Star Power

There's a longish piece in Cond頎ast Traveler breathlessly announcing and then debunking the possible appearance of "six-star hotels" -- properties so insanely luxurious that they smash the heretofore unbreakable five-star barrier. Dubai's Burj Al Arab gets mentioned for its certainly planted but quasi-denied idiotic claim of being the world's first seven-star hotel. It's all ten-star marketing bullshit of course, but the article does end with a useful look at how the major star-bestowing entities go about their business.

Grade Inflation [Cond頎ast Traveler]
Burj Al Arab Hotel [Official site]
Tourism [Dubai Development & Tourism Authority]

Previously: Dubai: Petrodollar Paradise, Tennis, Anyone? On a Helipad?, Ski Dubai! Or, Purchase a Private Florida-Shaped Island Near Dubai, World?s Most Expensive Hotel?, The Happiest Place in the UAE