Emirates Palace

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Lonely Planet review

You don't have to check in to Abu Dhabi's extravagant Emirates Palace to check it out, and unlike Dubai's Burj al- Arab, you're not required to make a booking or spend your dirhams to take a peak. The hotel is so colossal - over 400 rooms and suites, 114 domes, a 2.5 km walk around its perimeter - it's hardly going to get crowded.

And nor is your rubber-necking going to disrupt the privacy of VIP guests - the high-security Presidential, Rulers and Royal suites are on floors inaccessible to the rest of the guests, with their own private driveways and entrances. While the enormity of the building impresses, it's the lavish use of marble, gold and crystal (1002 Swarovski chandeliers!) throughout that's the most mind-boggling.