Our Habitas AlUla and Caravan AlUla review – two nights in Saudi Arabia’s ancient desert

Okay, so I’ll be honest. Saudi Arabia was not on my radar as a luxury travel destination until fairly recently. And then I watched this vlog, and now I’ve spent way too long researching a desert resort in the middle of an ancient canyon I didn’t even know existed two weeks ago. If you just finished the video and you’re sitting there slightly confused about what you just watched — because it’s genuinely hard to categorize — same. Let me break down what’s happening at Our Habitas AlUla and its sister property Caravan AlUla by Our Habitas, because this two-night combo is one of the most unusual luxury stays I’ve come across.

Night one is a Celestial Villa at the main resort — $2,212 USD per night, dramatic sandstone canyons on every side, infinity pool that looks like it was designed specifically to make you question every life decision that led to your current job. Night two switches completely to the Caravan property: 45 vintage Airstream travel trailers parked in the desert with an outdoor cinema and a social fire pit vibe. Plus a full AlUla sightseeing day in between — Hegra, Elephant Rock, Maraya — covering the UNESCO World Heritage site that most people outside the region have never heard of. This is not a typical luxury hotel review. Let’s get into it.

So what actually is Our Habitas AlUla?

Our Habitas is a global boutique hotel brand built around the idea that a luxury stay should also do something for you — not just house you in an expensive room. Their properties land in extraordinary locations (Tulum, Atacama, Namibia, Bacalar) and AlUla, which opened in November 2021, is arguably their most dramatic setting yet.

The resort sits in the Ashar Valley — a sandstone canyon in northwest Saudi Arabia — about 50 minutes from AlUla International Airport. The landscape when you arrive is genuinely other-worldly. Towering red and orange rock formations on every side, date palm groves in the valley below, the kind of terrain that makes you feel like you’ve landed on Mars but someone has installed a very good infinity pool.

A quick orientation on what you’re dealing with:

• 🏜️ 96 villas built from ethically sourced organic materials, designed to blend into the canyon walls
• 🍽️ Tama Restaurant — the only on-site dining at the main resort, farm-to-table with local sourcing, open for breakfast through dinner
• 🧘 Thuraya Wellness Spa — named after a star constellation used by Bedouins for navigation, spa treatments, sound healing, yoga, breathwork
• 🏊 Heated infinity pool set against the canyon wall, surrounded by desert landscape in every direction
• 🎨 Art installations throughout the property including Falling Stones Garden (320 rock-like multicolored sculptures) and Najma
• 🛺 Electric bikes and buggies for getting around the property
• 🌙 Nightly programming — sound baths, desert cinema, live music, stargazing

The brand’s philosophy shows up everywhere. There’s a daily programming board outside the lobby listing wellness activities, cultural experiences, and events. It’s been compared to Burning Man more than once by guests — which is either completely on the nose or slightly alarming depending on your perspective, but the energy is genuinely different from a standard hotel.

The property also sits on private land that includes Maraya — the world’s largest mirrored building and a Guinness World Record holder. Guests at either the main resort or the Caravan get access to this. If you want to see Maraya without staying here, your only real option is a dinner reservation at Tama restaurant.

The villas — three categories, one very good view

Our Habitas AlUla has 96 villas across three categories — Canyon, Alcove, and Celestial — and the difference between them is mainly about scale and what you’re looking at from your private terrace. The vlog stays in the Celestial Villa, which is the largest of the three.

🌟 Celestial Villa

The top-tier option and the one featured in this vlog at 8,298 SAR / approximately $2,212 USD per night. Celestial Villas are the most spacious category, with dedicated outdoor lounge areas for watching sunsets over the sandstone cliffs. These villas come with a telescope built in — which makes total sense once you experience the night sky out here, which is completely unpolluted by city light. Celestial Villas are also available in an Art Villa variant (views of the Desert X installations including Falling Stones Garden) and a Wellness Villa variant (yoga mats, private in-room massage set-up, additional wellness amenities).

