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Fiery fountains, walk-through water elevators: Dubai's newest icon, Atlantis The Royal, to open on Feb 10

The structure is 43 storeys high and spans 406,000 square metres, with a 'never-before-seen' sky garden concept

A new structure can now be seen on the outer crescent of The Palm Island in Dubai. Atlantis The Royal, a luxury resort, is opening its doors to guests on February 10.

The Palm destination was crafted by the world's leading designers and architects. The structure is 43 storeys high and spans 406,000 square metres, with a "never-before-seen" sky garden concept.

The iconic landmark takes a traditional resort and transforms it into a vertical structure, with Sky Pool Villas and Sky Terraces. These spaces are shaded from the floors above and ventilated by the oceanic winds and pools, creating passively cooled spaces that aim to extend the time guests can enjoy outdoors from six to almost 10 months of the year. It takes the form of a stack of individual blocks, each offering a bespoke private experience. The six towers are adjoined by a sky bridge. The structure is designed to invoke Roman aqueducts.

The interior of the new resort was inspired by the oldest inhabitants of the Arabian desert, the Bedouins, who would traverse thousands of miles across the sand dunes using water wells to navigate. Water is featured heavily throughout the property with water features, sculptures and colour palettes. Examples of this can be found in the dramatic 11.5 metres tall lobby sculpture, Droplets, which represents the first drop of rain in a dry desert, to the Deluge water elevators, which invites guests to quite literally walk-through water to reach the next part of the resort.

A series of water features along the resort’s main axis guides visitors from their entry. The water features include: Firefalls, two highly reflective walls of glass clad in rippling water and embracing programmable plumes of fire; Deluge, two three-storey cylindrical glass elevators immersed in cascades of water; and Skyblaze, a 28-metre high fire and water fountain, composed of myriad water forms, fire bursts, lights, and performative music.

James von Klemperer, President and Design Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, notes, “We were asked to dream big on this project. To create something unique and iconic for Dubai—and when I look at it now, I’m amazed by the audacity of the whole undertaking. I’m bowled over by what’s been built, with its vertical piling up of outdoor experiences in the pools, outside spaces and remarkable design features at every turn. The gardens in the sky, first imagined in sketches on paper, are now realized hundreds of feet above the ground.”

Tim Kelly, Managing Director of Atlantis Dubai says, “This is it. Our moment is finally here to reveal Atlantis The Royal as the world’s most ultra-luxury resort. Atlantis the Royal is about experiencing something you never imagined could be and the architecture sets this up masterfully, with the six towers joined together by a 90-foot infinity pool, redrawing the Dubai skyline and creating a new icon on the Palm. It delivers a bespoke range of breath-taking experiences, inviting guests to swim amongst the clouds in sky pools and be dazzled by fountains that breathe fire. The unique building reflects the once in a lifetime experiences guests will have inside.”

Guests can register their interest at www.atlantis.com/atlantis-the-royal/stay-with-us. Reservations are now open with stays from February 10 onwards.

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