Armani Hotel Dubai was the first hotel Giorgio Armani made. He spent nearly five years on it, planned every part of its design and service, and cut the ribbon himself on 27 April 2010, inside a tower that had opened less than four months earlier as the tallest building in the world. For a wedding, that history is the point: the ballroom, the terrace on the Dubai Fountain, the flowers, the chocolates for the guests and the rooms upstairs all come from the same house, and the whole celebration stays inside Burj Khalifa or at its foot.
A fashion house builds its first hotel
The hotel came out of a partnership between Giorgio Armani and Emaar, the Dubai developer behind Burj Khalifa, and it was the first of a planned collection of Armani hotels; Milan followed. Armani and Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar’s chairman, opened it together. At the opening, Armani said it had long been his dream to have a hotel he would want to stay in himself.
The hotel takes the concourse level up to level 8 of the tower, then skips to levels 38 and 39, where every suite sits; the Armani Residences, 144 private apartments, fill levels 9 to 16 in between. The hotel has its own dedicated entrance.
The interiors were planned down to the furnishings. When it opened, Interior Design magazine listed Eramosa limestone floors, zebrawood panelling and fabric covered walls, and called the look “opulent minimalism”. At the opening, every guest was assigned a personal Lifestyle Manager from booking to check-out.
The tower and the fountain
Burj Khalifa was designed by the Chicago firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with Adrian Smith as chief architect, and its roof stands at 828 metres. It was built as the centrepiece of Downtown Dubai, a district of about two square kilometres developed by Emaar. Until its opening on 4 January 2010 it was known as Burj Dubai; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai, announced the new name at the ceremony, in honour of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then President of the United Arab Emirates.
At its foot lies a 30 acre lake and the Dubai Fountain, built by WET Design, the company behind the fountains of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It was inaugurated in May 2009, runs to 275 metres and sends water up to 152 metres into the air, with music and more than 6,000 lights. In the evening the shows run every half hour from 6pm to 11pm.
A ballroom in black marble, a terrace on the water
There are two principal settings for a wedding, one indoors and one in the open air. The Armani/Ballroom is finished with Italian black marble detailing, dark grey carpeting and backlit resin walls, and has its own entrance beneath the tower.
The Armani/Pavilion is the open air alternative, a landscaped terrace among the hotel’s gardens at the foot of the tower, facing the fountain. It has its own separate kitchen. Couples hold the ceremony in the ballroom or on the terraces overlooking the fountain. A wedding here takes up to 200 guests for a ceremony or a seated banquet, and up to 300 for a standing reception.
A third room serves a different kind of gathering. Armani Al Majlis, on the lobby level, is designed in the style of a traditional Arabian meeting room and is open to both male and female guests for private gatherings and events.
Flowers, chocolates and the wedding cake from the house
The flowers and the guest gifts come from within the hotel. Armani/Fiori, the in-house florist, has a team of floral designers who make centrepieces and arrangements to order, and keeps its own collection of vases, designed around the fluid shapes of flowers. Armani/Dolci makes handmade chocolates, biscotti and other sweets, which can carry a message from the couple and go home with the guests.
The hotel’s wedding offer brings these together. Professional planners and cultural experts are on hand to coordinate the day. The wedding experiences include a buffet dinner with free flowing drinks, a wedding cake of several tiers, a dance floor at no extra charge, valet parking and a private changing room for the bridal party. The couple’s own night in the hotel, treatments at the Armani/SPA and flowers in the room from Armani/Fiori are part of the offer too.
Dinner from Italy and India
Armani/Ristorante serves contemporary Italian cooking with a dedicated sommelier and private dining spaces; it is recognised by the Michelin Guide Dubai and holds two toques in the Gault&Millau UAE 2025 guide. Armani/Amal serves Indian cooking. Armani/Deli, also Italian, has a menu that changes daily and a Saturday brunch, and Armani/Lounge looks over the Dubai Fountain, with afternoon tea by day and an Italian style aperitivo at sunset. The restaurants also host gatherings before and after the wedding, so a welcome dinner and the morning after can stay inside the tower.
Rooms by Armani, suites on levels 38 and 39
There are 160 rooms and suites, all of them designed by Armani. The Armani Deluxe Room, found on every floor, measures 45 square metres, with an oversized king bed, a bathroom with a separate shower and bath, and a city view. The suites are all on levels 38 and 39. The largest, the Armani Signature Suite, covers 235 square metres and is entered through a circular vestibule, with a living room, a bedroom, a private studio and its own dining room.
When it opened, the Armani/SPA was the first Armani spa in any hotel. It covers 12,000 square feet, with thermal bathing, private relaxation areas and treatments in three collections, Mu, Fluidità and Libertà. There are wedding packages for each of the couple. The bride’s lasts about half a day: a 60 minute body wrap, a Mu massage and Mu facial, then a manicure or pedicure. The groom’s runs to four hours, with a 30 minute body scrub, a 90 minute Fluidità massage, an hour long Mu facial and a manicure or pedicure. A couple’s room can also be reserved.
Downtown on the doorstep
The address is Burj Khalifa, 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. The Dubai Mall is within walking distance, Dubai Opera is a few minutes away, and Dubai International Airport is about 15 minutes by car, with airport transport arranged through the hotel. As an indicative guide, wedding packages start from AED 475 per guest, and the hotel prepares a personalised proposal for each wedding around the date, the season and the numbers.
The fountain closed for renovation in April 2025 and reopened on 1 October 2025, with a second phase of work planned for 2026, so a couple who want the shows behind their dinner should ask whether they will run on the date. The hotel’s own film, Armani Hotel Dubai, Burj Khalifa, is on YouTube, the Dubai Downtown page covers the district around the lake, and Marrying in Dubai sets the hotel beside the city’s coastal venues. The United Arab Emirates Wedding Atlas covers marrying in the country.
The decision a couple must make here is between the room and the water: the black marble ballroom, or the Armani/Pavilion with the fountain behind the vows. Couples who know which they want can read the Armani Hotel Dubai profile and check your date.
