Shebara Resort – Saudi Arabia’s floating orbs on the Red Sea, and what it’s actually like inside

There’s a specific moment in this vlog where the seaplane banks over the Red Sea on approach and you get the first aerial shot of Shebara Resort below — 38 stainless steel spheres strung across the turquoise water like something dropped from orbit. You’ve probably seen the renders online, the kind that make you assume some creative department got carried away. They didn’t. The thing actually looks like that. TIME Magazine named it one of the World’s Greatest Places of 2025 within its first year of operation, and based on two nights covering both the overwater villa and the beachfront villa, it’s one of the strangest and most compelling resort experiences anywhere right now.

What is covered in the video: the seaplane from Red Sea International Airport, check-in, a full overwater villa tour (188 sqm, $2,735/night), gym, spa, cycling the island, all five dining venues, dive center and snorkeling, the beach villa tour (248 sqm, $2,413/night), sunsets from the Solera pool, two full dinners at iki.roe and Ariamare, two breakfasts, and the checkout impressions with honest good-and-bad points. That’s a properly complete picture of a very new property. Here’s what you need to know.

What Shebara actually is and where it sits

Shebara Resort opened in November 2024 on Sheybarah Island in the Al Wajh Lagoon, 25 kilometers off Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea coastline in the Tabuk Province. It’s operated directly by Red Sea Global — the same sovereign-wealth-fund-backed entity behind Desert Rock and the entire Red Sea tourism megaproject — making it one of only two properties RSG has chosen to own and run entirely in-house rather than franchise to a luxury brand.

The architect is Killa Design, the Dubai firm that built the Museum of the Future — and that context matters because you can see it. This is not a resort where the architecture was considered secondary to the amenities. The 38 overwater villas are fabricated stainless steel spheres, cantilevered over the water, connected by boardwalks. They reflect the ocean and sky so precisely that from certain angles and at certain times of day they effectively vanish into the horizon. Up close they look like spacecraft that landed in the lagoon and decided to stay. The 35 beachfront villas take the opposite design language — curves inspired by desert sand dunes, lower-profile, more grounded. Both have the same Studio Paolo Ferrari interiors as Desert Rock: the same caramel leather curves, stone, burnt orange accents, a visual warmth that exists in deliberate tension with the steel and glass exterior.

The island runs entirely on solar power. Freshwater comes from an on-site desalination plant. There are no cars — buggies and your own legs get you everywhere. The house reef surrounding the island is genuinely pristine, untouched Saudi Red Sea coral that hasn’t had decades of dive tourism running through it.

Getting there — and why the transfer pricing is legitimately complex

Sheybarah Island is about 25 km offshore. You fly into Red Sea International Airport (RSI), where the Shebara team meets you, handles your bags, and shepherds you toward your chosen transport. The options and pricing are worth laying out clearly because this is one of the more involved transfer situations of any resort anywhere:

• Option 1 — Private Land + Shared Speedboat: 489 SAR per person (~$130). RSG electric vehicle (Mercedes EQS or Lucid Air) to the Professional Beach Club, then shared speedboat to the island. The most common choice for solo or couple travelers
• Option 2 — Seaplane: Shared scheduled flight 1,668 SAR/person (~$445). Private scheduled 10,005 SAR (~$2,668). Private irregular 12,507 SAR (~$3,335). The vlog takes the seaplane and it’s the right call aesthetically — 30 minutes, aerial views of the lagoon and the island on approach, and the arrival from the air is the experience you want for your first look at those orbs
• Option 3 — Split transfer: Car to the Professional Beach Club, then choose between private yacht (9,430 SAR one way, ~$2,514), private speedboat (3,450 SAR, ~$920), or shared speedboat (288 SAR/person one way, ~$77)
• Option 4 — Helicopter: 24,876 SAR one way (~$6,633). For anyone who considers a $6,000 transfer a reasonable line item

All prices include 15% VAT. For two people doing the seaplane both ways on the shared scheduled flight, you’re looking at around $1,780 in transfer costs on top of the room rate. For two people on the land + shared speedboat option, it’s around $260 round trip. The experience difference between the two is real but the price difference is enormous — factor it from day one based on your actual budget rather than treating the room rate as the full cost of the trip.

One logistics note that matters: seaplanes only operate in daylight. Late-arriving international flights mean the boat transfer instead. The Professional Beach Club where the boat departs has a proper lounge to wait in, so this isn’t a hardship, but it affects planning if your routing comes in overnight.

