Raffles The Red Sea opens with 121 guestrooms, 14 suites, 33 pool villas

By Daniel Okafor

Raffles The Red Sea has opened on Saudi Arabia’s Shura Island with 121 guestrooms, 14 suites and 33 private pool villas, set between a lagoon and the open sea. Raffles Hotels & Resorts announced the debut as its first resort on the Red Sea.

The resort follows Shura Island’s contours on the island’s northwestern shore. Light-filled interiors, layered textures and coastal tones draw the surrounding landscape indoors, while terraces, paths and gardens lead toward the lagoon and open sea. It forms part of Foster + Partners’ Coral Bloom masterplan, conceived to enhance the island’s natural state.

Raffles CEO Omer Acar said: “The opening of Raffles The Red Sea marks an exciting new chapter for Raffles in Saudi Arabia.” He added: “As we continue to expand across Saudi Arabia, this opening reflects our ambition to create exceptional hospitality experiences in extraordinary destinations.”

Acar tied the resort to a brand legacy of nearly 140 years. He said highly personalized service delivered through butlers, along with comfort and privacy in residential-style accommodations, would define the stay.

For hotel operators, the room inventory establishes scale but not unit economics. The announcement discloses no room rates, capital cost, occupancy forecast, labor cost or food-and-beverage pricing. It also does not say whether the resort is company-operated, franchised or held through another ownership vehicle, leaving revenue per available key and cost per occupied room unresolved.

What does the opening change for guests?

At opening, every room, suite and villa includes Raffles’ Butler Service. Guestrooms open onto private terraces with lagoon or sea views, while suites offer generous indoor-outdoor living and expansive water-facing terraces. The mix serves couples, families and multigenerational groups, giving each party room to set its own pace.

The resort is phasing its wider amenities:

• The future Raffles Spa & Wellness and adults’ pool phase includes seven treatment rooms, a hammam, sauna, steam facilities, a vitality pool and an outdoor lap pool. In-room and private rituals will also be available.
• The children’s and teens’ centers will open later with age-specific opportunities to explore, play and create.

Until the spa and adults’ pool arrive, guests can use the gym, padel and water sports.

The resort’s broader proposition pairs destination-led dining with restorative wellness and culture. The announcement points to Marina Village’s dining and retail but names no restaurants and gives no local-sourcing plan, menu mix or price points. That leaves the commercial choices most relevant to operators—sourcing, pricing and menu engineering—unexplained.

A dedicated Raffles Curator will lead programming around local art, literature, storytelling and craftsmanship. The Curator’s Room will provide an intimate setting for gatherings, celebrations and cultural exchange.

Charles Saliba, managing director of Raffles The Red Sea and Fairmont The Red Sea, said: “Our aim is to give guests the freedom to find their own rhythm on the island.” His example: “A day might begin on the water, move into the spa, end over dinner by the sea, or unfold more quietly through art, storytelling and time together.” Saliba said the experience should feel personal, unhurried and connected to the place.

Shura Links is Saudi Arabia’s first 18-hole island golf course. Guests also have access to the marina, Marina Village’s dining and retail, WAMA water sports, Galaxea diving and marine discovery, and Akun land-based activities. The island’s beaches invite a slower pace.

The destination follows a regenerative tourism approach, with development designed around a close relationship with the natural environment. Shura Island is powered entirely by renewable energy. From Red Sea International Airport, guests travel by electric vehicle across the 3.3-kilometer Shura crossing.

The next commercial test comes as the spa, adults’ pool and family centers arrive: watch whether the opening room inventory gains longer stays and fuller use of its dining and cultural spaces. Until then, Raffles has launched the core resort and a clear service proposition, while leaving the financial and operating details needed to judge returns unresolved.