St. Regis Red Sea Resort – Saudi Arabia’s first private island resort on Ummahat Island

Saudi Arabia opened to tourism in 2019 and has been moving fast. The St. Regis Red Sea Resort on Ummahat Island is the kind of project that signals just how fast – a private island resort designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, opened January 2024, in the middle of the Red Sea, accessible only by seaplane or speedboat. Ninety rooms. Zero other resorts on the island. Saudi Arabia’s first private island hotel and the second property completed under the Red Sea Project megaproject, which is essentially the country’s ambition to build a luxury tourism destination from scratch in one of the world’s most pristine marine environments.

The August 2024 stay is in a Coral Villa – one bedroom, king bed, overwater view, private pool – at 8,040 SAR / $2,140 USD including tax, breakfast, and all transportation. That last part matters because the seaplane transfer is built into the rate, which changes the value calculation significantly compared to resorts that charge separately for access. Let’s go through everything.

What actually is the Red Sea Project?

Worth understanding the context before getting into the resort itself. The Red Sea Project is a Saudi government-backed tourism megaproject covering 28,000 square kilometers of coastline, islands, and desert in the northwest of the country. The goal is to develop 50 hotels across 22 islands and six inland sites while maintaining strict environmental standards – no single-use plastics on the islands, marine conservation protocols, coral reef protection built into the construction methodology.

The St. Regis is the second resort to open under the project. The first was the Six Senses Southern Dunes. More properties are in development. The infrastructure built to support the project includes Red Sea International Airport – a new airport designed by Foster + Partners built specifically to serve the region, with a terminal designed to minimize environmental impact. You fly into a brand-new airport in the middle of the desert specifically built for a resort development that’s been operational for less than two years. That is an unusual travel experience in itself.

The marine environment around Ummahat Island is part of what makes the Red Sea Project’s location significant – the Red Sea has some of the world’s most biodiverse coral reef systems, warmer water than most diving destinations, and exceptional visibility. The resort sits inside this and the water quality is apparent in the footage from the first minute of the vlog.

The architecture – Kengo Kuma’s coral reef brief

The resort was designed by Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect known for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium and a body of work characterized by integrating natural materials and organic forms into contemporary structures. The brief here produced two distinct design languages depending on villa type.

The overwater villas use a spiral design inspired by the shell structures of coral reef creatures – each villa’s form references the geometry of marine organisms found in the reef below. From above, the overwater structures look like a collection of shells scattered across the water. The beach villas have gently curving roofs that echo the shape of sand dunes – a reference to the desert landscape of the Saudi coastline rather than the marine environment. Two ecosystems, two architectural languages, one coherent resort.

The result is a property that reads as genuinely designed for its specific location rather than a resort template dropped onto a convenient island. The materials palette – pale timber, natural stone, organic curves, minimal visual contrast with the surrounding water and sand – means the buildings recede into the environment rather than imposing on it. The vlog footage from the arrival and water villa sections makes the architectural intention clear even without narration.

Getting there – seaplane and speedboat

The transportation situation is important and the $2,140 rate being all-inclusive of transport is the first thing to register properly.

From Red Sea International Airport, the transfer to Ummahat Island is either a 30-minute seaplane flight or a 30-minute speedboat from the west coast. The seaplane is the experience – the vlog covers the return seaplane to the airport at 58:40 and the aerial view of the Red Sea archipelago, the resort island below, the color gradient of the water from deep blue to turquoise over the reef, is legitimately one of the more extraordinary approaches to any resort anywhere. The Maldives does seaplane transfers well. This is comparable.

The speedboat is the alternative – same journey time, different experience, potentially relevant for late-night arrivals depending on seaplane operating hours. The resort handles all coordination once you land at Red Sea International. You don’t figure out your own transfer – it’s managed.

The fact that this is built into the $2,140 rate rather than billed separately is genuinely significant. Comparable resorts in the Maldives – which this property inevitably gets compared to – charge $400-1,200+ per person for seaplane transfers on top of already high room rates. The all-in pricing here is cleaner to evaluate.

The Coral Villa – room tour

Room tour runs from 3:25 to 16:47 – over thirteen minutes, which is appropriate for a $2,140/night villa. The Coral Villa is a one-bedroom overwater-view villa with private pool. Here’s what you’re working with:

• 🏊 Private pool – not a plunge pool gesture, a proper private swimming pool on the villa terrace directly above the water. The Red Sea below, your own pool on the deck, zero other guests visible
• 🪟 Overwater view configuration – the villa sits with direct sightlines over the Red Sea. Floor-to-ceiling glass in the main living area, the water visible from the bedroom, the terrace extending above the sea
• 🛏️ King bedroom – separate from the living area, St. Regis bedding program, proper blackout capability, the kind of sleep environment that a $2,140/night villa needs to deliver
• 🛁 Bathroom – indoor-outdoor elements, soaking tub, rain shower, dual vanity, St. Regis toiletries, the full setup
• 🎨 Kengo Kuma interiors – the design language from the exterior carries through inside. Pale timber, organic textures, handcrafted elements, a warm neutral palette that makes the turquoise water outside the windows the dominant visual element in every room
• ☕ In-room setup – full coffee and minibar situation, St. Regis butler service standard (the brand’s signature amenity is the butler program), in-room dining available

The private pool deserves more than a bullet point. In the Maldives context, private pool overwater villas are the standard premium category at most luxury resorts and they command a significant premium because the combination of overwater position and private pool is genuinely hard to improve on. At the St. Regis Red Sea, this is the Coral Villa category – not the top-tier offering, the entry into the overwater-with-pool tier. The footage makes a strong case for it being the sweet spot on this property.

