I run into this question often, I hate answering it and Burj al-Arab is responsible for my hatred. Yes, the luxury hotel in United Arab Emirates(we get to see its photographs in the newspaper often). When the construction of the hotel was completed, it was an architectural wonder(it still is) and it was a white elephant in many respects. To make the hotel a profitable business proposition, stakeholders needed an aggressive, never-heard-in-the-industry marketing plan. In order to deliver that, they marketed it as "the world's first seven-star hotel".
Cut right to the chase: I meet people in personal and professional life & I love talking about my days spent in the hotel. I have learnt so much in my stint there that I simply can write an EPIC(read Evolving Personal Information Construct). Once we converse about the luxe lifestyle and the like, *they* pop the burning question. "Did you work in a seven star hotel?". Hell 'No', I did not, it was just a marketing gimmick which worked way better than it was expected to work. Sometime ago The Grand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai ran a ripped-off version of the same marketing gimmick to launch the hotel.
As far as I know, there are no hotel rating governing body, nowhere in the world which gives a seven-star rating to any hotel, anywhere. But these days with *we* blaming aliens for even our pet's digestive problems, the truth might just be 'out there' - tongue firmly in cheek!
P.S : (1) I did not work with Burj al-Arab (2) Aliens did not abduct and sodomize me. Ha ha ha...
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