🪨 Canyon Villa

The entry-level category and — if you’ve read any review of this property — almost universally loved. At 45 sqm it’s more compact but also more immersed, surrounded by the actual sandstone cliff walls. The Canyon Villa is perfect for one or two people and the most affordable way into the property. Nabataean rock carvings can actually be found in the rocks on the property itself near these villas — something reviewers keep mentioning as a surprise highlight.

🏔️ Alcove Villa

The middle ground. Close-up canyon views from a private terrace, more privacy and space than the Canyon Villas, available in a Wellness Villa variant with the same enhanced wellness amenities as the Celestial version.

🌄 Arabian Villa

The largest and most secluded accommodation on the property. Sweeping panoramic views of the full Ashar Valley, unique indoor and outdoor spaces, maximum privacy. These are the top option for guests who want the full resort experience without doing the Caravan side.

A note on the rooms honestly — multiple reviewers mention that the villas are modular in design and relatively minimal, which is deliberate and in keeping with the brand’s sustainable ethos. If you’re expecting heavy luxury furnishings and a grand hotel feel, this isn’t that. The luxury here is the location, the programming, the service, and the setting. The villas themselves are extremely comfortable and well-appointed but they’re not the point — the canyon outside your window is.

Night two: Caravan AlUla by Our Habitas

This is the part of the trip that makes the two-night combo genuinely interesting. Caravan AlUla by Our Habitas opened in March 2022 and is essentially the social, more casual sibling of the main resort. Instead of private villas in a canyon, you’re staying in one of 45 vintage Airstream travel trailers — the iconic American aluminum caravans — parked in the desert with their own distinct setup.

The vlog stays in the Oasis Caravan (Twin configuration) at 2,882 SAR / approximately $768.50 USD per night — significantly more accessible than the villa side and a completely different energy.

What the Caravan experience actually is

Think of it as upscale glamping with a festival atmosphere. Each Airstream has a private outdoor seating area and an en-suite bathroom. The Oasis Caravan Twin has two beds, which makes it a genuinely practical option for travel companions who don’t want to share. The interiors are fitted out properly — not roughing it — but the whole point is the outdoor communal experience the Caravan is designed around:

• 🔥 Shared fire pit and outdoor lounge areas — the social heart of the Caravan, where guests gather after dark
• 🎬 Outdoor cinema — a desert movie screening under an actual starlit sky. The vlog hits this on arrival and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d hope for
• 🍴 Central dining space and food trucks — more casual communal dining than the main resort’s restaurant setup
• ⭐ The night sky — one of the best stargazing locations on the planet, and you’re sleeping in a tin trailer in the open desert directly under it

The Caravan categories include the Oasis Caravan (Twin or King), the Explorer Caravan, and some premium options. Pricing runs from roughly $500-$800 USD per night depending on category and season — a meaningful step down from villa pricing while still being part of the same ecosystem and same access to the private land and Maraya.

The honest take: some guests love the Caravan so much they prefer it to the main resort for the atmosphere and the social dynamic. Others stay one night, tick the box, and are genuinely happy they also had the villa experience for contrast. Doing both as a back-to-back like this vlog does is the most complete way to experience the Habitas AlUla universe.

Dining: Tama Restaurant and what to expect

The main resort has a single dining venue — Tama Restaurant — which is both the advantage and the one honest limitation. The advantage is that it’s very good. Farm-to-table sourcing from local AlUla farms, a menu built around regional flavors with international influences, a breakfast spread that guests consistently describe as exceptional, and dinner under the stars with the canyon walls lit up around you.

The infinity pool and Tama sit together at the top of the valley — the layout means your dinner view is the same desert landscape you’ve been absorbing all day, but now it’s under a ceiling of stars. That combination is genuinely special and makes up for a lot.

The honest caveat that shows up in multiple long-stay reviews: the menu doesn’t change daily, so for stays longer than three or four nights, some guests find it repetitive. This vlog covers two days so it’s not a factor — the breakfast is covered on day one and dinner the same evening, and both get solid coverage in the video. The food at the Caravan has its own separate setup — a more casual, communal dining experience that suits the different vibe of that property.

