WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS TREE!

A Christmas tree which has been decked out with US$11m-worth of gold and precious stones, stands at the lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel, in Abu Dhabi

   THE EMIRATES PALACE HOTEL in Abu Dhabi claims to have erected the world’s most expensive Christmas tree in its lobby.
The 46-foot tall artificial tree was worth about $10,000 (€7,570) before it was decorated.
The strings of pearls, precious stones and golden jewellery decorating the tree have helped to raise its value by about $11m (around €8.3m).

Two Emirate men look to a Christmas tree which has been decked out with $11m worth of gold, at the Emirates Palace hotel

   The Wall Street Journal reports that the hotel, which already boasts the world’s first gold ATM for buying bullion, decorated the tree with items from a local jeweller. The hotel also holds the Guinness world record for the world’s most expensive shot (at around €1,500 a glass).

Golden necklaces are seen among the other decorations adorning a Christmas tree which has been decked out with millions of euros worth of gold, at the Emirates Palace hotel, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday Dec. 16, 2010

   A night in a suite at the hotel can cost from €2,000, while other rooms start from €280.
   The hotel’s general manager Hans Olbertz said that while the hotel has a tree every Christmas, they decided to do something different this year, the BBC reports. Olbertz says the UAE, which has a primarily Muslim population, said the country was very liberal, and very refined.

A Christmas tree which has been decked out with gold and precious stones, stands under the dome of the Emirates Palace hotel, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday Dec. 16, 2010. The hotel’s general manager, Hans Olbertz, was quoted in local newspapers Thursday as saying the 43-foot (13-meter) faux fir has 131 ornaments that include gold and precious stones including diamonds and sapphires

 

   What do you think of the tree?