Qasr Al Watan: The Place Where I Wanted to Become President.
The first test is security—metal detectors, bags on the belt. It's totally strict, but everything is quick, polite, and completely professional😅
Then comes the free shuttle, because walking there is far—really far😆
I stepped off the bus and... totally forgot what I was going to say,
it was a true speechless moment😅
Qasr Al Watan is blindingly, unrealistically white. It sits right in the middle of perfectly manicured gardens, without a single bush out of place. Everything is so symmetrical, it looks like it was measured with a ruler😄
I walked into the Great Hall, and my jaw literally dropped. The ceiling is somewhere way up high, like 20 stories up, the dome is 60 meters, and all around is blue, white, and gold—I haven't even seen this much gold in Dubai's jewelry shops🤣
The colors aren't random: blue represents the waters of the Gulf, white is for purity, and yellow symbolizes the desert😊
There are huge mirrored cubes in the corners of the hall. You step inside, and suddenly there are hundreds of reflections of the hall all around you. The floor, ceiling, walls—everything multiplies. It's a total mind-trip, and the photos come out looking surreal, like you're trapped inside a kaleidoscope😇
The Gift Room😊
Next, I headed to the Gift Room, which houses diplomatic presents from all over the world🙀
China gave a book on how to run a state😅
Other countries gifted swords, intricate boxes, paintings, and some truly mind-blowing art pieces. It's fascinating to look at them and imagine the exact moment they were handed over, and the speeches that were made😊
The palace library is the calm after the storm😇
After all that golden luxury, I walked into the library and just exhaled☺️
It’s nice and cool in there, smelling of wood and old books, with hundreds of heavy volumes in Arabic and English😍
Later I read that it holds over 50,000 books and rare manuscripts🤯
Next stop: the restrooms (yeah, I’m dead serious)🤣
I just couldn't resist. Everyone online was saying, "You have to check out the toilets in the palace!"😂
Marble, gold faucets, and absolutely spotless cleanliness🤗
It sounds silly, but it's true—those little details really stick with you😉
At 7 PM, the "Palace in Motion" light show kicks off💜
They project the history of the UAE right onto the white marble: bedouins, the desert, oases, then oil, skyscrapers, and space, all set to an epic soundtrack with incredible drama and scale😻
Qasr Al Watan isn't about showing off, it's about sheer scale, honoring its history, and showing how tradition and modernity can seamlessly blend. And it reminds you that sometimes it feels pretty damn good to just feel small—standing under a 60-meter dome in a room where the destinies of the world are decided❤️🔥
Other visitors' reviews of Qasr Al Watan
Show More ReviewsWe arrived too late to go inside the Presidential Palace, which was a bit of a shame. However, the light show was quite impressive. It used lights to tell the story of Dubai's past and present, showcasing the strength of this developed oil-producing nation.