Review: Six Senses Southern Dunes

Why book?

To feel like a travel pioneer. The new Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea, is the first resort to open in the 28,000-square-kilometer expanse of sea, reefs, islands and inland desert known, simply, as The Red Sea. It’s one of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious tourism-focused giga-projects, part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aimed at diversifying the economy and heralding a new future for the nation.

Set the scene

The clue to enjoying a stay at Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea, is in its name. The resort is located in the desert, a 45-minute drive from the coast. The sand you’ll be sinking your toes into is desert rather than beach sand, and the cooling waters you’ll be floating in are swimming pool waters rather than marine – but on a clear day you can see the Red Sea sparkling on the horizon. Once you’ve reconciled yourself to the fact that this isn’t a seaside resort, you can get down to enjoying what it’s really all about – sleek, sustainably-minded design, desert adventures, wellness and warm hospitality.

Considering that the Arabian Peninsula is covered with vast tracts of sand and dunes, there are surprisingly few iconic desert resorts in the region. Abu Dhabi has Qasr Al Sarab. Dubai has Al Maha. AlUla is home to the Banyan Tree and Habitas resorts. With the opening of the Six Senses Southern Dunes, we now have one more to add to that list.

The backstory

We are the first media in to experience the Six Senses Southern Dunes, and I feel a keen sense of anticipation as the car approached the resort on an undulating ribbon of tarmac so smooth, it almost feels like levitating. While this is the first resort to open in the destination, upon completion in 2030, The Red Sea will be home to 50 hotels with 8,000 rooms, as well as 1,000 residential properties, luxury marinas, golf courses and entertainment.

There is a great deal of focus placed on The Red Sea, both within Saudi Arabia and from outside observers watching to see if a luxury tourism destination can truly be regenerative, as Red Sea Global, the developer behind the destination, claims. The destination’s ambitious masterplan has been developed through in-depth environmental studies and a large-scale marine spatial planning simulation to assess the impact that developing this pristine natural landscape will inevitably have.

According to Red Sea Global, less than one per cent of the total 28,000-kilometre area is being developed, with 75 per cent of the destination’s islands, some of which are home to endangered species including hawksbill turtles and sooty falcons, preserved for conservation. The entire destination aims to run fully on renewable energy by 2030, including the power that will supply the hotels, the boats used for marine activities and the seaplanes that will eventually connect the mainland with the island resorts. Utilities at Six Senses Southern Dunes are already being powered by renewables, with the resort tapping into the destination’s current network of 760,000 solar panels.

The Six Senses has been designed by Foster + Partners using materials that reduce dependence on artificial cooling, with extensive planting of native desert flora that is already attracting a wide variety of birdlife – I spot bee-eaters, bulbuls and blackstarts on my morning strolls. Structures, from villas to rooms to restaurants, are made from lightweight materials that avoid heat absorption, and shading offers protection from the intense desert sun. At the heart of the property is the Oasis, a verdant space beneath self-shading petal-shaped rope canopies, where fountains bubble and splash and the temperature feels a couple of degrees cooler than in the direct sunlight.

The rooms

There’s a desert modernist vibe to the 76 rooms, suites and villas that sprawl between soft sand dunes and rolling rocky hills. The villas are shaded by angular canopies, with cheery yellow walls, large outdoor terraces and plunge pools warmed by the sun’s rays.

Interior design is a collaboration between Muza Lab and the Red Sea Global design team, featuring sinuous curves that echo the contours of the dunes, earthy materials, smooth textures that you can’t help running your hands over and fabrics inspired by traditional weavings. Drapes and sheers are opened and closed by a button next to the bed. Press it, and you can enjoy the desert views from beneath your cosy duvet.

Bathrooms are full of tactile surfaces, spacious showers and deep-soaking tubs with homemade fragrant bath salts to pour in. The soft, brushed-cotton robes are light and cosy and you’ll no doubt want to take one home. Fortunately, they’re for sale in the resort boutique.

While the villas are the most desirable accommodations here, the five 90-square-metre Wadi Suites also offer plenty of living and sleeping space, as well as large terraces with hanging daybeds. Even the smallest accommodations, the 31 Wadi Rooms, are a very generous 60 square metres, with wide-ranging vistas and plenty of space to stretch out.

Food and drink

Dining at the resort is guided by Six Senses’ philosophy of creating nutritious, healthy food. At all-day restaurant Bariya, you’ll be encouraged to kickstart your morning with a glass of “Rocket Fuel”, a punchy mix of organic apple cider vinegar, onion, citrus, ginger and a mix of herbs and spices. There’s a wide selection of self-serve cold breakfast items, and a team of chefs is on hand to cook hot dishes, including Saudi favorites like masoob, a deliciously stodgy blend of banana, ground bread, cheese, dates and honey, and hebda, sautéed goat liver with tomato and chilli flakes. For the less adventurous, you can’t go wrong with the brioche French toast with labneh and homemade lemon curd.

Arabic tapas, pastries and light bites are served throughout the day at Merkaz, along with teas, coffees and mocktails from the brew bar. Adjacent to Merkaz is the cooking school and chef’s table. I spend a lovely hour here with Turkish plant-based chef Ayşe Aktan making muhammara, cauliflower tabbouleh, and cashew and date balls. Classes focused on Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines, as well as gluten-free baking and fermentation and pickling, are also available.

