Its futuristic architecture, gilded lifts and flamboyant chandeliers have all contributed to Burj Al Arab being named the world’s most beautiful and Insta-worthy five-star hotel. The list was compiled by Money.co.uk based purely on the number of Instagram hashtags a hotel has garnered over the years, with the team analysing more than 10 million hashtags associated with high-end hotels.
Of these, Burj Al Arab has been tagged nearly 2.5 million times, and two million times more than the second name on the list, Soneva Jani in the Maldives that has 415,461 hashtags.
“Although it is officially rated as five stars, the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah is widely known as a seven-star hotel as a result of its extravagance; guests are offered Rolls-Royce chauffeur service, a pillow menu so you can customise your comfort, and endless photo opportunities outside its dhow-shaped architecture,” the report said.
Bellagio in Las Vegas, The Plaza in New York and The Beverly Hills Hotel in California secured positions three, four and five respectively.
Dubai’s Palazzo Versace was at number 17 in the top 20 list, with 43,615 hashtags.
Top 10 hotels in the Middle East
The list also analysed the most beautiful hotels by region. In the Middle East, eight out of the top 10 hotels are located in Dubai, including Burj Al Arab and Palazzo Versace, followed by Jumeirah Al Naseem, Taj Dubai and Park Hyatt Dubai in the next three spots.
Elsewhere on the list are The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi and Muscat’s Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, at spots eight and nine respectively.
Here are the top 10 most picturesque hotels in the Middle East and the number of Instagram hashtags each has, as of December 2021:
- Burj Al Arab, Dubai (2,428,501)
- Palazzo Versace, Dubai (43,615)
- Jumeirah Al Naseem, Dubai (28,487)
- Taj Dubai (23,510)
- Park Hyatt Dubai (14,710)
- Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa, Dubai (14,125)
- Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah (11,982)
- The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi (9,351)
- Al Bustan Palace, Muscat (9,097)
- W Dubai – The Palm, Dubai (8,919)
Pretty properties
Elsewhere, Claridge's Hotel in London was named Europe’s most beautiful hotel; Brazil’s Palacio Tangara was at the top of the South America list; the Palazzo Versace property on Australia’s Gold Coast was decreed most beautiful in the Oceania region; and Marrakesh’s La Mamounia was first on the Africa list.
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
