What is the Emirates Palace Hotel Christmas Tree? Where is it?

Probably the world’s most expensive Christmas tree, the Emirates Palace Hotel Christmas Tree was an artificial tree embellished in expensive jewels, silver and gold bows, round ornaments and sparkling white lights.  It was apparently an effort of the luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to intensify the blissful Christmas mood of their guests during the season.  It was unveiled on December 15^th, 2010, and stood in the gold decorated rotunda of the Emirates Palace Hotel, which labels itself as a seven-star hotel.  Showcasing a total of 181 pearls, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, rubies and other precious jewels, the 42-foot tall Emirates Palace Hotel Christmas Tree is worth $11 million, with the tree alone costing $11,000, says Hans Olbertz, Emirates Palace hotel’s general manager.

Who designed it?

The plush hotel in the Middle East claims that their marketing staff came up with the idea of establishing an innovative twist to the annual tradition of hotels in the UAE of putting up Christmas trees for their guests.  However, the expensive jewels were owned by Style Gallery, a jewellery store in Abu Dhabi owned by Khalifa Khouri.

Why was it made?

Though the lavish Christmas tree was an entry to the Guinness Book of Records, the hotel claims that the primary reason for its erection was in congruence with the season and the goal of making their guests feel cheerful despite the holidays away from their homes.

It has been an annual practice in the hotel to put up a Christmas tree, but this was the first-ever luxurious tree created.  There have been reports stating the regrets of the hotel in putting up the expensive Christmas tree due to the underlying implications of the use of lavish ornamentation that, apparently, did not adhere to the standards set for the tradition.  The hotel also emphasized that the jewels were not their own, and that the hotel merely served as a venue for the tree.

Insofar as it stood in place until the end of 2010 (meaning the tree only stood for a couple of days), there have been no recorded occasions celebrated around the festive and extravagant tree.