Atlantis Dubai Opens with Craptastic Service, Water Outages

October 6, 2008 at 11:44 AM | by KatieK | 0 Comments

We get it. Dubai's Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah is nothing if not a symbol of big blowout excess. A price tag of $1.5 billion. Built on a man-made, palm tree-shaped island. A suite that costs $25,000 a night. More than two dozen dolphins flown in on a 30-hour plane ride from the Solomon Islands (protesting environmentalists be damned).

And now, the Palm has taken its over-the-top formula one step further, with an epic first-week FAIL. We already knew about last month's unfortunate fire at the hotel, which ravaged $34.8 million worth of damages. But frankly, that barely holds a candle to the first smoking dispatches streaming from Dubai.

Swamped by visitors since opening Sept. 24, The National reports insanely long check-in waits and would-be diners turned away from overflowing restaurants. Guestroom water taps ran dry. Much of the hotel was water-less for more than seven hours, due to a rupture in the resort's main water intake valve. Guests revolted, refusing to check out until they were able to shower, which made the lobby's check-in queues all the longer.

The National says the hotel is dolling out free hotel rooms in an attempt to make nice with all those who had an unpleasant opening week stay. That's sweet and all, but the risk of a repeat performance of seven hours without water seems like the sort of incident many wouldn't be willing to gamble (us included).

A reviewer on Journeyetc described his stay as "a nightmare from start to finish." TA reviewers for once offered a bit of balance, ranging from one who would "definitely return despite the teething problems, hopefully these will be ironed out" to another proclaiming "this hotel has not just has let down its customers but also has let down the very good reputation of 5 star hotels in Dubai." One reviewer cited "leering builders" noisily finishing construction by the pool, who "lean over the scaffolding to whistle and get a closer look at the ladies in their swim suits."

Classy. Let's hope the Atlantis gets their act together before Posh and Becks storm the hotel's absurdly extravagant opening party next month. Then again, since the pair is being paid $1 million to show their pretty faces, maybe we won't feel sorry for them if there are a few hiccups along the way.

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