The Pool Bar & Grill is the spot for resort-style dining on colorful mosaic-topped tables, beneath swaying palms. The garden ceviche is a tangy mix of regionally-sourced vegetables and lacto-fermented mango, the plump poached Red Sea prawns are perfect dipped in cocktail sauce, while the tempura hammour tacos have extra crunch crunch from fennel salad and kimchi slaw. All of these pair well with the summery cocktails shaken and stirred by the enthusiastic bar team but bear in mind that when you see Tanqueray gin listed on the menu, this is the 0 per cent ABV version. Saudi Arabia is still a dry country and the mixology here focuses on alcohol-free beverages.

At the highest point of the resort is Al Sarab, the spot for Arabic fine-dining dishes featuring locally sourced ingredients including seafood, fish and camel cheese. Arrive early and pull up a seat on the terrace to watch the day transition to night. The sunsets here are extraordinary – long fiery cinematic displays of ever-changing colors as the sun drops into the Red Sea waters on the horizon. And don’t miss the 24-hour Gelato Pod where you can help yourself to complementary scoops of gelati with flavours like sumac and cashew, basil and za’atar, and Saudi coffee.

The Spa

Six Senses takes wellness seriously and the spa is vast, spanning almost 4,000 square metres and featuring six treatment rooms, a meditation dome, women’s and men’s salons, a holistic anti-ageing centre, and a biohacking lounge. I enter the spa with the remnants of a nagging migraine, which – miraculously, as they usually take hours to shift – is soothed by the hands of my therapist who performs a gentle cranio-sacral massage while I lay on a bed of warm quartz sand as part of the Desert Bliss treatment. Later, in the biohacking lounge, I relax on a vibrating recliner listening to a soundtrack of Yoga Nidra music as my legs are encased in Normatec compression boots that squeeze different muscles groups and make me look like some kind of strange astronaut. This is the Sleep Hack, and it sends me into a slumber so deep, I have no idea how long I sleep for. A member of the spa team eventually has to come and wake me up to tell me it's time for lunch.

The spa also offers multi-day wellness programs, focusing on themes such as sleep, detox and weight management, as well as fitness and wellness activities like aerial yoga, breathwork and meditation. There’s a well-equipped fitness centre but there are also outdoor fitness stations spread out across the property, with quirky wooden equipment like Tarzan ladders and weights that look as if they’ve been transported here from the Flintstones’ hometown of Bedrock.

The neighborhood

Southern Dunes doesn't really have a neighborhood – it’s nestled among a swath of desert with dunes, hills and the occasional wandering camel. The best way to experience the surrounding area is on a hike or bike tour. I do the former, setting off before dawn with Akun, Red Sea Global’s adventure sports operator, for a strenuous clamber over the dunes. Due to the camels’ penchant for nibbling the resort’s landscaped greenery, there’s a fence encircling the property to keep them out, which we cross to enter the desert proper. It’s a slog to climb the dunes, but the views of the sunrise from the top, all wispy pinks and purples, make it all worth it. When the new St. Regis Red Sea Resort opens its doors in January 2024, to be closely followed by Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Six Senses will have two new neighbours on the coast, as well as access to marine activities.

The service

As with most new hotels, there’s a sense of excitement among the staff to be welcoming their first guests. They’re keen for you to experience everything, and seem genuinely proud to be part of this pioneering new destination.

For families

There’s plenty for families to do around the resort, from splashpads, table tennis and play areas at the Grow with Six Senses Kids’ Club, to hands-on, educational activities at the Earth Lab, including recycled paper workshops, henna paste-making, and beeswax paper-making. Villas can accommodate extra beds and there are connecting rooms. Naturally, the Gelato Pod is a hit with kids of all ages.

Eco effort

Sustainability has always been a key focus of the Six Senses brand and the resort is making broad-ranging efforts to operate as responsibly as possible, in line with the overall goals of The Red Sea. In addition to running on renewables, the resort implements heat recovery technology, intelligent building management systems, energy-efficient appliances and equipment, water-efficient fixtures and fittings, and grey water irrigation, to mention a few of the 131 sustainable operations guidelines which each Six Senses property runs on.

Staff are also refreshingly frank about which standards are still works in progress. The resort’s sustainability lead tells me that while they are not yet zero-waste or 100 per cent plastic-free, they are on their way to achieving the goal. They also require suppliers to sign a commitment to their sustainable purchasing standards, working together to find solutions to reduce packaging and waste. The resort also gives 0.5 per cent of its net revenue to the Six Senses Sustainability Fund to support community and environmental projects; it will also release an annual report to communicate the results of its efforts.

While you’re gazing at the sunset, take a moment to observe those particularly photogenic rock stacks silhouetted against the sky. They’re actually the world’s first zero-carbon 5G masts, powered 100 per cent by solar energy and providing lightning-fast connection from within their 3D-printed camouflage.

Accessibility for those with mobility impairments

The property has one accessible Wadi king room, as well as ramps for public areas and wheelchair-accessible buggies.