Financial crisis? What financial crisis? Global recession has barely touched the peak of the luxury hotel market. Rates for the best rooms remain at astronomical prices: one night will equal some people's yearly salary.

The Bridge suite at the Atlantis Hotel is not for the faint hearted and welcomes the super rich. So what do you get?

You may have only three bedrooms but, never fear, there are three bathrooms, too, and four staff (a butler, a chef and a sous-chef and a washer-up) to show you around. You eat at an 18-seat, gold-leaf-coated table in a separate dining room, move to the lounge for cigars, then perhaps to the library, which, as well as the odd book, contains a throbbing electronic entertainment centre. A private elevator ascends to your palatial quarters and takes you down to an aquarium swirling with rays, dolphins and sharks.

Nightly rate: US$35,000 (£25,000)

Who’s stayed there? Follow in the footsteps of the Beckhams, reportedly the first guests to spend the night in the suite.

Royal suite, Burj Al Arab

The Burj al Arab needs no introduction, dominating the coastline, it is the worlds only 7 star hotel. The Royal suite, on the 25th floor of the one of the tallest buildings in the world, comprises 750 sq metres of unrestrained excess. The decor encompasses a marble and gold staircase, leopard print carpets and richly veined marble-floored bathrooms, each with its own Jacuzzi.

A rotating four-poster canopy bed will help you to appreciate the views through floor-to-ceiling windows of the ever-rising skyline of Dubai. Should you become bored of such glittering sights, there is a private cinema whose remote control includes a button to open the front door. Here, in other words, you find the ultimate in indulgent laziness.

Nightly rate: US$28,000 (£18,900)

Who’s stayed there? Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton.