(This is part of a summer trip report using miles and points to fly first class on Emirates to Dubai/Paris, costing $41 and 100K miles).

We were able to fly Emirates to Paris, with a two day stopover in Dubai for $41 and 100K Alaska miles, see previous post for more info. BUT the cost of those flights would have been $23,914! I pinch myself to think I got such an unbelievable value for my miles! And the value for our two free nights at the Hyatt in NYC was $463, including free breakfasts! My hobby is a lot of work sometimes, but I definitely enjoy the benefits!

Since our flights were so inexpensive, we decided to splurge on our stay in Dubai, hence the iconic Burj Al Arab. We’d booked the least expensive room, using a summer special, which included breakfast. We were arriving early in the morning, so I’d written the hotel and asked for early check-in and a room upgrade, if available. You must have reservations to even enter this man-made island and we were surprised to be met at the door by an agent and taken upstairs. I kept wondering in my jet lagged mind why we were leaving the lobby area.

When she started the check in process, I realized we were in our room…and we DID get upgraded to a two bedroom, 3600 sq ft, two story suite! This upgraded room cost $3,958 at the time of our stay (of course we paid nowhere near that much when we’d booked our lowly room months before). This “suite” is bigger than my house, we kept getting lost inside, and here are some pictures to show it off!

The downstairs included two living areas, a kitchen, dining area, and a half bath. Notice all the gold accents, which is very prevalent in Dubai.

The upstairs had two bedrooms, each with their own bath, closet, dressing, and living area.

On our floor, we had two personal butlers and asked for late check out the next day at 4:00, so we really got time to enjoy the property, but more on that later.

It was really hard to get pictures of the view, which was spectacular (we were on the 13th floor). I’m assuming it was because of some kind of film to prevent others from seeing in…we were told on our tour of the suite not to worry if we saw window washers because they could not see inside!

Supposedly the Burj Al Arab was so expensive to build they don’t even know how much it cost! And it is proclaimed, by itself, to be “the only seven star hotel in the world.” I really do agree – I’ve never stayed in anything like it and I’m sure I never will…it was a once in a lifetime event and very over the top!

Next up, high tea at Burj Al Arab and activities inside and nearby.