Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve - Stars, and Shells at Saudi Arabia's Most Remote Resort

Before you even unpack, two things will stop you in your tracks: the color of the water - a cerulean so intense it looks digitally enhanced - and the absolute quiet. Just the warm Red Sea breeze and the low hum of a place that has been deliberately designed to slow you down. Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, sits on the Ummahat Islands, a protected archipelago off Saudi Arabia's west coast that most of the world has never heard of - and that is very much the point.

The resort opened in May 2024 as the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the Middle East, and it wears its ambitions lightly. There are 65 shell-shaped villas spread across white sand and open sea, four restaurants, a spa steeped in Arabian wellness tradition, and an undisturbed coral reef that marine biologists are still cataloguing. The name comes from Nujum, meaning "stars" in Arabic - a nod to the nomadic tradition of celestial navigation that once guided travelers across this same coastline.

Location

Getting here is half the experience. From the recently opened Red Sea International Airport, you transfer by seaplane or yacht - a journey that doubles as a preview of what's to come. The Ummahat Islands sit within what's known as the Blue Hole cluster, a series of underwater sinkholes embedded in the southern stretch of the world's fourth-largest barrier reef system. The coral here is genuinely pristine. Researchers from the Galaxea Diving Center are still identifying new species; to date, more than 165 reef fish have been catalogued, alongside dugongs, spinner dolphins, hawksbill turtles, and giant stingrays.

The islands are surrounded by rich mangrove fringe - one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet - where halavi guitarfish, blue-spotted fantail rays, and green turtles move through the shallows. The mainland desert dunes are also reachable on guided excursions, giving the resort a rare dual character: you can snorkel through living coral in the morning and hike across ancient desert terrain in the afternoon.

Part of a Bigger Bet on Saudi Tourism

Nujuma is the third resort to open within The Red Sea project, a large-scale luxury tourism initiative developed by Red Sea Global on Saudi Arabia's west coast. It follows Six Senses Southern Dunes and The St. Regis Red Sea Resort, and slots into an ambitious plan that envisions 50 resorts, 8,000 hotel rooms, and a fully functioning luxury destination across 22 islands and six inland sites by 2030. The whole development operates off-grid, powered by 760,000 solar panels and one of the world's largest battery storage facilities at 1,300 MWh. Nujuma itself runs entirely on solar, with seawater converted to fresh water through reverse osmosis, and grey water recycled for plant irrigation.

The architecture was handled by Foster + Partners, whose shell-inspired design brief gave rise to the resort's signature spheroid structures - each one clad in sustainable timber and rope, taking cues from both the surrounding reef and the regional craft tradition. Interior design was led by Wimberly Interiors, who worked around the complex geometry of the curved shells to create villas that feel open, calm, and rooted in Saudi heritage without tipping into pastiche.

Tabrah: The Sea's Daily Catch

Tabrah - from the Arabic for "luckiest catch" - is the resort's seafood restaurant, and the one that best captures Nujuma's culinary ambition. Former Michelin-starred chef Lucas Julien-Vauzelle brings a French sensibility to Arab coastal cuisine, which in practice means Red Sea tuna carpaccio with stracciatella and caviar, baked lobster with Mornay sauce, and Arabic rice pudding finished with mango sourced from the nearby town of Umluj.

The setting plays into it: rattan furnishings, blue-tiled arches that mirror the sea, and an open terrace where the sound of water is a constant presence. The restaurant is a communal celebration of Saudi Arabia's fishing tradition.

Since the resort is alcohol-free, the drinks program leans hard into mocktails; creations like the Shipshape To Nihon Retto (sea buckthorn, grapefruit, lemongrass, yuzu, and ginger) are clever enough that you genuinely don't miss the alternative.

Maia: Mocktails by Starlight

As the sun sets, Maia comes into its own. This bar takes Saudi Arabia's ancient tradition of celestial navigation as its organizing principle: the drinks menu is built around astronomy, with mocktails named after and inspired by stars, constellations, and night-sky phenomena.

The Sun House Sipper - Crossip hibiscus, Lyre's spiced cane, karkadeh, vanilla, lemon, and mint - is worth arriving early for. After dark, you can pair it with a stargazing session on the beach, where resident astrologer Habib Bafeil points out the Thurayya cluster (the Seven Sisters) and recounts the folk tales that Arabian travelers once told around these same stars.