The overwater villa — 188 sqm, $2,735 per night

The vlog spends serious time on the overwater villa tour and that time is justified because the space is unlike any overwater villa you’ve seen before. The exterior is a stainless steel sphere cantilevered above the water on a pier. The interior, designed by Studio Paolo Ferrari, delivers something that shouldn’t work aesthetically but absolutely does: curved caramel leather walls, a bed that seems to grow from the architecture, a bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and a rain shower with chromotherapy, a fully equipped kitchenette behind metal doors that swing open at the touch of a button, and a control system managing lights, AC, and the French doors from a single panel.

The French doors open onto the terrace — marble-clad, private infinity pool, two outdoor seating areas, an overwater hammock above the lagoon. 103 sqm inside, 85 sqm outside. The pool deck and hammock area are not shielded from neighboring villa sight lines, which is worth knowing if that matters to you — it’s the most consistently noted practical limitation across reviews of this property. The villa facing the sunrise (villa 227 is specifically recommended by multiple guests who’ve stayed multiple times) gives you the morning light on the water from bed. Sunset-facing villas get the evening light show on the orbs.

Every villa has a WhatsApp number connected to a butler available around the clock. Restaurant reservations, boat requests, room setup preferences — all handled by message. The same system as Desert Rock, the same service standard. And like Desert Rock, the consistency of guest feedback on the service quality here is remarkable for a property that opened in late 2024.

The beach villa — 248 sqm, $2,413 per night

The beach villa is actually larger than the overwater villa by footprint — 248 sqm total, 103 inside and 145 outside — and at roughly $320 per night less. The dune-inspired exterior blends into the island’s sand-and-vegetation landscape rather than cantilevering above the water. More privacy from neighboring villas. Direct beach access off the terrace. The same Studio Paolo Ferrari interior language inside: the curved walls, the warm material palette, the bathtub, the kitchenette, the automated doors. Private pool on the terrace.

The honest comparison the vlog makes: the overwater villa wins on drama and the experience of being suspended above the Red Sea. The beach villa wins on privacy, on physical space, and on being slightly more grounded in the island rather than floating above it. Neither is the wrong choice — it’s genuinely a question of what you’re there for. If the coral reef snorkeling is your priority and you want easy water access, the overwater villas put you directly above the reef. If you want the desert dune aesthetic and maximum terrace privacy, the beach villas deliver that more completely.

There are also higher-tier options beyond the standard one-bedroom categories: Beachfront Royal Villa Ensemble combining a four-bedroom Royal Villa with three one-bedroom villas on a private islet complete with its own yacht dock. The two-bedroom overwater villa starts around 16,500 SAR (~$4,400) per night. The Royal Villa categories price on application.

Five restaurants and bars — no alcohol, genuinely impressive

Same situation as Desert Rock: Saudi Arabia, no alcohol anywhere. Shebara leans into this more creatively than almost any property I’ve seen documented. The Solera adults-only bar has been specifically praised across every review for mocktails that use house-made syrups, herbs, and bitters to create complex flavors that don’t feel like a consolation prize. Multiple reviewers have said they didn’t miss the alcohol. That’s the bar, and Solera clears it.

🍣 iki.roe — Japanese Nikkei, the standout

iki.roe is the restaurant every review mentions first. Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei fusion, interactive open kitchen, omakase dining journey available. Reviewers describe the miso black cod as rival to Nobu’s. The interiors run olive green and beige against the visual language you’d expect from Japanese-influenced design. Open from 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM, closed Mondays and Wednesdays — book through your butler as early as possible on arrival. This is the restaurant you travel to Shebara for.

🍝 Ariamare — Mediterranean, the Pasta Lab

Led by Chef Marco Garfagnini, whose Ristorante Ninan earned a Michelin star in the 1990s, Ariamare is the resort’s Mediterranean flagship in the arrival pavilion with a sea-facing terrace. The defining feature is the Pasta Lab, where house-made pastas are prepared in full view through a glass window. The caviar degustation menu runs every evening. Reviewers describe it as sophisticated but slightly less experimental than iki.roe — the two restaurants together cover the full range of what this dining program can do.

🌿 Lunara — breakfast and brasserie

The main breakfast and lunch venue. Semi-buffet format with pastries and cold cuts plus an à la carte menu that runs from eggs with caviar to chilli crab. The setting — sea view, studded wood ceiling — is the kind of breakfast room where you order a third coffee without meaning to. Multiple reviewers have flagged the in-villa breakfast as an equally strong option for those who want to start the day on the overwater terrace. Worth doing at least once each way.

🌊 Saria — family pool, Levantine cuisine

The family-side pool venue with Levantine mezze, grilled specialties, and a relaxed daytime atmosphere. The Oliver James floats have been specifically called out as popular with kids and adults alike. Good for lunch when you don’t want to leave the water.