AlUla as a city doesn’t have a huge independent dining scene yet, but there are options worth exploring during the sightseeing day — the area around Elephant Rock has cafes and food stalls that open from the evening into the early morning hours, and the broader AlUla town is developing a food culture worth dipping into.

What you do all day: the resort programming and activities

This is where Habitas earns the comparison to something more intentional than a standard luxury hotel. The programming board outside the lobby changes daily and includes a full schedule of options across their six pillars — wellness, adventure, culture, learning, and food and beverage. Here’s what the vlog covers and what’s available:

🧘 Wellness programming

Sunrise yoga on the Ashar Deck. Tai chi. Breathwork sessions. Sound bath meditations under the stars at night — multiple guests describe these as one of the absolute highlights of a stay here, and doing a nighttime sound bath in an open desert canyon is a hard experience to replicate anywhere else on earth. The Thuraya Wellness Spa handles massage treatments, healing sessions, and more structured wellness programming. The spa itself is named after a Bedouin navigational star constellation, which feels right for a place this connected to the landscape.

🚴 Electric bikes and exploration

E-bikes are available for guests to explore the valley and the property grounds — and this keeps coming up in reviews as a surprisingly perfect thing to do here. Cycling through an ancient desert canyon on your own schedule, stopping to look at rock formations and Nabataean carvings, is a genuinely excellent afternoon. Buggies are also available for guests who prefer not to cycle.

🎨 Art and the Desert X installations

The property has multiple significant art installations including Falling Stones Garden — 320 rock-like multicolored sculptures scattered across the landscape — and Najma. Celestial and Canyon Art Villas are positioned specifically for views of these pieces. The entire property has been designed as an art environment as much as a hotel, and you’ll keep finding things to look at as you move around.

🎯 Everything else

Trampolines dotted across the sandy terrain (genuinely fun, not a gimmick), swings installed on top of a dune, TRX workouts, Pilates, personal training. A daily light show in the evenings. The outdoor cinema operates at the Caravan. The property’s private land also gives access to Maraya directly.

The AlUla sightseeing day – what you’re actually visiting

The vlog includes highlights from a full AlUla sightseeing tour on day two before checking into the Caravan, and this is worth covering in detail because AlUla itself is a genuinely extraordinary destination — and most people arriving here have no idea what they’re about to encounter.

🏛️ Hegra – Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site

This is the centerpiece of any AlUla visit and it’s hard to overstate how significant it is. Hegra was built by the Nabataeans — the same civilization behind Petra in Jordan — and it was their largest city outside of Petra. Over 110 remarkably preserved tombs carved directly into sandstone outcrops, with intricate decorative carvings and inscriptions that provide a direct window into a civilization that controlled the ancient Incense Road between 50 BCE and 106 CE. Walking through Hegra and seeing the Qasr al-Farid tomb — an unfinished monument whose isolation makes it arguably the most dramatic single structure on the site — is one of those experiences that rearranges your sense of what the world used to look like.

Hegra is only accessible via guided tour — no independent entry. Tours run approximately 95 SAR per person and last around three hours. Book in advance, especially during peak season (October to March). The tour starts at Winter Park with a welcome of dates and juices, then takes you out to the major site highlights by bus with a knowledgeable guide.

🐘 Elephant Rock (Jabal Al-Fil)

A 52-meter-tall natural sandstone formation shaped exactly like an elephant with its trunk touching the ground, carved by millions of years of wind erosion. It’s one of those things where the photos don’t fully prepare you — standing in front of it in person, in the middle of the desert, with cafe seating and ambient music around you and the sun setting over it, is an experience that’s hard to categorize. Entry and parking are free. The area around the rock opens at 17:00 and includes fire pits, sunken seating, food stalls and cafes, and runs until around 3:00 AM. Sunset is the moment to be here — the rock turns deep crimson in the late light.

