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Review: World’s Highest High Tea at Burj Khalifa, Atmosphere.
If you’re just tuning in…welcome. You’re amidst the journey of a lifetime, one that is taking my family around the world on a surprise trip for my mom’s 75th birthday. Last night we flew in from Singapore aboard Singapore First and spent the night in a great suite at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. If you’ve read many of my other reports, you know that my family ( but my MOM the most) loves a good high tea and one of the big reasons we were in Dubai was for us to experience the world’s highest high tea at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in it’s famed Atmosphere restaurant. It currently holds the record for highest restaurant in the world.
The easiest way to get to Atmosphere is through the Armani hotel.
You’ll be greeted, escorted to a check-in area, and then up 123 floors.
You’ll exit and walk down a staircase to the 122. If you have a thing with heights…bring an extra pair of undies.
Atmosphere…the Guinness World Record holder for highest restaurant in the world
Entrance to Atmosphere
We had a table by the window.
The table set up is very cool with the napkins folded to mimic the Burj Khalifa.
The Tea is Pricey, but you’ll end up spending a few hours there and have a multi course meal.
- 490 AED per person ~$133
There really isn’t getting around the price. It’s a lot. But, if it makes you feel any better you’ll spend a long time there, have incredible views, and if you were to go to the tippy top (148) of the Burj Khalifa it would set you back 350 AED non primetime, and 500 AED during primetime which is 9:30am to 6pm. You’d also be limited on the amount of time you spend on 148 as well. Whereas if you dine at Atmosphere, on 122, there is no rush, you’ll have a decadent high tea, and enjoy the world’s highest high tea in the world’s highest restaurant.
It will start with a glass of sparkling wine or for more $, Champagne.
A palate Cleanser. Adorned with mint and yes….that is real gold leaf.
Finger Sandwiches will come out. We requested vegetarian and fish. They were absolutely delicious and beautifully presented.
Then you’ll receive a main course. I chose Scallops and they were fantastic.
The waiter also offered us Mocktails throughout the meal. They were light, refreshing, and gorgeous.
We were then presented with 3 servings of dessert spread out over 2 towers. We were so stuffed that we only had a few bites and took the rest home.
Overall
It’s a lot of money, but it is a grand experience, and if you’re considering going up into the tower anyways you’ll get a lot more time, ambience, and grandeur by doing Tea vs just the observation deck. The other thing to consider when evaluating the cost is that you won’t forget doing it. While other teas blend together…having high tea this high up isn’t duplicated…anywhere.
It’s roughly the same price as the High Tea at the Burj Al Arab, which I’ve done also, and I’d choose this one purely because of the height ( The Burj Al Arab Tea is delicious itself, and if you want to see the inside of the hotel you either stay or dine.) My dad doesn’t like heights AT ALL, but I think both of my parents were happy they did it. My mom enjoyed the experience of it all, and I’m pretty sure she got a tickle out of watching my dad tip toe up and down the staircase 😉
The service was top notch as well. This isn’t so much an Afternoon Tea as it is fine dining that happens to serve an Afternoon Tea set. They even offered to mop my dad’s brow which was starting to glisten from acrophobia.
And the bathroom has the coolest views.
You don’t have to stop here. Check out how we paid $5k and took a $125k Surprise trip Around The World to celebrate my Mom’s 75th
Flights:
- Boston to Beijing
- Beijing to Singapore
- Singapore to Bali Roundtrip
- Singapore to Dubai
- Abu Dhabi to Cannes, France
- Etihad Airways First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi to London ($8k)
- Etihad Airways Business Studio A380 Abu Dhabi to London ( $3500-5k)
- British Airways Club Europe A321 London to Nice
- Cannes, France to Dallas
- Lufthansa Business Class A321 Nice to Frankfurt ($10k)
- Lufthansa First Class A330 Frankfurt to Dallas
Hotels:
- Boston
- Beijing
- JW Marriott Beijing, 1 Bedroom Suite ($450 for 5 nights)
- Club King ($250)
- Singapore
- Bali
- Mandapa, Ritz Carlton Reserve 1 Bedroom Rice Paddy View Villa ($600/night)
- Conrad Bali 1 Bedroom Ocean View Suite ($400/night)
- Singapore
- Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Cannes, France
- Intercontinental Carlton Cannes, France ($300)
- Dallas
- Grand Hyatt DFW ($150
- JW Marriott Beijing, 1 Bedroom Suite ($450 for 5 nights)
Lounges
- Boston
- Hong Kong
- Beijing
- Singapore
- Bali
- Singapore
- Abu Dhabi
- Etihad First Class Lounge
- Etihad Business Class Lounge
- Etihad Shave Experience
- London
- British Airways First Class Lounge LHR Terminal 5
- Nice
- Living Room Azur
- Frankfurt
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt Terminal A
Afternoon Tea
- Peninsula, Beijing
- Raffles, Singapore
- Burj Khalifa, Dubai
- Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
TIPS:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
80k offer in branch currently – I think this should be online soon
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Super solid welcome offer.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
There is currently an 80k offer after $4k spend in 3 months available in branch, and up to 90k after $6k spend in 6 months. I suspect some version of this will be online soon if you don’t want the hassle of going into a branch.
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 60k is a very, very good offer. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back. .
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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