DUBAI
BURJ AL ARAB
11'03
| 01:08 Corcoran: The subtle beauty of the Arabian peninsula, defined by light and mood. Where searing heat can conjure up all kinds of mirages. |
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Arab Tower hotel | 01:24 But this fantasy is very real -- the Burj Al Arab - or Arab Tower hotel -- now dominates the shores of the Persian Gulf from a man-made island off the coast of Dubai. |
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| As tall as the Eiffel Tower, and according to its creators, as graceful as the Sydney Opera House. Owned by Dubai's wealthy oil sheikhs, the Burj is intended to be a monument as much as a hotel. |
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Corcoran greets Mary in foyer | 01:55 Corcoran: Mary, how are you? Mary: Welcome to the Burj Al Arab. Corcoran: It's very pleasant to be here. Mary: Well I hope you will love it - everyone does that comes. |
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| 02:04 Corcoran: It's billed as the world's first seven star hotel -- with a seven star publicist to match, the delightful Mary McLaughlin. |
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Corcoran and Mary walk through lobby | Corcoran: So what do seven stars actually mean? Mary: It means that people don't know how to qualify it. It goes well past their expectations. They know what five star deluxe is - they've exceeded all these expectations when they come in here and they see the service, they see the building, they see what every suite has to offer. |
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Hotel interior/tourists with video cameras | 02:36 Corcoran: The Burj Al Arab is unashamedly elitist. The hoi polloi discouraged by a hefty entrance fee. Non-guests pay one hundred dollars to stand in the foyer and gawk at it all. |
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| 02:54 First impressions may reinforce a view think that money and taste aren't always mutually inclusive. But the hotel's interior designer - that's him on the left - says there was method in the madness. His brief from the Dubai sheikhs -- to replicate the symbols of Arab cosmology. |
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Carolan in lobby | 03:13 Carolan: Earth, air, fire and water is a basic Arab philosophy - it's almost a nomadic sort of philosophy - something that's developed over thousands of years of their civilisation. So we used that as a trigger point to begin our design philosophy. |
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| 03:29 Carolan: The columns themselves are really, I suppose, a contemporary palm tree, if you like, they're creating a feature, a major feature in the atrium. |
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| Corcoran: That's all gold leaf? |
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| Carolan: It's all gold leaf. The top sections are gold leaf as well. We call those fronses, which are more banner like, they're meant to create some sort of regalia at the top section of the columns. |
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Mary and Corcoran enter royal suite | 03:55 Mary: Now I'm going to take you into something very, very spectacular and very, very special. Take the door - and we'll enter. Voila -- the royal suite. We've got two suites, royal suites - and two presidential suites. This one is quite special it's like a little mini palace. |
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| So everything is designed, as you can see, with the richness of the colour. All of this that you are looking at is 22 carat gold leaf. |
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| 004:33 Corcoran: Loud is the word that comes to mind. |
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| Mary: Strong, vibrant colours to cheer you up on a dreary day. But no apology for the way this is designed. This is the great fun dining table. Have a seat, and I dare you not to feel in a good mood when you sit there. 04:51 Corcoran: Well, with hot pink and leopard skin - how could I not? |
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| 05:02 Mark: All yours for how much a night? Mary: 25,000 Dirhams per night. Corcoran: Which is about 12-13 thousand Australian dollars a night? Mary: Correct, but you are looking at about 780 square metres - so you have a sizeable suite (laughter). |
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Suite bathroom | 05:26 Mary: Now we are into the master bathroom, absolutely beautiful the way it is treated with all this wonderful marble. And of course totally standard, all of the Hermes products in all of the bathrooms. |
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| Corcoran: Yes - well I'd check the cameraman's pockets before he goes. |
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Corcoran on bed | 05:50 Corcoran: There we go. Mary: How about that. When the television is in the wrong place, just turn the bed around and you can see. Corcoran: We haven't finished yet Mary - you have to sit up here. |
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| 06:08 Corcoran: One problem for hotel publicists is that staff love to gossip - and in a place where money can quite literally buy anything - there's plenty to talk about. |
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Corcoran and Mary sit on bed | 06:22 Corcoran: Any stories of bizarre requests or goings on in the place? Mary: No. Corcoran: I've heard one of someone one night requesting a bath filled with goats' milk. Mary: You have! What else have you heard? |
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| 06:37 Corcoran: I've heard there's a possibility the next James Bond film may be shot here - or parts of it may be shot here. Mary; Who knows - it's a place that stimulates the imagination for sure. |
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Hotel interior | Music |
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Hotel restaurant with giant fish tank | 07:05 Corcoran: Despite assurances of high occupancy rates, I couldn't help wondering where all the rich and powerful guests were. Perhaps a hazard light was flashing in their suites, warning that a low life TV crew had penetrated this world of the platinum credit card. |
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| Music |
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Assawan Spa | 07:29 Mary: We are in one of my favourite spots of the whole hotel - we're on the 18th floor and this is the Assawan Spa. It's where, when you've done a hard day's work or you've been working out in the gymnasium upstairs, and you want to come down and chill out - can you think of anywhere better? 07:45 Corcoran: A hard day's work here? I find that hard to believe. Mary: Well, people work hard here, but they play hard as well, and they want the absolute best of facilities, and I think they offer that very, very well here. |
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Interior of room | 07:59 Corcoran: To a lot of people sitting at home, it may appear absolutely over the top, almost an obscene display of wealth to some people. |
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| 08:08 Mary: I don't think the baulk at it, as you say, or feel this is too much for me. People have loved the experience of this place, and it's because it works so well. It does exceed your expectations in every way. |
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Pianist in lobby | Piano Music |
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| 08:28 Corcoran: Spend a few hours here - peer beyond the gold leaf, and you realise that this hotel is a microcosm of society in the Arab Gulf states. |
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| Piano Music |
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| 08:42 Corcoran: The owners - Dubai's wealthy oil sheikhs. The executives - mainly Europeans - the best professionals money can buy. And the labour - extremely cheap. Seventy percent of Dubai residents are guest workers from the subcontinent and South East Asia. Well paid by third world standards, but prohibited from owning property or citizenship. After 20 years they can look forward to a one way ticket home. 09:11 But enough of reality - back to the fantasy. |
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Mary and Corcoran step outside on to helipad | 09:27 Mary: So here you are - out in God's own sunshine. |
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| Corcoran: We were here yesterday - saw a helicopter land - who was that? Mary: Hmmm. Haven't got an answer for you on that one. (laughter). Corcoran: Can't say too much? Mary: Can't say too much on that one. Corcoran: Right. How high are we here? Mary: The whole thing's 321 metres. Corcoran: It looks like it's tailor made for a scene for a James Bond movie. Mary: It is. |
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Hotel at night | Music |
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| 10:05 Corcoran: Sunset only seems to enhance the unreality of the place. If James Bond does parachute in, the movie extras are already here - the sheikhs, the business types, the ladies and gentlemen of the night - all playing to an unseen camera. |
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| But somehow, I don't think an Australian TV crew is in the script. |
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| Music |
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Corcoran in lobby | 10:33 Corcoran: Well it all looks very impressive, but I'm afraid a night here would blow the ABC budget out of the water. I think I'll go and find a nice comfortable tent somewhere. |
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| Music 11'03'' END |
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Credits: Reporter: Mark Corcoran Camera: Geoff Clegg Sound: Kate Gunn Editor: Garth Thomas |
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