Though the new Al Bait Sharjah has opened as an antidote to the bright-light-big-city glitz of Dubai, the hotel has not rolled up its welcome mat on the most well-to-do. Indeed, the resort this month has debuted a new weekend getaway package that includes accommodation in its signature heritage house, transfer by yacht, custom clothes, edible gold, calligraphy and other rarefied amenities.
The $68,000 price tag on this weekend away is not for the faint of wallet; indeed, the price tag is tantamount to the value of 1.5 kilos of gold.
“Still,” said the hotel’s general manager, Patrick Moukarzel, “one might argue that it’s rather economical at $850 per person per couple per year if you amortise the cost of the weekend as memories over the next four decades!”
The weekend begins with a yacht transfer from Dubai with exclusive welcome amenities that include edible, 24 karat gold. Dockside, a 1967 Mercedes Pullman – one of only 304 in the world – transfers guests directly to the hotel.
Once at the resort, guests resort to the fully privatised Bait Al Midfa Heritage House, where the suite will be strewn with flower decorations on a scale of a floral atelier and utterly personalised at every turn from gold embroidered and initialed wardrobes and slippers to personalised engraved jewelry set from the renowned local designer in the resort’s Jewellery Shop.
The first dining opportunity upon arrival is the Al Bait Tray for Two, complete with a gold twist, including one of the most expensive desserts in the world adorned in gold and jewels and concocted with the most expensive organic ingredients. Full disclosure, the resort will not reveal the exact recipe of this dessert.
Next up is a private, exotic couple’s spa retreat within the already secluded Heritage House. Depending on preference (and weather), there is the choice of a treatment outdoors or in one of the atmospheric rooms in the spa.
Floating from the spa experience, the day ends under the stars watching a suitably romantic film in an outdoor cinema experience in the privacy of the Heritage Courtyard with – of course – gold popcorn or a full-on gastronomic affair, if wished.
After a night on a specially imported, USD $22,000 mattress, which provides two more hours of sleep than a normal bed, a curated breakfast is served out at sea on a yacht. All hands on deck gives way to all hands at calligraphy in a private class, with gold, at the resort.
Lunch takes place in the heart of the kitchen at Al Bait Sharjah, in the shadow of a hundred-year old windtower. In the afternoon, local tailors take measurements for a bespoke abaya and kandoora by a famous Arab fashion designer, which will then be shipped anywhere.
The day closes with a curated dinner picnic on a private island in Sharjah with a private musician and butler service while the sun dips into the horizon. Naturally, a royal bathing ceremony will occur upon return to the resort.
On the day of departure, a spiritual awakening ceremony at a private pool with a spot of yoga, segues to a romantic breakfast in the privacy of the Heritage House.
