Six Senses has unveiled details of its sustainability-focused resort, set to open at Amaala, the 4,000-square-kilometre integrated wellness destination within Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global development.
Synced with the dramatic landforms of Triple Bay, Six Senses Amaala will comprise beachfront residences, a hillside village and villas with various accommodation options to suit all guest preferences. These include 64 rooms, six suites, 30 villas and 25 branded residences.
Designed by architects U+A with interiors by Studio Carter, the rooms and residences will be inspired by the region’s traditional coastal villages, and are meant to integrate with the naturally occurring topography built using locally sourced materials.
Located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, Amaala aims to be a year-round destination. The first phase of the project is set for launch by the middle of next year, with more than 1,300 hotel rooms across eight resorts. When complete in 2027, it will have more than 25 hotels, luxury residences, fine-dining outlets and a host of wellness and recreational facilities.
Projects already announced include Rosewood Amaala, Clinique La Prairie Health Resort and the Triple Bay Yacht Club.
Six Senses Amaala will also be home to Six Senses Spa, built within a private cove, with facilities including a cryotherapy chamber, longevity clinic, as well as male and female thermal areas featuring Finnish and infrared saunas, herbal steam rooms, salt rooms, vitality pools and ice baths.
There will also be clubs for toddlers and teenagers, prayer rooms and communal lounges.
The branded residences, meanwhile, will consist of three to six-bedroom units, all opening to uninterrupted coastal views.
Sustainability will be the focus of this resort, which will come equipped with a dedicated desalination plant with zero impact on the coral reefs, while single-use plastics will be banned. All wastewater and organic waste will be used for agriculture and the organic farm.
Energy requirements will also be met using renewable sources, Six Senses said.
“We are connected by a shared commitment to the practice, appreciation, and advancement of arts and culture, wellness, and environmental preservation,” said Neil Jacobs, the chief executive of Six Senses. “Six Senses Amaala is part of a holistic hub for the arts, a leading diving destination, an extension of the Mediterranean yachting corridors, and an integrated wellness community, all of which we hope inspires guests to embark on transformative personal journeys.”
Six Senses Amaala is set to open as part of the first phase of the Triple Bay development.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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