It's an architecturally curious 25-story structure rising from the sand of the Persian Gulf with an overall length of 400 meters, allowing enthusiasts, beginners and those merely curious, to experience real snow complete with falling flakes and blue-panel ski. The mountain-themed resort is within the billion-dollar Mall of the Emirates, the third largest shopping centre in the world, allowing fancy shoppers to trade their Harvey Nichols bags for skis and snowboards. The indoor-resort covers an area of 22,500 square meters, or the equivalent of three football fields, with a capacity of 1500 people at any one time.
Tips
The resort features St. Moritz Café for the après-ski crowd who actually wear the burkas underneath their ski clothing. An additional outdoor play area features hills for sliding and tobogganing for children, as well as an indoor ice cavern. Yet to come is a snowboard stunt park and 90-metre-long quarter-pipe. photo: Ski-Dubai
Last Word
Visitors need bring no more than their enthusiasm, as entrance includes all jackets, boots and ski clothes needed. The resort features five trails of varying gradients, the actual slope is built with a 60-degree bend. Steep areas required engineers to build sections of the slope in steps, compared to the majority of it being built on a smooth profile. There’s even an avalanche potential in some of the steeper areas. The wonderment of seeing a native people who have never seen snow in their lives is worth the entrance price alone.