The water and the reef

This needs its own section because it’s central to why you’d choose this property over an urban St. Regis at a fraction of the price. The Red Sea around Ummahat Island is the reason the Red Sea Project chose this location and the footage in the vlog makes the water quality apparent immediately.

The coral reef system is intact – the resort was built with the specific mandate of not damaging existing reef systems and the construction methodology reflects this. The water clarity and color visible from the villa terrace, from the main pool area, and during the water sports and beach sections of the vlog is the kind of thing that gets described as “looks filtered” and isn’t. The Red Sea has naturally exceptional visibility and the lack of any nearby development means the water around Ummahat Island is as clean as it gets.

The Water Sports Center at 19:43 covers the activity options – snorkeling, diving, kayaking, paddleboarding – all operating in this water. The house reef situation on a private island with this water quality is the equivalent of what Maldivian properties charge separately for as guided reef experiences.

The beaches, pool, and beach club

Turtle Beach and the main pool are covered at 20:43. The beach name is not decorative – sea turtles nest on Ummahat Island and the resort’s environmental protocols include turtle nesting protection. The main pool overlooks the Red Sea and the pool deck design follows Kuma’s organic geometry – curved edges, natural materials, the pool and beach integrated into the landscape rather than imposed on it.

The Beach Club at 23:24 includes lunch service – a proper beachside dining setup rather than a snack bar. The footage shows the quality level of the casual dining option and it’s consistent with the overall resort positioning. Lunch at a beach club that happens to be on a private Red Sea island with water this color is a reasonably specific experience.

Dining – NESMA and TILINA

🍽️ NESMA Restaurant

The main all-day dining restaurant covered at 25:24 and again at 50:48 for breakfast. The breakfast coverage runs nearly six minutes which signals a proper spread – the St. Regis breakfast program at this price point delivers full Arabic and international options, live stations, the complete production. The NESMA setting with Red Sea views makes the morning meal an event rather than a functional start to the day.

🌙 TILINA Restaurant – course dinner

The fine dining restaurant covered from 41:50 to 47:05. Nearly five and a half minutes of course dinner footage – the TILINA experience is the elevated dining option on the property and the presentation and setting are consistent with a resort at this price point. Red Sea-influenced cuisine, properly executed, the kind of dinner that uses the location as context rather than just backdrop.

Saudi Arabia’s alcohol prohibition applies here as at all properties in the country. The non-alcoholic beverage program at both restaurants and the bar operation runs on mocktails and specialty drinks – the St. Regis brand’s cocktail culture gets adapted to the local regulatory context and the quality of the non-alcoholic options reflects that investment.

Spa, fitness, and activities

The spa gets significant coverage from 32:18 to 37:29 – over five minutes, which signals a facility worth the time. The spa design follows Kuma’s organic aesthetic with treatment rooms that integrate natural materials and views where possible. The treatment menu is the full luxury resort spa scope. On a private island in the Red Sea with no alternative spa options for 30 minutes in any direction, the quality of this facility matters more than at an urban hotel where competitors are a taxi ride away.

The fitness center at 27:58 is properly equipped – full equipment range, views that make the treadmill bearable. Tennis courts at 31:28. Bicycle exploration of the island at 37:29 – the island is small enough to explore by bike and the footage shows this being a genuinely pleasant way to understand the scale and layout of the resort. Cycling around a private Red Sea island is a simple pleasure that the setting elevates considerably.

The Kids Club is covered at 26:27. It exists and is properly equipped – relevant context for families considering the property. The resort works for couples and honeymooners as the obvious primary market, but the infrastructure for families is there.

Sunset and the resort at night

The sunset section at 40:18 and the resort at night from 47:05 are worth watching in sequence if you want to understand why people choose private island resorts over city hotels at multiples of the price. The Red Sea sunset from a private island with overwater villas lit against the darkening water, no other development visible in any direction, is the kind of thing that’s difficult to convey in text. The vlog footage does it better. The resort lighting at night follows the same design restraint as the daytime architecture – warm, low, integrated with the landscape rather than flooding it.

The price and the points situation

All-in at 8,040 SAR / $2,140 USD including tax, breakfast, and all transportation (seaplane both ways). That is the honest number. For a private island resort that opened in January 2024 with Kengo Kuma architecture, a private pool overwater villa, and seaplane transfer included, the comparison set is Maldivian private island resorts where equivalent categories with transfer costs added run $2,500-4,000+ per night at comparable luxury brands.

How to approach this intelligently:

• 💳 Marriott Bonvoy points – the St. Regis brand is owned by Marriott International, making this a full Bonvoy redemption property. The resort sits at the top of Marriott’s tier structure – Category 8 peak rates apply. Bonvoy points transfer from Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points, all at less favorable ratios than Hyatt transfers but Bonvoy’s sheer property count makes accumulation easier
• 🎁 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex – annual free night certificate valid at top-tier properties, automatic Platinum status for suite upgrade eligibility, and 6x earning on Marriott stays. At $2,140/night the points earned on a paid stay are themselves substantial
• 💎 Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts – Amex Platinum cardholders get FHR benefits at St. Regis properties: room upgrades, noon check-in, 4pm late checkout, daily breakfast for two, and a $100 property credit. Given breakfast is already included in this rate, the upgrade eligibility and late checkout are the primary benefits
• 📅 Best time to visit: The Red Sea coast has a long favorable season – October through May offers ideal diving and snorkeling conditions with water temperatures around 24-28°C and air temperatures in the 25-32°C range. Summer (June-September) brings heat but the resort’s overwater and beach facilities remain functional. August (as in this vlog) demonstrates the resort works in summer – the water quality doesn’t change seasonally
• 🆕 New property advantage: The resort opened January 2024. Award availability and promotional rates at newly opened properties are often more accessible in the first 12-24 months before demand fully establishes. If this is on your list, sooner is tactically smarter

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel