The coming years will bring a series of Aman properties and a resort by French architect Jean Nouvel. Despite its rich history, AlUla was largely off the radar for travelers in recent decades, but things are quickly changing: Banyan Tree is the second luxury retreat in the Ashar Valley, on the heels of Habitas AlUla, which opened last fall with 96 villas. Later, on a helicopter ride, I marveled at the grandiose landscape: sprawling date palm and citrus groves massive rock formations that, from above, looked like pebbles cast about by an invisible hand otherworldly natural features like Jabal al Fil, a solitary mountain in the shape of an elephant the Hijaz railway, part of an important network that was once referred to as the Iron Silk Road and Maraya, the world’s largest mirrored building, a concert hall where Mariah Carey performed for Banyan Tree guests on Friday. Ashar Tented Resort Set among Ashar Valley’s sweeping desert sands and rugged rock formations, this deluxe camping experience immerses you in some of AlUla’s most stunning scenery. To better understand AlUla’s singular terrain and heritage, I booked a private two-hour tour in a lime-green vintage Land Rover of the well-preserved Nabataean tombs of Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Hegra Historical District. At the pool-side spa, rituals include a beauty soak with honeyed camel milk and rose, while a nearby cave sets the scene for private treatments fused with AlUla citrus and Arabic coffee.Ī two-bedroom villa at Banyan Tree AlUla Banyan Tree AlUlaĭespite its futuristic countenance, there are glimpses of the region’s storied past to be found throughout the resort: a self-guided Rock Art Trail reveals 8,000-year-old inscriptions of ancient North Arabian scripts. There, I enjoyed a particular kind of silence that I’ve only ever experienced in the desert: the soft rustling of the wind skimming across the sand, interrupted by the gleeful call of swifts hiding in the rocks. While my villa had its own firepit and private pool with secluded views of the Ashar Valley, I still found myself drawn to the resort’s infinity rock pool, reminiscent of wadis after the rain-a serene slice of water carved into a natural crevice between two nearly-vertical sandstone mountains. In my villa, I found bespoke furniture with Nabataean-inspired designs (a diamond-shaped outdoor privacy wall a bedside woven rug with inscription-like motifs), a rotating menu of in-villa incenses like champaka and rose, screen-printed inks by Saudi artist Hussein Al Mohasen and a welcome fruit basket with kumquats, known locally as maliki. The tented villas, the largest of which have three bedrooms spread across a cavernous 2,583 square feet, combine features guests have come to expect from the Banyan Tree brand-vast, airy rooms soaring ceilings a choice of pillows-with elements unique to AlUla. Saudi Arabia goes beyond the concept of residence only to the concept of Experience a unique experience full of stories and stories to be a part integral to this deep-rooted historical shabby. A one-bedroom villa at Banyan Tree AlUla Banyan Tree AlUla A Saudi facility, a reflection of the queens vision and history.
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