This building shocks YouDubai's Jumeirah Burj Al Arab turns 25

How, after a quarter of a century as an iconic landmark, hospitality gamechanger and must-see spot on countless world travelers' itineraries, the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab became one of the world's most recognizable luxury destinations and plans to stay there ?

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One of the first visitors in 1999, a British journalist, called it the world's only seven-star hotel, a title that has stuck ever since.

Luxury is like beauty: it is different for the beholder and for everyone, says Regional Vice President and General Manager Giovanni Beretta. It's something that can't be described, but you know it when you see it.

He sits across from me at a large wooden dining table in a colorful, opulent suite on the 23rd floor. There are 198 suites here, not standard rooms, each from around $2,000 in high season. They all span two levels, effectively putting us on the 46th floor.

On my way to interview him, I caught a glimpse of some of the hotel's famous opulence: 220,000 square meters of 24-karat gold leaf adorn the interior, a whopping 21,000 Swarovski crystals transform the ceiling in one of the dining areas into a sparkling Milky Way indoors, while two terrace pools overlooking the ocean glitter with more than ten million mosaic tiles in azure blue and gold.

British architect Tom Wright brought the iconic structure to life, following the wish of the Crown Prince of Dubai for an unprecedented, signature building that would announce to the world: Welcome to Dubai.

Luxury is something that has an impact on you. The same way this building does.

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Wright wanted the shape of the building to resemble a traditional triangular sail of an Arabian dhow blowing in the wind. The silhouette turned out to be so unique and recognizable that the Burj al Arab, which means Tower of Arabs, has since been associated with Dubai.

It is a bold move that a building of this height, at 300 meters, is 130 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower. It stands on an island of sand, reinforced with concrete. A rock foundation would have been the typical choice, but Wright rejected the idea.

Rocks would have added too much height, ruining the illusion of a sailboat crossing the ocean. Instead, the tower is anchored by 250 steel and concrete columns that plunge 50 meters below the sea.

I was a child when I first saw the Jumeirah Burj al Arab. It was still under construction at the time, and although I have seen it countless times since, I had never crossed the enclosed, 300-meter-long bridge that keeps curious visitors far away from the hotel.

When I got out of the taxi and stood at the main entrance for the first time and looked up, I was shocked. I wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the building, which gave me a fear of heights and quite the goosebumps.

A fairly common reaction, says Beretta.

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You have expectations of everything in life. But when you come here, this building shocks you. The dimensions are so much larger than you would expect. It impacts you in the most positive way.

But of course size doesn't say everything.

There are many hotels that are beautiful and that you can call beautiful, he continues, but the hotels that really touch you are the hotels with an appearance where you feel welcome and at home. This hotel does that. And it's why we're a bucket list destination for so many.

And while I wish I could take credit for it, he adds with a laugh: It's not my fault.

The Italians' resume includes almost three decades of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, thanks to working with brands such as Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons, Rosewood and Swire Hotels in North America, Europe and Asia.

It is entirely the result of the people here, he says. The doorman at the entrance, the lady at the reception, the room attendant, they are the ones who built the soul of this hotel. There is a genuine concern here that you can feel.

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He takes me on a tour to show me the best spot for photos. As we step out of the elevator to one of the highest floors, he gestures for me to follow him closer to the railing.

There is a genuine concern here that you can feel.

As I lean forward, I look through a huge, open atrium, 600 feet deep, to the lobby below. It is a surreal view, which causes a slightly more pronounced vertigo than before.

This building gives you the feeling that it is very, very special, he says laughing.

It has broken countless records, from being the tallest all-suite hotel in the world to serving the most expensive cocktail in 2008 and the world's largest can of caviar in 2016, which contained approximately 37 pounds of empress caviar.

And it's home to perhaps the most famous helipad in the world, where a number of highly publicized events take place: from Tiger Woods teeing off from the helipad in 2004 and Andre Agassi and Roger Federer facing off on a makeshift tennis court in 2005 to the Chinese world number one table tennis players Ma Long and Shiwen Liu who played a table tennis match on a helipad in 2013 and professional kiteboarder Nick Jacobsen, who played a 's world's first stunt by jumping from the helipad in 2017.

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However, in Dubai the competition never stops. Issam Kazim, the CEO of Dubai Tourism, recently announced plans to double the number of visitors to the emirate. To accommodate the influx of tourists, Dubai is investing $35 billion to renovate Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), making it the largest and most expensive airport in the world.

New hotels are popping up everywhere. Jumeirah itself has one of the most highly anticipated hotel openings in this category with the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arabanother ultra-luxury resort right next to the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, which will open in a few months.

Beretta isn't worried.

Certainly, I have a wish list of things that I think will help us stay up there. But we are not going to renovate the hotel or change the style, because that is how everyone knows it and expects it that way.

As we walk back into the suite to end the interview, I realize how small the world seems through the floor-to-ceiling windows here. The ocean, the Palm Jumeirah Island in the distance and even the Dubai skyline to our left look like dioramas.

Beretta takes in the view and says: In Dubai, everything has to be the biggest, tallest, smartest or fastest. It is why we are a symbol of this place. We are the best.

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But the real challenge, he says, is different: when you're at the top, two things happen. First of all, everyone looks up to you. And second, you become the team that everyone wants to beat.

No deterrent for Beretta. I don't mind that, I like to be at the top.