Even for those people who don’t know much about Dubai, they will usually have heard of the artificial palm island the city created out of sand. On my first trip to Dubai this winter*, I actually stayed on the Palm Jumeirah for two nights.

The Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel opened in 2011 and takes up precious real estate at the bottom left corner of the crescent road that surrounds the palm tree-shaped island. (Technically, the crescent is made out of rock, in order to protect the interior palm-shaped sand island.) Getting to the hotel requires driving along the eight-lane street that is the palm’s trunk. It’s a lot bigger than I thought: each of the palm’s fronds is one mile long!

Crazy fact: 92,234,000 cubic metres of sand was needed to build up the 5.72 km² palm-shaped landmass.

Crazy sight: the largest of the palm trees aren’t, in fact, natural. They’re mobile phone towers hiding in the shape of “palm trees.”

An overview shot of Palm Jumeirah, the manmade palm-shaped island that Dubai is well-known for. – Photo courtesy of the developer, Nakheel.

The rooms at the Ottoman Empire era-inspired Jumeirah Zabeel Saray are gorgeous. Below is a photo gallery of a Club Room, which I stayed in. A quick check on the hotel’s website gave me a quote of $812 CAD per night including tax.

The rest of the five star hotel is pretty nice, too.

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Entrance fountain (with some Christmas garnishes) at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai, UAE.

One of the lobby sitting areas at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai.

The Voda Bar at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai. This bar is inspired by the vodka martini.

Voi restaurant (serving Vietnamese cuisine set in the French colonial Vietnamese period of the 1920s).

Another view of the entrance fountain, this time with a peek at the hand painted fresco roof. – At the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai.

The Al Nafoorah restaurant at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai. They specialize in Lebanese cuisine. (I ate at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers location; it was FANTASTIC.)

A corner sitting area of the Al Nafoorah restaurant at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai.

Amala restaurant at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai. This is an Indian restaurant and shown here are some of the spices they use.

The C Club at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai. This is the place for cognac, cigars and chocolate, as a sommelier pairs each with a matching drink.

A life sized gingerbread house being constructed at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel in Dubai. That's a whole lot of gingerbread...

And last but not least, the Talise Ottoman Spa.

The swimming pool at the Talise Ottoman Spa at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai. Notice the stars sparkling on the roof.

A floating pool at the Talise Ottoman Spa at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai.

The entrance to the ladies side of the Talise Ottoman Spa at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai.

Where I got a Turkish Hamman at the Talise Ottoman Spa at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai.

The lounge area after my Turkish Hamman at the Talise Ottoman Spa at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel in Dubai.

*My trip was hosted by Emirates and included three other Canadian travel writers.