☀️ Solera — adults only, sunset, mocktails, shisha

The adults-only pool bar on the western side of the island for sunset. The non-alcoholic program here has been described as genuinely exceptional — shisha, innovative mocktails, small bites from the Red Sea and surrounding landscape. This is the spot for the end of the day. The vlog covers it on Day 2 sunset and the footage makes the case better than any description.

The reef — this is genuinely special

The house reef at Shebara deserves its own section because it’s arguably what makes this resort a different proposition from comparable architecture-first properties. The Al Wajh Lagoon coral is untouched Saudi Red Sea — 30-40 meter reef drop-offs close to the beach, no decades of international dive tourism having moved through it. Multiple reviewers have compared it to the best reefs they’ve seen in the Maldives or on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, and the marine life list includes eagle rays, turtles, reef sharks, and the full complement of Red Sea fish that anyone who’s dived Egypt will recognize.

The Galaxea Diving Centre handles guided snorkeling and scuba, with PADI-certified instructors. The vlog’s snorkeling segment is extensive and honest — 60 minutes in the water on a two-night stay and they spotted an eagle ray and a turtle. The Egyptian guide mentioned in the Tatler review leads with genuine knowledge of what lives here rather than just a follow-me circuit. Water sports through Wama include sea-bobs, electric paddleboards, kayaking, and e-foiling at additional cost.

Spa, gym, and everything else

The spa building has a distinct design — raw stone exterior, clean lines, natural light — separate from the resort’s futuristic orb language. It works because the contrast is intentional: the spa is supposed to feel like the natural world rather than the architecture. Five indoor treatment rooms, three outdoor cabanas, an outdoor vitality pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, and experience shower. Signature treatments include the Moonlight Meteorite Massage (which uses actual space dust in the treatment, which is a sentence that only makes sense at $2,700-per-night resorts) and a Pearl and Green Caviar Signature Hammam. The floating meditation session — lying on a mat in shallow water with guided breathwork — is specifically called out across multiple reviews as genuinely effective rather than a novelty.

The gym is well-equipped, the vlog covers it properly, and it’s the kind of setup that suggests someone who actually uses a gym specified the equipment rather than just filling a room. Yoga pavilion overlooking the sea, padel and tennis courts, cycling available around the island, a running track. The island is small enough to cycle its perimeter in a relaxed 15-20 minutes, which is both useful for getting between zones and just a pleasant thing to do in the morning.

The honest good-and-bad from the vlog’s checkout impressions

The vlog specifically addresses what works and what doesn’t at checkout, which is one of the things that makes this particular piece of content worth watching. The consistent picture from this and every other review: the architecture delivers on every promise, the service is exceptional given how new the property is, the reef is world-class, and iki.roe is a legitimately great restaurant.

The honest limitations: the stainless steel exteriors are genuinely difficult to keep spotless against salt air and sea conditions. Arab News specifically noted that at these price points, more attention to maintenance details in public areas feeds into the overall experience — and that’s fair. The overwater villa pool deck lacks privacy screening from neighboring villas. And like Desert Rock, the property sits 25 km offshore in a remote location that requires real logistics to reach, which is part of the appeal but also part of the cost and planning overhead.

One comparison that’s inevitable and the vlog addresses honestly: Shebara is often positioned against the Maldives for overwater villa travelers. The architecture is more distinctive, the reef is arguably stronger, and the price is currently competitive with Maldives top-tier. The no-alcohol situation is the primary practical difference for many Western travelers, and Solera’s mocktail program is the resort’s answer to that. Whether the answer satisfies depends on the individual.

What it actually costs

• 1-bedroom overwater villa: from ~10,000 SAR (~$2,665) per night. Vlog rate was 10,263.75 SAR ($2,735)
• 1-bedroom beach villa: from ~9,000 SAR (~$2,400) per night. Vlog rate was 9,056.25 SAR ($2,413)
• 2-bedroom overwater villa: from ~16,500 SAR (~$4,400) per night
• Royal Villa categories: priced on application
• Transfer (seaplane shared): ~1,668 SAR (~$445) per person one way
• Transfer (land + shared speedboat): ~489 SAR (~$130) per person return
• Book 3+ nights: 20% off villa rates currently available — the best pricing lever on this property

No loyalty program currently. Red Sea Global operates Shebara and Desert Rock independently without Marriott, Accor, or any other affiliation. This is a cash booking. The 20% discount for three or more nights is the most meaningful way to reduce the per-night cost, and given that the vlog explicitly says two nights is tight for doing this island justice — which matches every other multi-night reviewer’s sentiment — three nights is probably the minimum to book anyway.

Best time to visit: October through April. The Red Sea in this region is hot from June through September — not ideal for outdoor activities. March to May is excellent: warm water, light winds, good visibility for diving and snorkeling. November through February is the cool-season sweet spot with the most comfortable temperatures and the clearest skies.

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel