Around the Middle East, an exciting assortment of new hotels and resorts has recently opened, or will open, this year. That’s great news for travelers looking to plan their next adventure whenever they are ready to get back out there. While restrictions continue to slow the majority of long-haul travel around the globe, many travelers are setting their sights on the day when they can put their passport back to good use.
Whenever that is for you, Middle Eastern hospitality is ready and waiting. Here’s where to find some of the region’s newest hotel openings.
Egypt
Photo credit: St. Regis Hotels
The St. Regis Cairo opened earlier this year with 286 rooms and suites plus 80 elegantly furnished apartments. Plenty of variety in the restaurants and bars of the hotel assure that it will be popular with both guests and locals. As with all St. Regis hotels, the bartenders will prepare a bespoke Bloody Mary using exotic local ingredients. You’ll have to come to the hotel to try its signature recipe.
JW Marriott Cairo Mena House opens later this year within walking distance of the famous Pyramids at Giza, the Sphynx and the Egyptian Grand Museum. Its 117 rooms and suites will offer incredible views of this ancient world wonder.
Photo credit: Hyatt
This May, Cairo welcomes another new hotel, the Hyatt Regency Cairo West boasting views of the Pyramids. Rooms feature local design including inspiration from the ancient Egyptian solar ships found buried near the Pyramids and many ancient temples.
JW Marriott Cairo Mena House opens later this year within walking distance of the famous Pyramids at Giza, the Sphynx and the Egyptian Grand Museum. Its 117 rooms and suites will offer incredible views of this ancient world wonder.
Jordan
Photo credit: Marriott
The Ritz-Carlton Amman opens later this year in the Jordanian capital with two towers containing 228 rooms and suites plus 90 residences. In addition to the brand’s symbolic luxury, the hotel will also have a rooftop restaurant and bar, a Mediterranean eatery, cigar lounge, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
Kuwait
In late 2021, Waldorf-Astoria will open its doors for the first time in Kuwait at the Avenues Mall, which boasts more than 1,000 shops, an amusement park and restaurant.
Morocco
Accor welcomes the new Fairmont Taghazout Bay in southern Morocco. With a mix of guest rooms and multi-bedroom residential villas in April. The resort will feature a variety of activities including a tech-free kids club, yoga on the beach, impressive spa and hammam, surf lessons, and a variety of beachfront dining.
Oman
Photo credit: Hyatt
Along the country’s southwest coast, Alila Hinu Bay offers 112 rooms and suites including more than a dozen pool villas. The resort offers regional dining, a spa with yoga and meditation sessions, private beach, and host of activities like cooking classes and visits to nearby cultural sights.
Qatar
Photo credit: Hilton
Banyan Tree Doha at La Cigale Mushaireb opened earlier this year within the Doha Oasis project. It also has direct access to a private cinema, department store, and indoor theme park. The resort will participate in Accor’s All Live Limitless program.
With 84 private beach villas and Qatar’s largest theme park, Desert Falls Water and Adventure Park, the Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is sure to be a family vacation destination. Arabic touches in the guest rooms and villas, some of which have their own pools, are another highlight of the resort.
Dream Doha will open in November as the flagship property for Dream Hotel Group in the Gulf. It will feature 265 rooms and suites plus seven dining and nightlife options. Its design delivers subtle nods to well-known local landmarks by Jean Nouvel, I.M. Pei and Zaha Hadid that have transformed the city’s skyline.
Photo credit: Dream Hotel Group
Near Hamad International Airport (the hub for Qatar Airways) and not far from the city’s palm-lined Corniche is the new Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha. Modern guest rooms and an outdoor pool are ideal for a quick layover refreshment or longer business or leisure stay.
Photo credit: Hyatt
Saudi Arabia
Photo credit: Shangri-La Group
Shangri-La Jeddah will open a luxury landmark hotel with 235 guest rooms and 122 serviced residences in October. As the country’s second largest city and the primary gateway to Mecca, the 65-floor hotel on the city’s Red Sea-facing corniche is sure to be busy. It is the first hotel for Shangri-La in the country and will feature four restaurants, a swanky spa, pool children’s club and event space.
Also in Jeddah, Swissôtel Living Jeddah will open as Accor’s first serviced residences property in town; Raffles Jeddah is another of Accor’s brands to open in the coastal city. The latter is expected to have a variety of lavish entertainment and wedding suites.
Photo credit: JW Marriott Ryiadh
House Hotel in Jeddah opens in May as part of the Cityyard business development with co-working spaces, a food market, entertaining spaces and pop-up retail areas.
JW Marriott Riyadh opens in August on King Fahad Road just five minutes from the city’s financial district. It was once a residential building before being converted to a 339 room and suite hotel, which is the tallest building in the city.
Photo credit: Radisson
In January, Grand Hyatt Al Khobar and Residences opened just a short drive from the world’s largest oil company, Aramco. It is also connected to the Al Rashid Mall giving visitors plenty of shopping at their fingertips.
Photo credit: Hyatt
United Arab Emirates
In Ras al Khaimah, the InterContinental Mina Al Arab will be one of the UAE’s newest resorts when it opens later this year. Its 350 guest rooms and suites are just a short drive from Dhayah Fort and Sheba’s Palace.
Photo credit: IHG
Last fall, Al Wathba, a Luxury Collection Resort, opened in Abu Dhabi with 103 rooms and villas showing understated décor with impressive mashrabiya detailing and Bedouin accessories. It is a Marriott Bonvoy member, which is sure to draw travelers to this unique desert getaway.
Photo credit: Marriott
Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers opened last year and becomes the first luxury property for Hilton in the Emirati capital.
Photo credit: Hilton
Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island opened its doors this month as part of Miral’s Yas Bay master-development on Yas Island. Guests of the 545-room hotel receive complimentary access to Yas Island theme parks during their stay.
The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm will open in May with infinity pools peering over Palm Jumeirah and excellent dining options. Located in The Palm Tower, the hotel has easy access to the connected Palm Monorail station and adjacent Nakheel Mall and Al Ittihad Park.
Photo credit: St. Regis Dubai, The Palm
Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah also opens on Palm Jumeirah as the first Marriott resort in Dubai. It will have 608 rooms, eight restaurants and lounges, an impressive spa and fitness facility, and kids club.
Photo credit: Marriott
The Accor brand is busy with Dubai hotel openings, too. These include the design-focused 25 Hours Dubai, Th8 Dubai meant to appeal to fashionable jetsetters with its Miami Beach vibe, Rixos Jewel of the Creek in Dubai, and SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences. The SLS Dubai will have 946 rooms spanning 75 floors, and it will be one of the tallest hotels and residences in the region when it opens. A variety of onsite restaurants includes a steakhouse, cocktail lounge, caviar bar and Italian eatery.
Photo credit: SLS Dubai
Radisson Hotel Dubai Damac Hills will be part of a residential community surrounded by parkland and an 18-hole golf course. The hotel is just over nine miles away from Dubai’s newly opened Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai World Central).
DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai M Square Hotel & Residences opened its doors on UAE National Day last year. In addition to DoubleTree’s signature warm chocolate chip cookie welcome available at all of its properties around the world, guests are also greeted by a first-of-its-kind mural honoring Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Photo credit: Hilton
The UAE will get its first Residence Inn when the Residence Inn Al Jaddaf opens this year. With 134 residential-styled rooms and a panoramic rooftop, it is the perfect place to “work remotely.”
Photo credit: Marriott
