# Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi > A palace-style hotel from 2005 at the western end of the Corniche — 114 domes, gold and marble inside. Non-guests can usually walk into the lobby free, but booking a table is the safe way in: the gold cappuccino at Episodes is AED 90, served 9:00–22:00. Allow 45–60 minutes. Smart casual, no shorts. Web page: https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/emirates-palace - City: [Abu Dhabi](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi), United Arab Emirates - YesGo score: 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - Entry: Free entry; gold cappuccino AED 90 - Opening hours: Hotel open 24 hours; Episodes lobby café daily 9:00–22:00, Café Fountain 15:00–midnight - With kids: Fine with kids - Lobby entry: Free, no ticket; without a booking you may be turned away when busy or during events — unofficial - Gold cappuccino: AED 90 (Episodes Gold Cappuccino), service and taxes included - Regular cappuccino: AED 45 - Afternoon tea: AED 245 per person - Hotel tour: 1 hour with an Emirati guide, AED 150 per person, coffee or cake included - Episodes café: Daily 9:00–22:00 - Café Fountain: Daily 15:00–midnight - Dress code: Smart casual: no shorts, beachwear or flip-flops — unofficial - Getting there: Taxi from Qasr Al Hosn ≈ 10–15 min - Address: West Corniche Road, Ras Al Akhdar - Coordinates: 24.46194, 54.31667 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **114 domes** — crown the wings and central building — the main dome is lined with gold (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **2005** — the year the hotel opened (sources differ on the month) (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **1.3 km** — of private beach on the Gulf (source: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental; English Wikipedia) - **394** — rooms and suites across two wings and the central building (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **≈ US$3 bn** — construction cost — AED 11.02 billion (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **WATG** — the architects; lead architect John Elliott (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **Since 2020** — run by Mandarin Oriental, previously by Kempinski (source: English Wikipedia; Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental) - **Gold, mother of pearl, crystals** — decorate the main dome (source: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental) - **Next door** — Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace (source: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental; English Wikipedia) ## Can you visit Emirates Palace without staying there? Yes — there is no ticket. Non-guests are welcome in the lobby and public halls as café or restaurant customers. The easiest way in is coffee at **Episodes**, the café in the middle of the grand lobby (daily 9:00–22:00), or a drink at **Café Fountain** (15:00–midnight). Those hours come from the hotel’s own website. There is no published rule for walk-in sightseers, so treat free access as unofficial. Security at the gate can turn people away on Fridays, Saturdays or during big events. A table booking through the hotel’s restaurant team removes the guesswork. The beach, pools and spa are for hotel guests and club members. Beach day access is sold separately and changes by season — ask the hotel. > **Dress the part** It is a working five-star hotel, not a museum. Wear long trousers or a skirt and cover your shoulders; leave shorts, beachwear and flip-flops at the hotel. The rule is unofficial but widely enforced at the door. ## How much is the gold cappuccino? The **Episodes Gold Cappuccino** is **AED 90** on the official café menu, with service and taxes included. It is a cappuccino dusted with edible gold flakes. A plain cappuccino is AED 45, and the camel-milk Camelccino is AED 55. For a longer stay, afternoon tea is AED 245 per person, more with a glass of champagne. You do not need it to see the building — one cup buys you time to take in the dome and get your photos. Honestly, the coffee itself is just a good cappuccino; the gold is for the photo. Skip it and order a regular one if the ritual doesn’t matter to you — the room is the same. ## Is there an official tour? Yes. The hotel runs a one-hour **Private Tour at the Palace** led by an Emirati guide. It covers the main dome, a Palace Suite and the Etihad Ballroom or auditorium, and ends with a Palace cappuccino, cake or hot chocolate. It costs **AED 150 per person**; request it through the concierge. It is the only way to see rooms beyond the lobby, and a booked tour also settles the question of getting past the gate. ## How to get to Emirates Palace 1. From Qasr Al Hosn downtown, take a taxi, Uber or Careem west along the Corniche — about 10–15 minutes. 2. Ask for the main entrance of Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, not Qasr Al Watan: the gates are separate. 3. By bus: route 34 runs from Qasr Al Watan through Ras Al Akhdar — check stops and times in the Darb app (unofficial). 4. Buses take only the Hafilat card — buy one at the airport or a ticket machine; drivers don’t take cash. 5. Walking the Corniche from downtown takes about an hour — fine on a winter evening, not at midday. ## What is Emirates Palace? Emirates Palace opened in **2005** as the capital’s grand hotel for state guests and big events. WATG designed it, and it cost around US$3 billion. Above it rise 114 domes; the central one is finished in gold, mother of pearl and crystals. Mandarin Oriental took over from Kempinski in 2020 — the full name is now Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi. It has 394 rooms and suites, a 1.3 km private beach and a yacht marina. For visitors, it is less a hotel than a landmark: the most photographed façade in Abu Dhabi after the [Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/sheikh-zayed-grand-mosque). ## What to see - **The main dome** above the atrium — gold, mother of pearl and crystals, visible straight from the lobby. - **Episodes in the lobby** — the café sits right in the centre, the best seat for the interior. - **The lamp-lined drive and palms** — the classic façade shot, as in this page’s photo. - **The fountains** in front of the entrance and the gardens facing the central building. - **Café Fountain** — the hotel’s own pick for sunset over the city. - **Etihad Towers** across the road — the Observation Deck at 300 on level 74 looks down on the palace. ## Is Emirates Palace worth visiting? Yes, if you are visiting [Qasr Al Watan](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/qasr-al-watan): it is right next door, so the hotel costs you a coffee and half an hour. It is the cheapest way to see Abu Dhabi’s grand-scale luxury from the inside. Skip it if you have one day and little interest in interiors — a look at the façade on the way to the [Corniche](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/abu-dhabi-corniche) is enough. It isn’t worth a separate trip from Dubai; pair it with the palace and the mosque. