Atlantis The Royal Review: It’s Worth The Hype

Beyoncé brings the house down for Atlantis The Royals’ extravaganza opening weekend

Crazy in love. That is what guests were saying to themselves as they arrived for the Grand Reveal opening weekend of Atlantis The Royal. Through its giant water and fire encased glass front doors a who’s who from around the world came to marvel at the latest Dubai landmark, enjoy a run of the place for a long weekend, and be one of the privileged few to take in a live performance by Beyoncé.

Before the highly anticipated concert guest were invited to explore to their heart’s content all the resort’s facilities. There were multiple pools to test out, including the first-ever Nobu By The Beach. It was inaugurated by Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa himself alongside the actress Rebel Wilson during the weekend celebration. But that was just one of 92 pools at the resort, with the Cloud 22 pool, located on the 22nd floor of the hotel, another must-visit. It’s where Kendal Jenner threw a hot-ticket party on the first Friday night of the weekend to kick the festivities off right.

Foodies were also spoiled for choice at the resort. Their tastebuds could travel the world without leaving the hotel. It counts 17 restaurants under its expansive roof, 8 of which are celebrity chef restaurants. Over the weekend Chef José Andrés and Nobu were spotting taken selfies with guests, Michelin-star Chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant was so full on the first night (packed with over 300 guests) that it had to turn people away and Ariana Bundy’s debut restaurant, Persian Kitchen had tables weighted down with delicious Iranian delicacies as songstress Layla Kardan serenaded patrons.

Rounding out the top-tier chief lineup were Chef Costas Spiliadis, who offered guests seafood dishes with a greek twist, chef Gastón Acurio with his Peruvian culinary perspective and for those with a sweet tooth, chef Mich Turner’s Little Venice Cake Company was a must. Not to mention the Ling Ling restaurant where contemporary Asian food is on offer. It’s where Jay-Z was spotting hanging out with friends over the weekend.

Eight years in the making this luxury resort and residence, designed with a distinctive Jenga-like stackable blocks exterior, counts 43 storeys that reach 178 metres into the sky and has a footprint on the palm that covers a sprawling 50 hectares. But as expansive as the resort is, the architects found a way to still make the venue feel intimate.

This was done by creating three distinct and separated towers, respectively called sunrise, sunlight and sunset, that add a sense of privacy and exclusivity to guests. Each of the towers connects across the main gallery and promenade levels where restaurants and luxury stores like a Valentino boutique, a Graff jewellery store, a Level shoes shop and an Orlebar Brown boutique await.

In preparation for the Atlantis The Royal blue carpet moment on Saturday night guests flocked to the impressive Awaken spa for facials, massages and other pre-celebration pampering.  Demand was so high that extra massage treatment spaces were created in the cabanas by the pools. And for those looking for a different sort of wellness alternative the Aeon clinic was offering hydro-facials and light therapy for VIP guests. Once the hotel opens to the public everything from IV therapy to BBL therapy, botox and thread lifting (just to name a few)  will be on offer at Aeon.

Then it was time. Saturday night saw stars like Letitia Wright, Sonam Kapoor, Mona and Huda Kattan, Disha Patani, Ashley Park, Chloe and Halle Bailey, Ellen Pompeo, and Sabrina Elba walk the Atlantis The Royal’s blue carpet before the Beyoncé concert for just over a thousand VIP guests got underway.

For her first performance since 2018, the artist asked that no photography or videos be taken. But the audience could not contain themselves for long with recordings and images of the night beginning to leak almost as soon as the first fireworks exploded off the front of the luxury resort.

But the guests can be forgiven, considering what a command, and inclusive, performance it was. Beyoncé cleverly opened her show singing the Etta James classic At Last, a nod to both her time away from the concert circuit and also perhaps that almost decade it took to build the resort itself. What followed was a 73-minute medley of some of her most famous songs, including  Halo, Freedom, Crazy in Love, Countdown, and she was joined by her daughter Blue Ivy for the song Brown Skin Girl.

In an astute nod to the region Beyoncé, who was accompanied by the all-female orchestra Firdaus, turned to the all-female Lebanese dance group The Mayyas, (who won season 17 of America’s Got Talent) to create an impressive moving backdrop to her ballads. She also wore some showstopping looks from regional designers. The opening sunshine yellow look was dreamt up by the Dubai-based Atelier Zuhra, followed by a fire engine red number created by the Lebanese designer Nicolas Jebran.

For her grand finale Beyoncé stepped off the tiered main stage, walked through a part of the awe-struck audience and onto a raised plateau, where the main water feature resides. And there, as she belted out her iconic hit Drunk in Love she was lifted sixteen feet into the sky as the massive surrounding fountain showered the space around her with water and fire. As she hit her last high note the heavens above the luxury resort exploded with fireworks.

Shooting out from the hotel itself and also from boats strategically placed in the waters around it. The result was an extravaganza of the highest order and one that…as the smoke started to dissipate Swedish House Mafia kept going long into the night.

Now all the rest of the world needs to do is wait until February 10 when Atlantis The Royal will officially open to discover its many wonders for themselves.

For more information, visit atlantis.com