EGN NEWS DESK
Editor’s Note: CNN Travel’s sequence typically carry sponsorship originating from the nations and areas we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial management over all of its studies. Read the coverage.
CNN
—
From conventional souks, mosques and UNESCO World Heritage websites, to futuristic skyscrapers, Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, affords an eclectic mixture of previous and new.
Among probably the most startling additions to the fashionable skyline are the Flame Towers, a trio of sky-high buildings that resemble tongues of fireplace reaching excessive over the Caspian Sea.
Designed by US structure agency HOK, and with Tower 1 standing at 182 meters, they’re the tallest buildings in Azerbaijan.
And guests can keep in them – one constructing’s residential, one is for workplace use, whereas the third, the 165-meter-tall Fairmont Baku, is a up to date five-star resort.
The towers could be seen from virtually anyplace within the metropolis, however night time is after they actually come alive. Orange, pink and pink LED lights dance throughout the towers like burning flames.
For some in Baku, they’re now an emblem of residence.
“You can see Flame Towers as you fly into the airport, lit up with multicolored lights and shining the way in which,” clothier and media skilled Nina Zandnia tells CNN Travel. “They’re the signal that lets everyone know they’ve reached Azerbaijan.”
So what’s it like to remain in one of many nation’s most acquainted landmarks? It’s actually no peculiar resort.
From $257 per night time
Rates supplied by Booking.com
The daring, typically bombastic statements start with the dramatic exterior and maintain going all the way in which inside.
The venue’s seven-story foyer is dominated by an extravagant chandelier, utilizing 5 kilometers of strands, adorned with 840 lights and greater than 600,000 crystal beads, and weighing a whopping two metric tons.
Taking satisfaction of place under is a restricted version black and pink Fazioli, probably the most costly pianos on this planet. The M Liminal, designed by NYT Line and Philippe Gendre, was purportedly accompanied Nigar Jamal and Eldar Gasimov within the efficiency that took Azerbaijan to victory within the 2011 version of the annual Eurovision music contest.
Guests shouldn’t anticipate to listen to it utilized in any informal jam classes, it’s now solely performed by prime pianists on particular events.
The tower is residence to greater than 300 rooms, suites and serviced residences, that vary in value from $170 to upwards of $5,000 an evening.
Even probably the most primary supply ceiling-to-floor home windows and sumptuously massive double beds. The décor is a up to date luxurious combine, with plush carpets and fashionable furnishings. Spacious and comfy, every room within the resort both appears out over the town or throughout the bay into the ocean.
Crisp and glamorous as it’s, it does have an fringe of company blandness that falls wanting the regal vibes felt, for instance, within the close by Four Seasons.
A typical one-bedroom suite on the seventeenth ground affords views of the Caspian Sea and, if eligible, entry to the Fairmont Gold lounge on the nineteenth ground, which comes with a non-public check-in space and concierge service.
The super-fast elevator to the seventeenth opens onto a spectacular touchdown with views throughout the bay. Once contained in the suite, there’s a foyer space, are extra jaw-dropping views, an office-slash-dining room, with wood desk and a four-seater eating desk.
Then there’s a beneficiant, richly carpeted lounge with an outsized couch and jazzy signature chair. The separate bed room has an enormous king-sized mattress. There’s an infinite walk-in closet stacked with hangers, drawers and laundry necessities that leads into a big toilet full with tub and bathe room.
In each of the suite’s two bogs, there are bespoke toiletries – sure, your title is printed on the shampoo, moisturizer and conditioner bottle. It’s a memento simply asking to be taken residence.
Nice touches, however does the resort have celeb enchantment? Yes, says, Zumrud Ismayilova, the resort’s PR and advertising and marketing manager. Names will not be named, however the checklist apparently consists of leaders, royals and celebrities.
“We have had many VIP company keep on the resort, however we’d by no means disclose who they’re,” she tells CNN Travel. “When our company come to stick with us, they anticipate privateness and confidentiality and that’s precisely what we give them.”
Positioned on the very tip of the flame, the Royal Suite affords panoramic views of each metropolis and sea. There are two bedrooms, each with en suite bogs, a lounge, personal eating room, research, a visitor toilet, a kitchen and a grand hallway with chandelier – 375 sq. meters (4,036 sq. toes) of residing house in complete.
“The VIP or household will keep within the suite, however the remainder of their party tends to take over all the ground. We have further rooms for safety and employees, and a collection for additional members of the family,” explains Ismayilova.
There’s an open-plan residing space, personal research, a eating room match for for 12 or extra company and a totally outfitted kitchen (for the servants, after all). But the primary attraction is the grand en suite toilet with an enormous oyster-shaped tub full with window view over the bay.
The resorts facilities are a combined bag. There’s a chic spa unfold over two flooring of the resort with indoor pool, sauna, scorching tub, hammam and areas to unwind. There’s additionally a totally outfitted health club.
The superbly designed Sky Garden permits company the luxurious of enjoyable on the sundeck or benefiting from the poolside sauna whereas looking on the sea. There’s an S-shaped rooftop pool and outside bar, which look higher from a distance than shut up.
It’s greatest visited come night. When the solar’s up, the towers mirror the solar and amplify its warmth, making this space a frying pan.
Food and leisure
As you’d hope from a elaborate resort inside one of many nation’s greatest landmarks, the primary Le Bistro restaurant affords an array of native Azerbaijani wines and delicacies. The Balcon café affords specialty teas and truffles, in addition to sushi within the afternoons.
There’s additionally the Nur lounge which is a cool setting serving cocktails and snacks, and is an effective pre-drinks website to soak within the environment earlier than shifting onto the resort’s Jazz Club, an area establishment.
“We at all times suggest individuals to take a look at the Jazz Club after 9 p.m., as a result of that’s when it actually will get going. It’s very talked-about with each the resort company and the locals, and we at all times supply one thing new to maintain individuals entertained,” Ismayilova says.
There are two issues that almost all resorts are unable to offer – a shopping center and cinema. Fairmont Flame Towers affords each.
Park Cinema offers company (and members of the general public) with six screens, together with IMAX, exhibiting the newest Arabic, English and Russian language movies.
Next door is the Flame Towers Shopping Mall, due for completion in early 2020. Luxury manufacturers, excessive avenue names, cafes and eating places are all set to take up residency.
Fairmont Flame Towers, 1A Mehdi Huseyn St, Baku 1006, Azerbaijan; + 994 12 565 48 48