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Table at Episodes or the hotel tour booked - [ ] Long trousers or skirt, shoulders covered, no flip-flops - [ ] Not a Friday or Saturday — or I have a booking - [ ] Card or a few dirhams for the taxi - [ ] 45–60 minutes allowed, plus the hop to Qasr Al Watan > **Paying** Visa, Mastercard and Amex work in the cafés, and Uber and Careem take cards in the app. Street taxis usually take cards too, but carry a little cash in dirhams in case the machine is “not working”. ## Emirates Palace vs Qasr Al Watan vs Etihad Towers | | Emirates Palace | Qasr Al Watan | Etihad Towers deck | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | 2005 palace hotel | Presidential palace open to visitors | Viewing deck on level 74 | | Entry | No ticket, via café or restaurant | Paid ticket | Paid ticket with a café credit | | Where | Western end of the Corniche | Next door | Across the road | | Time needed | 45–60 min | Over an hour | ≈ 1 h | | Dress code | Smart casual | Modest | Relaxed | If you pick one, make it Qasr Al Watan — it is a proper museum. Emirates Palace is the bonus next door for coffee and the dome. ## Abu Dhabi's palaces compared Abu Dhabi palaces rated by YesGo. - [Emirates Palace](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/emirates-palace) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free entry; gold cappuccino AED 90 - [Qasr Al Hosn](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/qasr-al-hosn) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ AED 30, under-18s free - [Qasr Al Watan](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/qasr-al-watan) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · AED 65, ages 4–17 AED 30 ## Two palaces and the Corniche in half a day The old fort downtown, the presidential palace, coffee at Emirates Palace and sunset on the waterfront. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers. 1. [Qasr Al Hosn](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/qasr-al-hosn) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · ≈ AED 30, under-18s free 2. [Qasr Al Watan](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/qasr-al-watan) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · AED 65, ages 4–17 AED 30 3. [Emirates Palace](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/emirates-palace) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free entry; gold cappuccino AED 90 4. [Abu Dhabi Corniche](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/abu-dhabi/abu-dhabi-corniche) — YesGo score 41/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free; family beach sections AED 10 ## Good to know Emirates Palace isn’t Palace Downtown or the other Palace hotels in Dubai, and has nothing to do with Emirates airline. The presidential palace next door is Qasr Al Watan, a separate sight with its own ticket. ## Tips - Come late afternoon: interiors in daylight, then sunset from Café Fountain and the façade lit up. - Pair it with Qasr Al Watan — a couple of minutes by taxi. - The best façade shots are from the lamp-lined drive or from afar — the Corniche or the Etihad Towers deck. - Want the story, not just coffee? Book the one-hour hotel tour — you’ll see a suite and the ballroom. - Don’t turn up with a beach bag and flip-flops, even if the beach is next on your list. ## Questions ### Can you go inside Emirates Palace if you're not a guest? Usually yes: the lobby and public halls are open to café and restaurant customers, and there is no ticket. Entry isn’t guaranteed without a booking — reserve a table at Episodes to be safe. ### How much is the gold cappuccino at Emirates Palace? AED 90 at Episodes in the lobby, per the official menu, service and taxes included. A regular cappuccino is AED 45. ### What is the Emirates Palace dress code? Smart casual: long trousers or a skirt, no shorts, beachwear or flip-flops. This is unofficial — the hotel doesn’t publish a visitor dress code. ### What are Emirates Palace visiting hours? The hotel never closes; Episodes is open daily 9:00–22:00 and Café Fountain 15:00–midnight. ### Does Emirates Palace offer tours? Yes — a one-hour tour with an Emirati guide covering the main dome, a suite and the ballroom, ending with coffee or cake. AED 150 per person, booked through the concierge. ### How do I get to Emirates Palace? Taxi, Uber or Careem — 10–15 minutes from downtown, about 30 minutes from Zayed International Airport (AUH). ### How long do you need at Emirates Palace? 45–60 minutes for coffee and the lobby; an hour for the guided tour. ### Can non-guests use the Emirates Palace beach? The beach is for hotel guests and club members. Day access is sold separately and varies by season — check with the hotel. ### Is Emirates Palace next to Qasr Al Watan? Yes, they are neighbours at the western end of the Corniche in Ras Al Akhdar, with separate entrances. ## How we checked Café hours, menu prices, the hotel tour and beach length come from the hotel’s official website. Historical figures are checked against English and Russian Wikipedia; they disagree on the opening month (February, March or November 2005), so we give only the year. Sources differ on the carat of the gold flakes, so we leave it out. The hotel publishes no rules for walk-in visitors or dress code: that information is unofficial and marked as verifying, as is bus route 34. ## Sources - Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, official website: address, beach, Episodes and Café Fountain hours, Private Tour at the Palace, 03.11.2026 - Official Episodes menus (Deli Anytime, Afternoon Tea): coffee and tea prices, 03.11.2026 - English and Russian Wikipedia: Emirates Palace; Wikidata Q1337845 - English Wikipedia: Abu Dhabi bus service — route 034 and the Hafilat card - AAA TripCanvas: Emirates Palace — access for non-guests --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.