Shebara Resort, a luxury resort hotel located on Shaybara Island off the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, officially opened its doors last November (2024). It is the fourth hotel resort to open as part of the country’s major tourism project, Red Sea Global (RSG; formerly The Red Sea Project). RSG is probably the world’s largest tourism development, an ambitious plan to transform 28,000 km² of pristine coastline and islands into an international holiday destination.
Unlike the three previously opened resort hotels operated by international brands such as Six Senses, St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton, Shebara is the first RSG-owned, developed and operated exclusively by the state-owned real estate company. It is undoubtedly a new milestone on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s path towards economic diversification into alternative sectors to oil, in this case leisure and tourism.
The resort offers 73 villas, of which 38 are overwater accommodations and 35 are beachfront villas on land. With an innovative and unique design by Kengo Kuma and Associates architectural studio, all the villas consist of a spherical structure of stainless steel, mirror-like and enveloping. By reflecting sunlight and water, these spherical structures blend into their surroundings; seen from some perspectives, they also resemble marine animals, perhaps mollusc shells washed up on the beach, or even the backs or heads of dolphins in a pod peering out over the water.
Shebara Resort operates solely on renewable energy, as it has its own solar power plant, and to ensure respect for local resources, it is supplied with fresh water from a dedicated desalination plant. At the same time, it processes waste with an advanced recycling system that minimises its environmental impact. These features are part of RSG’s wider goal of ensuring net zero carbon tourism in the Red Sea region.
Shebara Resort operates solely on renewable energy, as it has its own solar power plant, and to ensure respect for local resources, it is supplied with fresh water from a dedicated desalination plant. At the same time, it processes waste with an advanced recycling system that minimises its environmental impact. These features are part of RSG’s wider goal of ensuring net zero carbon tourism in the Red Sea region.
The resort has five restaurants featuring Japanese, Mediterranean – with Michelin-starred chef Marco Garfagnini – and global cuisine. Shebara Resort also features a luxury spa, fitness centres and water activities in a location, the Red Sea, with an abundance of marine biodiversity. The Shaybara Island on which Shebara Resort is located, 18km from the mainland and approximately 25km from the Red Sea International Airport, which began operating international flights in April of the same year (2024), is accessible by seaplane or boat.
Sources: Shebara, TimeOut Riyadh, Travel and Tour the World, Globetrender, Red Sea Global.
Images: Shebara IG.
