Opulence and Luxury

Before we moved to Abu Dhabi, G worked as an operator for a midstream pipeline company.  He has a technical associates degree from a local college, and has always wanted to finish his bachelor's degree.  Moving abroad was the perfect opportunity for him, and he found a great online degree program at an accredited Texas university that accepted a large number of his previous degree's credits.  He finished  his first semester of school the first weekend of May with all A's!

We had a whole weekend of celebrating by going out to eat.  I've finally figured out how to manage my morning (well, all-day) sickness, and it was great to be able to enjoy some meals together.  One of the places that I'd been wanting to try is just across the street from our apartment, the Emirates Palace Hotel.  We can actually see the entrance to the hotel from our apartment windows, and the property is sprawling with perfectly manicured lawns, a huge dome in the center, and lots of tourists every day taking selfies at the gate.

View from the entrance of our building.  The little building to the right is the Emirates Palace entrance gate, the bigger building on the left in the distance is the main building of the hotel.  It's actually much bigger than it looks here, but the trees are blocking the view.

The Emirates Palace Hotel boasts cuisines featuring edible gold leaf and somewhere in the hotel is a gold vending machine (we forgot to look for it, so I'm not sure where it is).  Reservations are strongly recommended for guests not staying at the hotel, and I booked us a table for lunch at Le Cafe, known for its gold leaf camel burger, gold leaf cappuccino, and camel's milk cappuccino.

Our first attempt to get to the hotel was unsuccessful.  The front gates were closed and we couldn't figure out where the alternate entrance to the hotel was located. Rather than wander in the sun getting sweaty and sunburnt,  we went back to our apartment and took a cab.  It was a good thing we did take a cab because we would have had to walk halfway around the property in the midday Abu Dhabi heat.

We pulled into the hotel and were greeted by the hotel staff.  The hotel is owned by the Abu Dhabi government and is operated by Kempinski, a European hotelier known for 5-star luxury.  In my travels, I've stayed in some really nice hotels, and this place is out of this world!

Selfies under the ornate dome in the main lobby

The hotel was built to showcase Arabic culture, and it certainly does.  There is also a lovely performance venue which has seen the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and Christina Aguilera to name a few.  

We made our way to Le Cafe, which is an open cafe in the back of the lobby.  We didn't order any of the gold-leaf specialties, G went with fish and chips and I went with chamomile tea and the "light as a feather" scones.  I had some language barrier challenges trying to order chamomile tea because our server thought I was asking for "camel milk tea" and she kept trying to explain that they only served camel milk in the cappuccino.  After a few tries, I finally pointed to tea on the menu, and the whole situation was resolved. We learned that G is not a big fan of scones ("How is this different from a dry biscuit??").  Personally, I thought the scones were lovely - airy and light, and served with a variety of accouterments.  My favorite was a mix of the clotted cream with the delightfully tart raspberry jam.

G's fish and chips in the background with my yummy scones front and center!

After lunch, we wandered around the hotel. We peeked out the windows at the hotel's private beach and opted not to venture out since the sun was directly overhead.  There was also a crane outside, which is also a good deterrent for safety-conscious wanderers.  I snapped a photo instead.

View of the hotel's private beach and marina.  Check out those boats!

We found some grand staircases into conference-looking areas.  I imagine the hotel has a large number of weddings hosted there, although I cannot imagine how expensive those weddings must be!

One of many grand staircases.  Notice the custom etched glass on the stair rails, topped by marble.

We also looked at some of the menus for the restaurants around the hotel.  Generally, the food prices are reasonable for Abu Dhabi, with the exception of the baluga cavier and champagne ($850 for 50 grams)!

It was definitely a fun experience, I think when G's parents come to visit, Mom, baby, and I will go for afternoon tea while G and his dad go check out Ferrari world and ride the rides.  If I can find a good deal this summer, we might even stay a night here over the weekend - I hear during peak summer months, rates drop due to the heat, so it might be worth a mini adventure across the street!