Emphasizing its symbiosis with the water, the Jumeriah Beach Hotel looks like the dorsal fin of a great aquatic beast breaching the divide between sea and sky. The theme continues throughout the complex with representations of breaking waves and the sea.

The huge complex is about 93 meters tall and about 275 meters long. And from a distance, it is difficult to make out quite what it is. The designers say it represents a "breaking wave." The hotel is entered through a lobby which leads to a staggeringly tall atrium decorated with a satellite view of the earth in relation to the moon and a red sun at the top of the 90 meter high space.

The firm of WS Atkins was responsible for providing project and construction management, concept and detailed multi-discipline design services on this multi million pound award winning project. Covering 65 acres, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel includes 600 rooms.

The massive cooling plant required for the cooling of the hotel is located at a site almost half a kilometer away so as not to allow the engineering requirements of the hotel to intrude on the main building. - Right next to the hotel is Wild Wadi, Dubai's famous water park, which also offers stunning views of the Burj Al Arab, also designed by WS Atkins. The interior of the hotel draws upon the four elements of nature - Water, Earth, Air and Fire. As part of the hotel's 'natural flow' design, the lobby leads to a sweeping, two tier Colonnade curving gracefully more than 120 meters along the beach side of the hotel.