Blingtastic! Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel offers guests gold iPads

By Trevor Mogg May 22, 2013

When a hotel charges from between $1400 and $20,000 a night for a room, you might well expect it to throw in a few extras to keep the customer satisfied.

Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, which modestly calls itself “the most luxurious hotel in the world”, this week announced it’ll be equipping all guests with iPads. Being the kind of hotel that it is, however, these are no ordinary Apple tablets. No, no, no. These blingtastic babies are 24-carat gold devices, each worth just over $10,000.

The special iPads, provided by UK-based Gold & Co. London, have been engraved with the hotel’s logo (presumably to make them harder to pilfer, along with the pure pulp micro-embossed 4-ply luxurious toilet roll) and will act as a virtual concierge, providing a plethora of information about the hotel’s multitude of services and facilities.

“The Gold & Co. London 24-carat gold iPad is the ultimate in luxury accessories, hence we wanted it to be paired with Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel,” Amjad Ali, CEO of Gold & Co. London, said in a release. “The symmetry is obvious, as both the gold iPad and the hotel are unique in terms of extraordinary quality and design.”

Should a guest become so attached to their gold-plated gadget that they can’t bear to leave it behind at the end of their stay, the sail-shaped hotel – which sometimes refers to itself as the world’s only 7-star hotel – will also be selling the device in its bespoke boutique, where it’s also possible to purchase a gold iPad Mini, gold iPhone 5 and gold BlackBerry Q10.

The Burj Al Arab, which comprises 202 luxury suites and happens to be the fourth tallest hotel on the planet, features in-suite check-in and check-out, reception desks on every floor, a rooftop tennis court, round-the-clock private butlers and use of the hotel’s Rolls-Royce fleet and private beach.

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Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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