You’re floating in a rooftop pool filled with magnesium-rich salt water, the Red Sea stretching before you, mountains rising behind. An hour ago, you were in a hyperbaric chamber. Tomorrow, you’ll snorkel around pristine coral reefs in the morning, and in the afternoon learn about reef restoration. That’s a taste of what guests might experience on a trip to Amaala, a 1,600-square-mile complex opening on Saudi Arabia’s northwestern coast in 2026.
It’s part of that country’s Red Sea destination, a nearly 11,000-square-mile development that is reshaping tourism in the Middle East. Opening in phases throughout 2026, Amaala will unveil hotels from six leading brands, including Equinox and Clinique La Prairie, and is positioning itself as the next frontier for travelers who’ve already explored more established wellness destinations in Europe and Asia.
The opening of Saudi Arabia’s borders to international tourists in 2019 marked a major shift in a country where, only a few years ago, wearing a bikini was unthinkable. But scroll through Instagram today and you’ll see crowds dancing to EDM in the deserts of AlUla, A-listers promoting their movies at the Red Sea International Film Festival, and influencers posing in every kind of swimwear imaginable at the futuristic Shebara resort, where silvery, UFO-like villas seem to float on the water’s surface.
Shebara is one of the several new Red Sea hotel openings announced in the past couple of years, joining Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, the St. Regis Red Sea Resort, and Six Senses Southern Dunes. Saudi Arabia has shown that it likes to do things its own way, and Amaala will likely be no exception, with some of the world’s most prominent architects and designers working on its hotels.
Resorts such Six Senses Amaala will offer biohacking and longevity treatments.
Rendering courtesy of Saudi Tourism Authority
Six wellness resorts opening across Amaala
Specific openings dates for individual resorts haven’t been announced yet, but properties are expected to start welcoming guests throughout 2026. Confirmed hotels, all with private residences, will be centered around Triple Bay, a collection of three natural bays with a backdrop of the Hijaz mountains.
The U.S.-based, fitness-as-a-lifestyle brand Equinox will debut its first Middle East hotel with 128 sleep-optimized rooms in a Foster + Partners–designed property. Beyond the signature fitness club, amenities will include a rooftop magnesium salt pool, subterranean spa grotto, personalized IV therapies, and hyperbaric chambers.
The new Four Seasons resort and residences will occupy the longest stretch of beach at Triple Bay with five pools, six open-air dining venues, a spa with an organic garden, and programming focused on nourishing cuisine, relaxation, and meditation.
Also coming: the first Middle Eastern resort from Nammos, a Mykonos-founded brand known more for beachfront parties than health retreats, the 110-room Rosewood Amaala, and 100 pool suites and villas at a Six Senses property offering personalized wellness journeys, biohacking, and programs targeting improved sleep, fitness, and detoxing.
The 74-room Clinique La Prairie, designed by British Malaysian architect John Heah, is expected to focus on improving guests’ longevity through science-led anti-aging therapies and medical technology.
The Corallium Marine Life Institute will house a coral nursery and research laboratories.
Rendering courtesy of Saudi Tourism Authority (L); rendering courtesy of Emmett Sparling/Four Seasons (R)
Pairing sustainability with wellness
Alongside the hotels, a yacht club will provide opportunities to get out on the Red Sea, offering a full-service marina, sailing programs and regattas likely to draw an international yachting crowd. Amaala will host the finishing line for the 2027 edition of the Ocean Race, one of sailing’s longest and most challenging sporting events.
As part of the Red Sea development’s goals to become recognized for regenerative tourism, the Saudi Arabian destination has set ambitious environmental goals, including achieving a 30 percent net conservation benefit by 2040 through the enhancement of mangroves, seagrass, and coral habitats in the area. The development will also cap annual visitors at 500,000 and has committed to running entirely on renewable energy.
The Corallium Marine Life Institute, another Foster + Partners project designed to resemble coral formations, will educate visitors on the importance of marine conservation across three floors of immersive exhibits, while housing research labs, species rehabilitation facilities, and reef restoration programs. Its opening dates are not yet finalized.
Whether these ambitious goals can be achieved while building a completely new destination in the desert remains to be seen, but if Saudi Arabia has demonstrated anything in recent years, it’s that it always has the capacity to surprise with the scale of its ambitions.
