Not Just the Tallest Hotel in the World

The Burj is very much a giant sail; its exoskeleton is comprised of a woven, Teflon-coated fiberglass cloth. Not only is this the tallest hotel on Earth (it's slightly shorter than the Empire State Building), but it's also "the world's tallest structure with a membrane facade." Built on a manmade island that took three years to dredge up, the hotel is accessible via a private bridge. It's admittedly an impressive sight, especially at night, when the external lighting system sets the hotel aglow in a palette of pastels. The total cost of the hotel is somewhere north of $650 million, and rumor has it that it will take a century to get a return on the investment.

For more information, visit www.burj-al-arab.com