Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
January 2011: Abu Dhabi
Finding ourselves with a five-hour gap between flights at Abu Dhabi airport, frequent-flyer friends Lee, Nathan and I decided to use the time to make a quick trip into town, rather than simply sitting around the airport. We spent our time at one of the city's best-known landmarks, the Emirates Palace hotel. If the adjective ostentatious sounds a trifle judgemental, consider this: among the more commonplace hotel amenities, the lobby features a gold bar vending machine, while one of the options at afternoon tea is a cake that is - quite bizarrely, in my opinion - topped with gold leaf.
Given that background, it was perhaps quite an achievement that we managed to have a light lunch without breaking the bank!
Interior views
Exterior views
Reason for visit: five-hour layover between flights.
Linked reports from same trip: