http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2012-02-15T01:06:15Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/11/3/73714/2001 <![CDATA[<img src=" http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/anantaradesert.jpg" class="top"><p> As we <a href=&#148;http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/20/9411/8522/hotels/Siem_Reap_Hotel_Guide_Of_Course_Amansara_Is_Fit_For_A_King&#148;>learned</a> when visited the king of Cambodia&#146;s vacation-home-turned-hotel a few weeks ago, booking a room where royalty once slept is a surefire way to leave life as a commoner behind&#133;at least for a night.<p> The new <a href="http://desertislands.anantara.com"><b>Desert Islands Resort & Spa</b></a>, owned by the Anantara chain, is located on the grounds of the former nature reserve of His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, aka the guy who founded the United Arab Emirates.<p> After the sheikh died in 2004, obituaries extolled his focus on development, women&#146;s rights, religious tolerance &#151; and concern for the environment. As testament to this, the hotel is located on the largest preserve in the Arabian Gulf, ced138 2008-11-03T09:30:07-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/