Banyan Tree AlUla

It was a great experience.. Everything was perfect, the villa, the service and people at the reception. At the restaurant service was very great service, Excellent attitude and very helpful lady named LA Michel with a beautiful smile she was the best. As all it was a great experience in such charming area.

A truly blessed stay and an unforgettable luxury experience.

Splendid service and an all round amazing experience.

La michel was the most wonderful server and went above and beyond for us. Food was also great

We were eager to get to AlUla before the crowds got out of hand. Saudi Arabia, and AlUla in particular, has seen explosive growth in tourism, and a wave of new properties is set to transform the area in a way we probably would have wanted to avoid had we waited too long. While it would always be nice to stay at an Aman, and one is being constructed in AlUla, it was more important to us that our outings were not accompanied by hordes of tourists everywhere we went. Banyan Tree is generally regarded as a five-star hospitality chain, but often a notch below the ultra-luxe properties. Thankfully, our stay at Banyan Tree AlUla did not leave us wanting in any way whatsoever. Given that it opened in 2022, the resort felt fresh and up-to-date, with all of the technology and amenities one could hope for in a luxury property. The villa-style rooms, with their tented look and feel, are spacious and private, with stunning views of the landscape. Service is professional, prompt, and friendly, the dining options are plentiful and of a high caliber, and despite having 47 rooms, the property grounds are so vast that it feels quiet and serene despite its room count and proximity to Maraya, the modern mirrored marvel. Everything is so spread out, in fact, that Banyan Tree has an army of attendants shuttling guests in golf carts between their rooms and the various restaurants, spa treatment area, and rock pool. While we only needed one bedroom between the two of us, we opted to stay in the 138m² Dune Two Bedroom Pool Villa because of the extra space. Even if the second bedroom were stripped out, it would still be more expansive than its one-bedroom counterparts. Looking at the villas from the outside, and, for that matter, the entire property, everything is almost inconspicuous. It blends in perfectly with the landscape while still feeling stylish and contemporary. The inside is no different: the light, muted, earthy tones and Arabic aesthetics give it a warm atmosphere and a true sense of place. While the pool villa was an incredible place to pass the time, there were a few annoying aspects worth mentioning. First, the light switches are extremely confusing. The buttons are built into a light panel and are almost invisible, since they are the same color as the panel itself, and the icons are not intuitive. We never got the hang of the functionality, even after two days here. In this case, simple is better. And while your mileage may vary, we felt the bed was far too soft. We found ourselves sinking deep into the mattress when lying down, and even having a mattress pad added did little to address the issue. The toilet flushing mechanism is also strange, and one of the two toilets flushed so weakly that we had to flush it multiple times each time we used it. Finally, and most annoyingly, the shower design was abysmal. It was configured in such a way that it was impossible to avoid water gushing out of the showering area. Even with the water pressure set very low, by the time we were finished showering, half the bathroom was flooded. We thought it might be an anomaly, so we tried showering in the second bathroom, with similar results. It's hard to believe this has not been addressed by property management. Or perhaps the design flaw is unfixable, which would be very unfortunate. These issues did not dampen our enthusiasm for the overall Banyan Tree AlUla experience, however. The dining experience exceeded expectations. Harrat offers high-quality local and international cuisine, and Saffron served surprisingly authentic Thai food. For breakfast, we always opted to dine in our room in order to save time. The team was consistently prompt in delivering our meals at the promised time, and the hot dishes were still hot when we received them. One final note: AlUla was everything we hoped for. Between its incredible natural beauty, including the iconic date tree farms and camels roaming the landscape, fascinating historic sites, Nabatean-inspired architecture, warm and friendly people, and exceptional cuisine, two and a half days was definitely not enough to soak in everything AlUla had to offer. Also be aware that Saudi Arabia is a highly developed country that is flush with money; therefore, it has impeccable infrastructure and is extremely safe to visit. We rented a car to explore the area and had no problems navigating to all of the places we wished to visit.