Sita: Where Breakfast Becomes a Ritual

Sita is the resort's all-day venue, named for its six pavilions and designed around the drama of an Arabian bazaar. The centrepiece is a monumental clay oven from which the scent of fresh bread drifts through the space from early morning - pitas and loaves arrive at your table still warm, and hands-on bread-making classes are available for those who want to participate rather than just watch.

A sprawling spice library anchors the Levantine restaurant side, where Arab breakfast staples - scrambled eggs with sujuk sausages, mahalabiya milk pudding with mango - are seasoned with visible care. Hummus is prepared to order.

The French patisserie section runs alongside, offering chocolatine pain perdu with grapefruit jam and a full range of viennoiserie alongside specialty coffee and tea.

The outdoor terrace is the place to be at breakfast: arched woven-wood ceilings mimic traditional leaf-weaving techniques, and the light at that hour - clear, warm, unfiltered by anything except the Red Sea sky - is reason enough to wake up early.

65 Villas Built Around the Landscape

The 65 villas sit either on soft white sand or above the water on an elevated circular ring walkway - one of the more striking pieces of resort architecture anywhere in the region.

One- to three-bedroom configurations are available, ranging from 151 sq m (1,625 sq ft) for the single-bedroom options up to 359 sq m (3,863 sq ft) for the Royal Nujuma Villa.

Each villa has a dedicated personal host - called Najm or Najma - who handles requests, provides buggy transport around the island, and essentially acts as a knowledgeable local contact for the duration of your stay. You can also cycle the elevated causeways yourself, which is one of the better ways to appreciate the resort's scale and setting.

From a distance, the shell-inspired forms look almost organic, like something the reef itself produced; up close, the sustainable timber cladding and rope detailing reveal a design that is both deliberate and surprisingly tactile. All villas are solar-powered and positioned to minimize disruption to the existing habitat.

Inside, the geometry opens up - vaulted ceilings, floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, and an open-plan layout that separates the active living zones from the quieter sleeping area create a genuine sense of spaciousness.

Natural materials dominate: carved timber, burnished metalwork, handwoven rugs in Bedouin-inspired patterns, a bench referencing antique camel saddle design. Every villa comes with a private plunge pool overlooking the water, a telescope on the deck for nighttime use, a full kitchen, and a Bang & Olufsen alarm clock - small details that accumulate into something that feels considered rather than assembled.

Neyrah Spa: Oud, Moringa, and a Copper Pool at the Center of It All

The Neyrah Spa sits at the heart of the resort and extends the design language of the villas outward into a series of indoor and outdoor treatment spaces. The arrival sequence - a calm, neutral palette, a copper pool at the center of the reception, a glass pendant hanging above it - sets a tone that the rest of the spa maintains consistently.

Three semi-private outdoor treatment cabins named Sima, Hayat, and Afaq (past, present, and future) are set within the spa gardens, built from natural materials with sequential wooden slats that filter light in a way that feels more meditative than designed.

A Yoga Pavilion sits within the gardens and uses the same rope-and-timber aesthetic as the villas, keeping the experience visually coherent across the whole resort.

The spa also includes a lap pool and a vitality pool, making it a practical destination for early-morning exercise as much as afternoon pampering.

Jamaa: The Outdoor Pool and What Surrounds It

The adult pool area at Jamaa operates as the social hub of the resort during the day. The outdoor restaurant of the same name sits directly adjacent, serving mezze, wood-fire grilled pizzas, salads, and light dishes in a setting that prioritizes the view.

The pool is designed for lingering - beachside cabanas, shaded seating, and uninterrupted sightlines to the sea make it easy to lose several hours here without feeling like you've wasted them. Shisha is available at Jamaa, which, on a warm afternoon with a fresh mocktail and the Red Sea in front of you, is a combination that's hard to argue with.

The white sand beaches at Nujuma have the quality that Saudi Arabia's coastal geography promises but rarely quite delivers at scale: genuinely undisturbed. The island's low-density layout means that even at full occupancy, the beach never feels crowded.

The Galaxea Diving Center runs kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, paddleboarding, snorkeling, and certified scuba diving excursions from the waterfront; resident naturalist Sean Laughlin leads mangrove walks and guided coastal trails where, if you're attentive, you might spot a halavi guitarfish nosing through the shallows or a Eurasian hoopoe overhead.