Monday, December 15, 2008

Dubai Hotelier Hasn't Heard of Flip-Flops, Plans to Refrigerate Entire Beach [Dubai]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/M1DnP-FPau4/dubai-hotelier-hasnt-heard-of-flip+flops-plans-to-refrigerate-entire-beach

There's nothing like a good bit of Dubai excess, but this just isn't impressive enough to justify the profligacy: the Palazzo Versace hotel is building a beach with refrigerated sand.

The small beach will protect guests' precious feet by piping cold air through a series of tubes underneath the sand, which will suck enough heat from the blistering surface to offset the beaming sun and 110F temperatures. A system of computers and thermostats will monitor and adjust the system.

Hotel proprietor Soheil Abedian, who holds the uniquely Dubaian job title of "Guy Who Takes Wild Guesses at What Very Rich People Might Pay For", had this to say about his project:

We will suck the heat out of the sand to keep it cool enough to lie on. This is the kind of luxury that top people want.

Top people! I can only assume that this means the hotel's patronage will be strictly limited to previous winners of Top Chef and/or America's Next Top Model. The hotel is set to open next year, or possible in early 2010. [Daily Mail]