(Business 2.0) – Pity the ignorant executive who boards a plane for the United Arab Emirates bragging about his Ritz-Carlton reservations. Because even before landing, he'll spot the best business hotel in the Middle East, if not the world: Welcome to oil-rich Dubai's towering, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab. It's perched on its own man-made island, so you'll "shuttle" from the airport via Rolls-Royce--or, for an extra $2,200, a helicopter that lands right on the Burj's 28th-story helipad. Then settle into one of the hotel's 202 duplex suites. The entry-level $1,500 rooms have laptop computers with high-speed Web access, 42-inch plasma televisions, and equipment for copying and faxing. (You also get a Jacuzzi-equipped bathroom and floor-to-ceiling views of the Persian Gulf.) Of course, your local clients might expect something more grandiose, so fortunately there's also the 8,400-square-foot Royal Suite, complete with a private library and marble staircase. It's the latest, dare we say, in sheikh chic. -- ANDREW TILIN