The likes of Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Janet Jackson have all jetted in for a three-day extravaganza, dubbed “the party of the decade”. Even Lily Allen’s blagged an invite.And with the showcase suite costing a whopping £23k a night, you’d better have an opening party to do it justice.

The bash is rumoured to cost anywhere up to £40m. Guests will all be treated to a private concert on the waterfront by Kylie Minogue, followed by the world’s biggest ever firework display.

Dubai has expanded rapidly in recent years, with the sole intention of becoming one of the most important commercial and travel destinations in the world.

Steadily, projects are reaching completion – and they don’t come much grander than the Atlantis. It sits nestled at the top of the Palm Jumeirah – a man-made piece of land shaped, funnily enough, like a giant palm.

It’s a huge pink structure that’s bound to inspire love it/hate it arguments, but you can’t fail to be impressed by its grandeur.

More than 1,500 rooms, a huge aquarium with more than 65,000 marine animals (I counted them all), more than a kilometre of beaches (albeit fake ones), a dolphin park, a waterworld and staff from all around the world to tend to your every desire.

It is brilliant, pure indulgence, which makes the timing of its launch even more surreal.

It’s hard not to forget that the world is basking in a recession, with the good old words “credit-crunch” never far from anyone’s lips.

Yet here we are looking at extravagance on a stick. Money is indeed no object, with a rumoured spend of £950m and celebrities jetting in from all across the globe for its opening.

And with the penthouse suite booked out for the next year, you can see there are plenty of customers willing to share the dream.

The owners of this hotel are sticking to that old adage: If you build it they will come – credit crunch or no credit crunch.