A Ritzy Afternoon Sky Tea at Burj Al Arab in Dubai

We all love the good life, don’t we? I mean who doesn’t? In Dubai, one of the ultimate and luxurious (indoor) afternoon things to do—apart from lazing on the beach but not when it is summer and Ramadan, is a ritzy afternoon ‘Sky Tea’ at the Skyview Bar of the often referred to as the only 7-star luxury hotel in the world, Burj Al Arab.

The Burj al Arab hotel however is horrendously exclusive. They do not allow walk ins, that is if you can even bypass the strict security at the gate. You need to stay at the hotel as a guest or have a reservation to dine at one of their plush restaurants. I made my reservation with the Skyview Bar Restaurant a week ahead of time by e-mail which required my credit card details to secure the booking.

Only Reservations at Burj Al Arab
Website: Burj Al Arab Hotel

Burj Al Arab, the symbol of Dubai, and here we are at the security gate. I gave them my reservation number and they could not find it, so I gave them my full name. Et voila and we are let in =)

My chauffeur initially thought that I am visiting a friend working in Burj al Arab so he dropped me at the side line in front of the Wild Wadi Waterpark, just before the entrance gate to the luxury hotel. You know, many Filipinos are working in Dubai and in hotels as well so I can understand where he is coming from.

So I told him—NO, I AM THE CUSTOMER! LOL

From the entrance gate you drive on a bridge that connects Jumeirah Beach to Burj Al Arab. We are approaching the lobby of the hotel here.

When I alighted at the entrance of the hotel, an army of uniformed porters greeted me, one of them opened the car door and ushered me inside the lobby. I told the man I am going to the Skyview Bar and he directed my attention to the escalator and said that someone will meet me up at the top.

Indeed, someone at the top was waiting—it seems that they have personnel everywhere guarding every nook and cranny of the hotel. As you may be aware of, this luxury hotel is very expensive and notorious for their security. They take great pride in their exclusivity so far be it that non-staying hotel guests are wandering around the property beyond the lobby area.

The hotel personnel who met me asked me where I am going, and upon learning about my reservation, he then ushered me further to the lift. He said that someone will receive me upstairs, but I have no idea which floor the lift will stop, however, when it opened I was welcomed by another set of hotel personnel and they did another round of calls and confirmation before I am led further. Ugh, so many layers of security, it makes me dizzy. I felt like I am about to access my secret vault at the Credit Suisse in Geneva. This is something what I do not like about with exclusive places, either in luxury hotels or dining in a Michelin starred restaurant—the excessive security and polite human handling and in this case, the calls of confirmation if indeed Ms. Dutched Pinay Travels has a confirmed reservation. I completely understand though that this is just standard protocol but it can be annoying.

So they led me to this gold plated lift. This took me to the topmost part of the hotel. When I stepped out of the lift, and into the hallway, I saw that it was gold plated as well. This is, after all, Arabic design and opulence. I felt like I totally got blinged out!

I think this was the first lift that took me up, a glass capsule lift, then I transferred to the gold plated lift that finally brought me to the Skyview Bar.

Afternoon Sky Tea at the Skyview Bar
Restaurant: Burj Al Arab Skyview Bar & Restaurant
Information and Prices for Sky Tea: Burj Al Arab Skyview Bar - Sky Tea

They gave me a table at the window, with a view of the Palm Islands and the Persian Gulf, however the fog hanging above Dubai was so thick I can only see a silhouette of the Palm Islands. But first things first, some sparkling drink. It is Ramadan so they are not serving alcohol (they usually serve champagne), but an alternative, a Sparkling Date Drink, made with the finest bateel dates. They served the drink with dates that came on a silver platter as well. Bateel is a gourmet brand in Dubai.

Then I have this lovely refreshing pastry topped with berries: black raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries and sprinkled with white powdered sugar. I did not have breakfast so I gobbled this up quickly =)

Before I forget, this is by the way my view. You can see the silhouette of the Palm Islands if you look closely.

Then came a nice warm treat: Beef with mashed potato and cream. I really loved this because I have been hankering for something warm to eat. I know that this afternoon sky tea is going to be a huge meal for me so I did not have breakfast (well, I am not a breakfast person anyway) and lunch. I just had coffee at my hotel.

Afterwards, came in the tea and the sandwiches. I am not really a sandwich or bread type of person, and looking at the serving in front of me—yes, a 2-tiered sandwich tray! I do not think I could finish this, let alone even eat half of it.

The tea set came in very elegant porcelain ware with silver lining. The cutlery served were silver(plated).

From the bunch, this was however my favourite. Salmon, egg and caviar on rye bread.

By the way, here are the pictures of the restaurant. An Indian family from the UK was sitting near me. They were friendly to a waiter who is from Bangalore, India pointing out that their dad was born and grew up there. While I was served by a wait staff from Indonesia. He was very polite and professional as well.

After the 2-tiered tray sandwich.... came the 4-tiered tray of scones and cakes. Oh dear me, how can I eat all of these alone? Paging Blondine and Bru!!!

Did you notice though that the silver tray comes in the same shape as the hotel?

So I have here warm scones and Devonshire clotted cream with 3 different jams—strawberry jam, the orange is passion fruit jam and the dark one is the fig and date jam.

And little sweet cakes. I am not into sweets so I only took a lil bite of each =). My favourite was the one at the back.

And there is more... some cookies and fruit cupcakes and I cannot remember what this side dish is in a little bowl. All I know is that it was delicious.

Well, I concentrated on the scones and took all the jams and clotted cream down so I can focus =)

The next to arrive is a little dessert. A lychee ice cream topped with a sugary leaf. I also ordered another teapot for my last tea run.

And to sum up my Sky Tea experience, they gave me some gourmet chocolates for take away.

At the end of my Sky Tea the wait staff was kind enough to take a picture of moi. You can see some flashy fashionable Japanese tourists taking their last souvenir pictures of the restaurant as well.

More Spectacular Views

I managed to go around the restaurant (albeit politely and discreetly, I asked permission from the waiter) to take pictures of the views, especially down to Jumeirah beach. At least here the fog was not too thick, or perhaps it has something to do with the light.

So here are some spectacular views from the topmost floor of Burj Al Arab:

A quick visit to the toilet before hitting again the gold plated hallways and lift:

And a last snapshot of the restaurant. I was the last guest to leave for the first afternoon sky tea seating at 13:00. The restaurant is now getting ready for their next afternoon sky tea seating at 16:00.

I told you everything here is GOLD-PLATED. All that glitters and all that bling. Bling it all the way! I am sure those gold clad jewelry rap stars will be very much at home here =)

There are several afternoon teas in Burj Al Arab but the afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar is the most ostentatious and expensive, as well as the one that offers the most lovely views. The review score: 4.7 stars out of 5! For a first time visit, it is worth it.

Travel Period: July 2013
Destination: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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