My gold-surfaced cappuccino at the Emirates Palace Hotel (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic)
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — I am speechless. This afternoon I visited my family in Abu Dhabi — yes, I might be one of the few journalists at Art Dubai who has family in the country — and they took the opportunity to show me something unique to the city: the gold-soaked Emirates Palace Hotel.
I walked through a golden interior of the alleged seven-star hotel, past a gold-bar ATM, to a cafe encircling a golden bar, where I ordered a cappuccino that had gold floating on the foam (at the encouragement of the waitress), but could not bring myself to order the Emirates Palace Signature 24K Gold Camel Burger. It was nice to see my relatives, but the whole experience had such a distinct aesthetic about it — it felt like a family moment mounted in a gold frame in my memory, a polished photo on my mental mantlepiece. Silence is gold.
Very-very gold, Hrag. Looking forward to your Art Dubai writing –and don’t forget to pass by the “Gold to Go”!
This is beautiful
The amount of gold on that drink is worth less than a dollar, in case anyone is interested. I used to be a gilder and sweep more gold than that into the trash every day.