The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai set a new record for world's tallest hotel at 355 meters (1,164 feet).At Dubai's newest hotel, an elevator ride is a journey in itself.
The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai officially opened Wednesday as the world's tallest hotel.
Granted the official record from the Guinness Book of World Records, the 72-floor latest icon in Dubai's skyline is made up of two towers standing 355 meters (1,164 feet) tall. Only one tower is currently open; the second is slated to open in 2014.
It's the first of the Marquis brand of JW Marriotts -- “reserved only for the most iconic properties within the Marriott International portfolio,” according to the company -- to be built outside North America.
The hotel adds nine restaurants and five bars and lounges to the dining and nightlife options in the city.
The new hotel features 24 meeting rooms.
While dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa, currently Dubai’s and the world’s tallest manmade structure at 830 meters, it's the tallest building entirely dedicated to a hotel.
More than 1,600 guest rooms will be available by 2014, with presidential suites occupying the 69th and 70th floors.
Still, it's not the world’s highest hotel.
That title goes to the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong, which occupies the top floors of the 488-meter-tall (1,601 feet) International Commerce Center.
Click here for an interactive tour of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong
The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hopes to tap into the MICE market (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), a segment that in the United States is worth about US$106 billion, according to JW Marriott.
Artist's impression of the hotel lobby.
“The hotel will fill a long identified gap in the market where groups, meetings and conventions of up to a thousand people can meet, sleep and dine under one roof," said Rupprecht Queitsch, general manager of the new property. "Until now, Dubai has not had a single location of this size to accommodate this type of group.”
On the 71st and 72nd floors, the Vault Lounge offers panoramic views of the city. 
The hotel hopes to become the eminent meeting and conference space in Dubai.