Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and The St. Regis Red Sea Resort have opened their doors to visitors this year.
The two resorts are surrounded by the azure waters of The Red Sea, which is also home to the world’s fourth-largest barrier reef. This area, spanning over 28,000 square kilometres, has an archipelago of more than 90 untouched islands, dormant volcanos, desert dunes, mountain canyons and historical sites.
“Nujuma comes from an Arabic word for the stars,” Tony Coveney, Multi-Property General Manager, St. Regis Resort at The Red Sea and Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, tells TTN. “So, you’ll find that the whole activation of the reserve is built around celestial sort of stories. We’ve got an astronomer on that island. We have some cultural heritage people. We have a naturalist on the island as well. It’s partly hospitality, partly educational, partly cultural, and so it’s a whole experience that’s just unique to the location.”
PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE
The Nujuma experience is a personalised one, he explains. “Every guest is assigned a butler. Once you get kind of paired with somebody at the beginning of the experience, they stay through the whole experience with you, and it kind of cuts out that margin for error with things like, somebody doesn’t have to make a phone call for extra things, they speak to their butler or they WhatsApp them, and it’s all going to be instantly taken care of,” he says. “We spend a lot of time actually matching the profile of our visitors against the profile of our agents, and then we prepare them in advance. So could be gender based, could be nationality based.”
Nujuma has 63 villas that range from the one-to-three-bedroom format. These are set amid the soft white sand or perched above the blue sea, and their interiors are finished with found objects, local art and colours, textures and materials that borrow from nature.
The St. Regis Red Sea Resort, meanwhile, has an expansive arrival pavilion, 90 overwater and beachfront villas offering one-to-four-bedroom accommodation and a private pool, a signature spa, high-tech gym, outdoor pools, water sports centre, and a children’s club with an outdoor adventure play area.
The resort has been designed by architect Kengo Kuma and interior design firm Kristina Zanic Consultants. The design echoes the natural elements such as the vibrant coral reefs and rich marine life found around the island.
Both properties are only about a kilometre apart, but offer vastly different experiences. St. Regis, for example, is a more family-oriented offering. It’s not as large as the reserve; it’s set in an area of around three-and-a-half kilometres. The reserve, meanwhile, is more geared toward an individual’s wellbeing. It’s also got a more nature-centric vibe and offers a “very Saudi experience”.
SPA TIME
When it comes to spas – another huge draw on holidays – both resorts offer different services. “One is a range called Amra, and it’s actually a British product, but it was kind of designed for the Saudi market, lots of sort of gold and titanium and platinum treatments that are sort of intertwined with massage and using hot stone massage, things like that. This is available at St Regis. And then we have Neyrah Spa at Nujuma. We use a product range called Natural here,” Coveney explains.
The clientele these resorts have been seeing so far is mostly domestic. However, he says, “We have fights from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai. So it’s growing. We are starting to see a little bit more of an international audience coming through Dubai, but still in small numbers. What I am seeing also is our Saudi visitors regularly say to me, ‘Normally we would go to the Maldives, and now we’re going to spend our money with you. There’s a sense of national pride about it’.”
CULINARY EXTRAVAGANZA
Food is an important part of the travel experience and both hotels are going all-out to ensure their guests enjoy theirs. At St. Regis, there are five culinary concepts that serve local produce: Nesma, the resort’s all-day dining venue; Gishki 45 has a fusion of beach resort style and Asian aesthetic; the St. Regis Bar immerses guests in an underwater experience through its use of deep marine blue tones, creams, and silvers. Then there’s Tilina, an overwater restaurant for seafood enthusiasts and The Beach Club.
At Nujuma, meanwhile, there are four speciality restaurants that offer everything from romantic al fresco dinners in a picturesque beach setting overlooking the water to social gatherings inspired by Saudi Arabia’s tradition of meeting at home.