marine Science and Engineering at Atlantis, denying the claims of Sammy still being held in captivity.^[25]

• 
  Aerial view of Atlantis The Palm and nearby artificial islands
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  Aerial view
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  Daytime exterior view
• 
  Atlantis The Palm at night
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  Lobby Lounge
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  Lobby Corridor
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  Hotel aquarium
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  Aquaventure Beach
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  Aquaventure Water Park
• 
  Ocean-side aerial view of Atlantis, The Palm

• Dubai World
• Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
• List of hotels in Dubai
• Atlantis Paradise Island – similar looking hotel by Sol Kerzner
• Atlantis Sanya
• Atlantis Resorts

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlantis The Palm.

• Official website

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2025)

The World Islands (Dubai)

View of the World in 2010
Geography
Location	United Arab Emirates
Coordinates	25°13′00″N 55°10′00″E / 25.21667°N 55.16667°E / 25.21667; 55.16667
Archipelago	The World
Length	9 km (5.6 mi)
Width	6 km (3.7 mi)
Administration
United Arab Emirates

The World Islands (Arabic: جزر العالم, romanized: Juzur al-Ālam) are an archipelago of small artificial islands constructed in the shape of a world map, located in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[1] The World Islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai's shallow coastal waters and are one of several artificial island developments in the emirate.^[1] The World's developer is Nakheel Properties. Construction was done by two Dutch joint-venture specialist companies, Van Oord and Boskalis, who also created the Palm Jumeirah.

Construction of the 300 islands began in 2003, before being halted due to the 2008 financial crisis.^[2] Though 60% of the islands were sold to private contractors in 2008, development on most of the project has not started.^[3] As of July 2012, Lebanon Island was completed and was the only island that had so far been developed commercially, being used for private corporate events and public parties. As of late 2013, only two of the islands had been developed. In January 2014, Kleindienst Group announced the launch of "the Heart of Europe" project.^[4] By February 2014, JK Properties, one of Kleindienst Group's brands, announced that the project was "well underway".^[5] The first of these series of islands will be Europe, Sweden, and Germany, with development led by Kleindienst Group.

Islands in the project range from 1.4 to 4.2 hectares (3.5 to 10.4 acres) in area.^[1] Distances between islands average 100 metres (110 yd); they are constructed from 321 million cubic metres of sand and 386 million tons of rock.^[1] Designed by Creative Kingdom Dubai, the development is an area that covers 6 by 9 kilometres (3.2 by 4.9 nmi) and is surrounded by an oval-shaped breakwater island. Roughly 232 km (144 mi) of shoreline has been created. The World's overall development costs were estimated at $13 billion CAD in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

The archipelago consists of seven sets of islands, representing the continents of Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Oceania.^[6] Each artificial island is named after its representative country, landmark, or region, such as France,^[7] California,^[8] Rio de Janeiro, Mount Everest,^[9] Australia,^[10] New Mexico,^[11] Upernavik,^[12] Buenos Aires,^[13] New York,^[14] Mexico,^[15] Saint Petersburg,^[16] São Paulo, and India.^[17]

The project was unveiled in May 2003 by Al Maktoum,^[18] and dredging began four months later.^[18] By January 2008, 60% of the islands were sold, with 20 being bought in the first four months of 2007.^[1][18] On 10 January 2008, the final stone on the breakwater was laid, completing development of the archipelago.^[18] As of July 2012, a second island, the Lebanon Island (1.5 hectares, or 3.7 acres and 482.21 metres of perimeter) was developed and was 'the only island that has so far been developed commercially, is used for private corporate events and public parties'.^[19]

The Times reported in September 2009 that work on the World had been suspended due to the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.^[20][21] Nakheel denied 2010 reports that the islands were sinking into the sea as wholly inaccurate.^[22] Despite the denial, The Daily Telegraph reported in January 2011 that an independent company, Penguin Marine, provided verification on the erosion of the islands and the silting of the passageways between the islands.^[23] Due to financial and technical problems, Penguin Marine, contracted to provide transportation to the archipelago, attempted to get out of the annual fees of $1.6 million paid to Nakheel properties.^[23]

Until early 2012, only one of the islands had been occupied by a building (a show home),^[2] and commercial or residential properties were not being constructed on any of the other islands. Property prices in the Emirates had fallen 58% from their peak in the fourth quarter of 2008.^[24] The world economic recovery from the Great Recession resulted in a rebound for the Dubai real estate market: it was reported that "residential prices [in Dubai] rose by 17.9% from August 2012 to 2013, while rents soared by 14.9% in the same period".^[25]

The World was supposed to be serviced by four major transportation hubs linked by waterways. Land parcels were supposedly zoned for various uses: estate, mid-density, high density, resorts, and commercial.^[26]

The plan was for utilities to be routed underwater, with pumping stations at each of the hubs pumping fresh water to the islands. Power was to be supplied by the Dubai grid and distributed through underwater cables. However, as of May 2025, no cables had been laid, and developers had to provide their own power using diesel generators. Wastewater and refuse systems are an individual concern for each island.^[26]

Nakheel Group is itself further developing a resort named Coral Island, covering over 20 islands that make up the North American part of the World. The low-rise development will include a marina and hotel village.^[27] The second largest confirmed development is the purchase of 14 islands that make up Australia and New Zealand by Investment Dar of Kuwait. The islands are being developed as a resort named OQYANA.^[28]

The Irish business consortium Larionovo had plans to develop the Ireland island into an Irish-themed resort.^[29] The plans included a large internal marina, apartments and villas, a gym, hotel, and an Irish-themed pub. In July 2007, it was announced that the island would feature a recreation of Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway. However, on 25 November 2008, a provisional liquidator was appointed for Larionovo. As of October 2022, this has not happened.^[30]

In April 2008, Salya Corporation announced that it had acquired the islands of Finland and Brunei and planned to develop them into fashion-themed resorts. Salya spent about Dh800 million (US$218 million) to purchase the islands and plans to spend a further Dh2.4 billion (US$654 million) on development. Brunei Island will be turned into a Fashion TV resort and Finland Island into a fashion community called FTV palace.^[31]

Safi Qurashi^[32] at the head of Premier, and his business partner Mustafa Nagri, paid an estimated US$64 million for the 4.5-hectare (11-acre) piece of land; he was later convicted for non-payment of cheques and sentenced to seven years in jail.^[33] However, on appeal, he was later found not guilty and released from prison in July 2012, when he was declared innocent of two of the three charges.^[34][35]

Josef Kleindienst and his firm JK Properties are developing the Heart of Europe, a collection of seven islands (Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine, Main Europe, Switzerland, and Monaco) in the European section of the World, into an island luxury resort.^[36] It is meant to create a fully immersive European experience, with outdoor snow^[37] and stores accepting only the Euro as a currency.^[38] It was set to open in 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[39]

In June 2020, a street called Raining Street was being built as part of the Heart of Europe project, with plans to create artificial rainfall once the outdoor temperature exceeds 27 degrees Celsius, with the objective to make a close copy of southern European climate.^[40]

In December 2022, it was announced that the first hotel within the project, Cote d'Azur Monaco, had opened.^[41]