3 things that make 'Dubai Frame' the best observation deck experience in town

By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)

Observation decks are the key attractions for tourists especially in big modern cities like Dubai. Dubai offers many observation decks in form of dedicated viewing platforms and lounges/restaurants on high levels of many of the high-rise structures across the city, including Burj Khalifa. Dubai Frame is one such unique structure and stands out among all as the perfect place to soak in the views of this magnificent city because of following three main reasons.

1-Complete View:

Dubai Frame is conceived by Fernando Donis and selected as the winner of a design competition by the Government of Dubai. As per Wikipedia “According to Donis, when designing the structure, he saw Dubai as a city full of emblems and rather than adding another one, they proposed to frame them all: to frame the city. Instead of building a massive structure, the purpose of the proposal was to build a void of 150 meters by 105 meters to continuously frame the development of the past, current and future Dubai”.
Dubai Frame encompasses this ideology perfectly and offers a view that covers city in its entirety. At one side you see the properly planned, mesmerizing sky-line of modern Dubai including Burj Khalifa and on the other end you will see old Dubai with relatively congested smaller structures, even planes landing at Dubai Airport. View here perfectly describes Dubai Frame as “A Bridge Between Dubai's Past and Future”.
I have been to many observation decks in the city and let me just say Dubai Frame even though not that high still offer the best view of all.

2- Unique Features of the Facility:

Not only Dubai Frame offer a complete view, but overall facility has features that add to the experience.
Exclusivity: It has been described by The Guardian newspaper as "the biggest picture frame on the planet”. Structure and its concept is quite unique, something you will not find anywhere else, which makes this as an exclusive must have experience for Dubai.

Glimpse of Past and Future: Walk from entrance to elevators is designed artistically to mimic old Dubai with Mud brown houses/shops and with aid of innovative visuals/videos placed throughout bringing it to life. It truly feels like you are walking through early 1900s Dubai. At the end of the walkway where you wait for elevator you get a video that explains the development of Dubai from pre-oil to recent era, so even the wait to get into elevator is pleasant/informative (so, if you are short on time you can skip Dubai Museum after experiencing this).

Similarly, once you get down from the top, walk from elevator to exit is also designed to reflect the vision for future Dubai. You are greeted by flashy futuristic interior with windows that play videos of flying cars and high-rise structures. Just before exiting you get a demo of what is the vision for futuristic Dubai, that ends with plans of a colony on Mars. I must say a very befitting end to the whole experience.

Apart from above, viewing platform has glass floor in patches so you get the feel of how high you are, also there are small tea stalls and touch screens that provide information on the view behind. These Touch screens are mobile and can be moved into any direction to get information about that section of view, also can be converted into selfie cams where taken pictures are displayed on the wall of moments near exit (wish we could get a printout of these selfies but there is no such option available at the moment).

3-Budget Friendly:

This is the most budget friendly place to have this kind of experience, where a regular trip to dedicated observation deck to lounges/restaurants costs between 150 to 400 Dirhams per person, ticket to Dubai Frame is only 50 Dirhams adult, 20 Dirhams for kids and seniors above 60 go free just carry your identity to show at counter. For Desis who are always travelling on a budget this is the biggest plus of all. No compromise on the overall experience and still pocket friendly.

Pictures used along with this post are taken by me using Samsung S9Plus phone