Six Senses AlUla

Six Senses AlUla is a planned villa resort among the palm groves and red sandstone cliffs of AlUla, the region in north-west Saudi Arabia that holds the kingdom’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The brand signed with AlUla Development Company, wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, in October 2023, with a 2027 opening. The pitch is a resort that sits low in the landscape and treats the area’s rock art and Nabataean history as part of the stay.

The setting

The resort will cover about 1.2 million square metres of palm groves and sandstone. AlUla is home to Nabataean tombs dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, and the announcement describes restaurants set among natural rock formations and caves, with walls surrounded by rock drawings thousands of years old. Six Senses has also said it plans to support conservation work for the Arabian leopard.

Plans call for 100 guest villas and 25 residences. The buildings are meant to blend into the landscape, though no architect or interior designer has been named, and villa sizes and layouts have not been published.

Eat and drink

Dining follows the brand’s Eat With Six Senses approach, with an emphasis on regional cuisine and seasonal produce. Planned formats include chef’s tables, pop-ups, cultural cooking classes and dining under the stars.

What it means for advisors

AlUla already has several luxury resorts, but this adds the Six Senses wellness formula, which tends to appeal to clients who want programmed wellbeing alongside heritage sightseeing. The Six Senses Spa will offer locally inspired treatments, and the announced programme includes sunrise yoga, meditation, moon bathing and singing bowl ceremonies. It suits couples and wellness travellers adding three or four nights to a Saudi itinerary that also takes in Riyadh or the Red Sea. Desert heat makes the cooler months, roughly October to April, the obvious time to sell it.

Opening status

The 2027 opening was given when the management agreement was announced at Maraya Concert Hall in AlUla in October 2023 and has been repeated in later coverage. No month, villa categories or booking date have been published, and the project remains in development.

Sources: hospitalitynet.org, luxurytraveladvisor.com, tendancehotellerie.fr