Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental

This guide to the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental follows a onetime cash machine here that dispensed gold bars instead of banknotes, a novelty called Gold to Go that arrived in 2010 and sold out within a day of opening. You'll hear who received the ceremonial first bar, and how the hotel's approach to gold carried over into its lobby cafe. A tip: order a coffee at Le Cafe and see for yourself what arrives on top.