Video: Inside The View observation deck at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, set to open this week

A new observation deck offering 360 degree views of Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah is set to open its doors to the public on Wednesday, April 7.

Located on the 52nd floor of The Palm Tower, The View at The Palm – developed by Nakheel – is located 240 metres over the island.

The experience, which begins at level two of The Palm Tower, includes a Starbucks café, The View exhibition, interactive aquarium tunnels and a gift shop.

The view exhibition tracks the journey of Palm Jumeirah, revealing details about how the island was conceptualised and developed. QR codes placed across the area provide the content and information in several languages.

An short theatre exhibit also provides more insight into the creation of the island.

Ticket prices begin at Dhs100 for adults and Dhs69 for children (those aged under 4 enter for free).

Meanwhile fast track tickets are priced from Dhs175 for adults and Dhs120 for children.

VIP lounge packages are also available starting at Dhs350 for adults and Dhs200 for children.

Currently, the venue can accommodate up to 300 people at a time, in line with Covid-19 social distancing restrictions.

Operating hours are from 10am to 11pm from Sunday to Wednesday and 10am to 12am from Thursday to Saturday.

The View at The Palm also offers a VIP lounge that spans 120 sq metres and features an outdoor terrace with views of Dubai. The lounge is customisable to match various themes and concepts and offers meal services, advanced audio-visual equipment and wireless connectivity. It is open for public bookings.

For those looking for F&B options, high-end international restaurant SushiSamba is set to open on the 51st floor of The Palm Tower in Q3 of 2021, and will offer a blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisines. This will be the first branch to open in Dubai and the fifth in the world.

Targeting residents

The attraction will target both tourists as well as UAE residents, stated Gail Sangster, assets director at Nakheel Malls.

“Several residents have now become tourists – we have done a lot of different activities in the UAE that we probably wouldn’t have done as a result of limited travel. So we are definitely looking to welcome students, families and residents of the UAE,” she said.

Confirming that work on the project began two years ago with US-based architects Gensler, Sangster said the project was delayed slightly due to the Covid-19 crisis.

“The Covid crisis did delay the project initially due to the lockdown period. So we had to re-mobilise. Covid-19 has been with us for over a year now. We understand the pandemic is there, but at the same time, as Nakheel, we have been pushing through with opening our different projects [such as Palm Fountain and Palm West Beach] while ensuring that all the Covid-19 regulations are in place. And now Dubai is accepting tourists, so things are improving,” she said.

Without social distancing, The View is designed to accommodate 8,000 people per day.

“That is our maximum capacity – not in the books for now. We are certainly looking at reaching that capacity during peak times, once tourism numbers start coming back to Dubai and the world recovers from Covid-19,” stated Sangster.