The opening of the much-anticipated Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai will do much to quell fears over insufficient infrastructure to cope with a growing meetings and events industry in the Middle East in the short term.

This new £800-million hotel and resort, which is operated by Kerzner International, certainly offers something special for the business traveller, and itself should help draw events to the emirate.

Boasting 1,539 rooms, Atlantis also offers a 1,000 square metre pre-function area, with stunning views of The Royal Tower beach. There’s also the 630 square metre Royal Terrace, which can hold up to 250 people, and the 2,100 square metre Atlantis Ballroom, with a 2,500 capacity for receptions.

The hotel also impresses from a culinary perspective with 16 restaurants, four of which are owned by celebrity chefs.

Certainly the most unusual features of the resort are a huge open-air tank containing around 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures and a dolphinarium.
 
Now welcoming its first guests, it will be interested to discover just how popular the Altantis’ £13,000-a-night Presidential Suites prove to be!