Atlantis, The Palm - the best family resort hotel in Dubai

Swim with dolphins, watch a whale shark, eat the world's finest food - this Dubai holiday has far more than just sun, sand and sea.

On the flight to Dubai I was fidgeting with excitement. I was going to be one of the first few guests at a US$1.5 billion (£800 million) new resort in one of the most talked-about spots in the world. Atlantis, The Palm is the first big luxury family resort hotel in Dubai - the centrepiece of ‘The Palm’. This is an extraordinary three-mile-long, man-made island built into the Arabian Gulf in the shape of a tree.

Dubai Airport to Atlantis - a journey in itself

Guests are collected from the airport in a luxury limousine - a standard service that adds to the feeling of expectation. We then glided through the spectacular landscape of this amazing desert city. I passed spice and textile markets, crossed a sleek bridge over the Dubai Creek where Arab dhows still sail, and passed the world’s tallest building - the Burj tower that is almost 2,000ft tall.

Dubai seemed to be ten times bigger - and taller - than the last time I visited. So many spectacular buildings are being constructed, locals say a quarter of the world’s cranes are working here. My driver swung off the main coast road, across an elegant curved bridge to the foot of the Palm. We drove along motorway standard road up the ‘trunk’ between newly finished luxury apartments and alongside a futuristic monorail. The imposing shape of Atlantis appeared at the end of the avenue.

It’s such thrilling way to approach your holiday destination - I was almost exploding with tension. Finally my car dipped into a six-lane tunnel for the final half-mile under the sea, then emerged on the Palm’s ‘leaves’ and pulled up outside the Atlantis.

The Hotel

It looks impressive, but not beautiful. At the centre of its 100-acre site, this Dubai hotel is formed by two 22-storey pink towers linked by a giant Arabic arch. Above the arch is the exclusive ‘Bridge Suite’ - costing a lofty £16,000 a night.

Even standard rooms cost almost £500 a night. It’s not as cheap as winter sun at the Red Sea or Canaries, so what do you get for this hefty price tag? I checked all the types of rooms at Atlantis and they’re all large, luxurious and well-equipped with huge beds, TVs, bathrooms and views - either across the Palm or into the Arabian Sea where the even more surreal islands of ‘The World’ are taking shape on the horizon.

Of course you get Dubai’s sun for free. It’s the main reason to come here. At times it touched 50 degrees while I was there. The sea is as warm as a bath and swimming pools have to be cooled. Atlantis offers plenty of ways to enjoy this climate. Many rooms have balconies or terraces, there are two big hotel pools and there’s a mile of gritty sand beach facing the unfinished fronds of The Palm - an unimpressive view of a huge building site.

Atlantis' acqua attractions

A better bet is Atlantis’ own Aquaventure waterpark - the biggest in the Middle East. It’s free to guests and features pioneering computer-controlled water slides among beautifully landscaped and planted gardens. You climb a 100ft mock Arabic tower for the most hair-raising rides. The Leap of Faith drops nine-storeys vertically in five seconds then hurtles you through a pool of sharks in a perspex tube. There are white water rivers with rapids, waterfalls and two-meter high waves, plus more gentle areas for children (and waterpark cowards like me).

A short walk further through the garden I found Dolphin Bay - an 11-acre lagoon I could get in the water and play with real dolphins under the supervision of marine naturalists. This aquatic theme continues inside the hotel -which is built round a gigantic aquarium tank holding 65,000 sea creatures including a whale shark.

If you’re lucky enough to stay in one of the amazing three-storey ‘Lost Chambers Suites’, your bedroom and bathroom look out into the aquarium. I grabbed a sneak preview before their first guests arrived - sitting on the bed and next to the bath, gazing out transfixed as the whale shark glided past a few feet away. It costs a mere £5,000 a night - but it’s a unique chance to sleep with the fishes…

Caribbean styling in the Middle East

Even that bill pales against the £16,000-a-night ‘Bridge Suite’ above the hotel arch, spanning the two towers. Gossip among Atlantis staff is that the Beckhams are among the first bookings. Meanwhile the rest of us can stay at Atlantis and enjoy all the features of a Caribbean style resort for the first time in the Emirates. There’s a gorgeously designed health spa, gym, kids clubs, nightclub, swanky designer shops and 17 restaurants.

Four of these are so pricey they’re for special occasions only: world-famous chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s fine sushi restaurant (opened with his business partner Robert DeNiro) - which left me still feeling hungry; my favourite, the Italian restaurant of colourful TV chef Giorgio Locatelli, who has two Michelin stars and excellent pizzas; Michelin starred Parisian chef Michel Rostang’s chic French brasserie - look for the tiny snail-burgers and tomato ketchup pies; and three-star Spanish Michelin chef Santi Santamaria, Ossiano, where you can once more gaze into the aquarium between all the odd little courses of weird little morsels that I found pretentious and over-priced.

You could easily clock up bills of £100 per meal in these restaurants, so thankfully there are cheaper options where you can grab a burger for £11 or kids’ meal for £5. It’s still not cheap for a family to eat but feels worth every penny - thanks to the level of luxury and service around the resort… and that reliable Dubai sunshine.