What's Valentine's to you The big day is fast approaching and it's about time you start planning and thinking out of the box. As most of us scramble to find the perfect spot to surprise their partner, count yourself lucky if you're in Dubai. What this means is that you'll be spoilt for choice between hundreds of perfectly romantic options. In this post is one such spot that you cannot go wrong with. Take at the magnificent At.Mosphere.
At Mosphere, Burj Khalifa
First of all, you'll be extremely lucky to be spending your Valentine at At.Mosphere and you'll find out why in a bit.
Intimate Decor
The restaurant's decor is dark and woody making romance truly alive. A major feature is an intimate dining room with an upper and lower level lit up by twinkling lights of Dubai city. At.Mosphere takes you back to the days when having dinner while sitted was truly relished. The bucket seats, crisp linen and engraved silverware brings about just about the perfect feel of a 5 star experience.
Ambience
The restaurant is situated on level 122-Burj Khalifa, automatically qualifying it as the highest dining joint in the world. It'll be impossible not to be awed by the stunning height of the restaurant amid the twinkles, champagne and soft music. Whether it's valentine's day or not, At,Mosphere hands down delivers the most romantic experience well from the clouds.
Food
The restaurant's cuisine is from the best ingredients from around the globe. The menu is French focused and extremely fabulous. A special Valentine's day menu is one paired with wine and isn't this just how we want it on this day anyway? The special menu has upto six courses with major highlights being the pan seared foic gras along apple-passion puree. The Brittany Lobster with vanilla potato and braised onions is particularly tantalizing.
Why you should go:
Besides dining and wining below are other reasons as to why you should absolutely visit this piece of marvel during this special period.
Burj Khalifa is one record breaking feat with a long list of records as follows:
● The world's tallest building
● The world's tallest freestanding structure
● The highest number of floors in the world
● The highest occupied floor in the world
● The lift with the longest travel distance in the world
I think that's quite impressive! But, just in case you need more reasons to be stunned and seduced by its sleek altitude, let's dig into the flesh
Burj Khalifa has 160 floors of usable accessible space with 163 accessible floors. Yes! The actual number of floors is 163. The reason we often hear of 160 floors is because the top three parts are part of a mechanical wing not accessible to public. Get your breath drawn as you stand before the structure and struggle craning your neck to take in all of the length. It's just beautiful. Occasionally though you might be able to spot the peak but also very tricky especially during day time because of the glaring sun.
Cool, fun facts Burj Khalifa
● The construction of the building started back in 2004. The skeletal and exterior work was completed by 1st of Oct 2009, and it took an extra three months to finish the interior. The attraction later on opened in 2010. Well, that may sound like such a long time but, it's really not a long wait considering the end, sleek, perfect and astounding results.
● Financing the mega project was no walk in the park. This especially considering the many customized additions including a mechanical window cleaning system meant for the top 27 floors. The system was developed in Australia at a cost of $8 million. In addition, three massive tower cranes were involved in the construction of the uppermost levels.
● Burj Khalifa's price tag is a staggering $1.5 billion. That's huge but given another perspective of complexity and stature of the structure this might not sound as insane. Some of the factors that really came in handy cutting the cost down include: a clever, yet compact design, affordable material for reinforced concrete for the first 156 floors in place of pricey steel making up the remaining part of the structure. This means, much of the building is made up of the similar components stacked upon one another to ease the task and minimize cost.
● During the construction of Burj Khalifa, Dubai slipped into a debt. As if that was not enough, its completion coincided with global financial crisis 2008-2009. During this time, neighbouring Abu Dhabi lent Dubai money to finish off the construction. As a result, there was a last minute change in name from Bur Dubai to Burj Khalifa in honor of the president of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi-Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
How to get to Burj Khalifa
It's easy and straightforward. However, there's a twist to it because you cannot directly access the attraction unless of course you're a resident or staying at Armani hotel, or have a reservation to dine or lunch at At.Mosphere. The part of Burj Khalifa accessible to the public is through Dubai Mall. This leads you straight to Burj Khalifa ground floor ready to experience the beauty and grandeur of the piece of art
Well, if you're questioning how to get to Dubai Mall, use Dubai Metro and hop off at Dubai Mall station. Don't be worried though of getting lost inside the gigantic mall, inside it's spotted with signs to Burj Khalifa. You could also opt for a cab from your place of residence which will highly likely drop you off at Downtown Dubai. From here you walk over an incredibly beautiful bridge that connects you to Dubai Mall. .
Helpful Tips
● Book your Burj Khalifa tickets online early in advance especially in this month of love ; It's more convenient and favourable especially if you loathe queues.
● Make sure to catch the sunset. It's absolutely stunning from At the Top observation decks
● Get your camera lens ready to ensure you capture nothing but the best images
● Take home some amazing souvenirs from At the Top gift shop.
Maybe spending your Valentine's day from new heights is what you might want to do with your love. Make it special, make it count.
Martin Wynn
Priya