🪞 Maraya Concert Hall

The world’s largest mirrored building, a Guinness World Record holder, sitting in the middle of the Ashar Valley desert canyon. The name means “mirror” or “reflection” in Arabic, and the structure uses 9,740 mirrored panels to reflect the surrounding cliffs and sand — creating an optical illusion where the building seems to almost disappear into the landscape. It functions as a concert hall, event venue, and rooftop restaurant. As a Habitas guest you’re already on the private land that contains it, so access is built into your stay.

🏘️ AlUla Old Town

An ancient settlement dating back to the 12th century, with over 900 traditional mudbrick houses, narrow alleyways, and a fortress at the top with views over the valley and date palm oasis below. An hour-long guided walking tour with a local guide is the best way to experience it — the stories of how the town was built and abandoned, and the lives of the merchants and pilgrims who passed through, are what make the ruins meaningful rather than just photogenic.

🌋 Harrat Viewpoint

A volcanic plateau with panoramic views of the entire AlUla valley — rock formations, date farms, the ancient oasis stretching below. Sunrise and sunset here are remarkable. The kind of view that makes you wish you had a better camera and also somehow confirms that you made the right decision coming here.

Getting there

Fly into AlUla International Airport (ULH). The resort is a 50-minute drive from the airport — the drive itself is part of the experience, enormous rocks looming over the road as you move through the landscape. Multiple reviewers mention the arrival drive as one of their first “okay, this is extraordinary” moments.

Getting to AlUla internationally typically involves a connection through Riyadh (RUH) or Jeddah (JED), both of which have strong international connections from major European and Asian hubs. Saudi Airlines and flynas operate domestic connections. From Riyadh to AlUla is approximately a 2-hour flight, or a 4-hour drive if you prefer.

Visa situation: Saudi Arabia opened to tourism in 2019 and the e-visa process is now relatively straightforward for most nationalities, available online before departure. Most visitors from Western Europe, North America, and many Asian countries are eligible. Worth checking the current list and allowing a few days for processing before your trip.

Best time to visit: October to March is peak season and the recommended window — mild temperatures, dry weather, excellent conditions for all outdoor sites. December through February is the peak of peak, when events and concerts also run at Maraya. November is a particularly good sweet spot — good weather, slightly less crowded than December-January, and this is exactly when the vlog was filmed. April through September brings serious heat that makes outdoor activities genuinely uncomfortable during the day. If budget is a constraint, the shoulder months of October and late March offer meaningful savings with still-acceptable conditions.

Let’s talk about the price

This is a resort that generates real sticker shock at first look — and then, once you understand what’s around it, starts to make more sense as a destination decision.

• Celestial Villa: 8,298 SAR / approximately $2,212 USD per night
• Canyon Villa: the most accessible villa category, typically lower than the Celestial — roughly $800-$1,200 USD per night depending on season and availability
• Oasis Caravan (Twin): 2,882 SAR / approximately $768.50 USD per night — the caravan side is genuinely a different price tier

The two-night combo approach this vlog takes — one Celestial Villa night plus one Caravan night — is actually a clever way to structure a stay. You get the full luxury villa experience and the completely different Caravan atmosphere for a blended average cost that’s lower than two villa nights straight through.

A few things worth knowing on the value question:

• This is an all-in experience: the programming, wellness activities, daily activities board, use of e-bikes, art installations, access to the Maraya grounds — none of this is nickeled and dimed on top of the room rate. That changes the value calculation compared to resorts that charge separately for everything
• AlUla is genuinely remote: you’re not paying for a hotel in a city where you have 50 other options. You’re paying to be inside a private desert canyon with a UNESCO World Heritage site 15 minutes away and the world’s largest mirrored building on your doorstep
• Low season (April-September) does offer lower rates but the heat is genuinely challenging. The November-March window is the right call if budget allows
• Book directly through the Our Habitas website for the best cancellation flexibility — third-party booking sites do list the property but direct booking gives you more control and sometimes better rates

Is it expensive? By any measure, yes. Is it the kind of place where the reviews universally say it was worth it? Also yes — and that’s not nothing when you’re spending at this level.

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel