The resort collection
A tented villa sanctuary in the Ashar Valley — the desert resort you privatise, not a hotel with a ballroom.
Imagery via Wikimedia Commons
Format
All-villa resort
Setting
Ashar Valley, AlUla
Access
Short flight from Riyadh · Jeddah
Recognition
Michelin Key 2025
The resort
Banyan Tree AlUla sets the gold standard for desert resorts in Saudi Arabia — canopy tents that echo the land, set in the Ashar Valley beneath towering sandstone cliffs. Every stay is an all-villa affair; there is no lobby crowd, no conference wing. For a leadership retreat, a milestone celebration or an ultra-private incentive, you take the valley itself. It sits inside the world's largest living museum, a short flight from Riyadh or Jeddah and a direct hop from Dubai.
Staged in AlUla through Explore Orient's Saudi partner network.
A villa resort doesn't sell rooms by the hour — it sells the desert. Each setting requests individually.
Exclusive use Take the whole valley. Exclusive use of the all-villa resort for a private group — your delegates the only guests, from the infinity pool to the last fire pit.
Request this setting → Private dining A long table set among the sandstone cliffs of Ashar, lit by lantern and star. The resort’s Destination Dining team stages private dinners nowhere near a ballroom.
Request this setting → Heritage event Gala evenings among the Nabataean tombs of Hegra or in the mirrored Maraya hall — arranged through our AlUla partners, with the resort as your base.
Request this setting → Wellbeing A leadership off-site built around the Banyan Tree Spa — sunrise movement below Elephant Rock, desert bathing rituals, and the quiet that only the Ashar Valley offers.
Request this setting →
Signature season Host around AlUla’s winter calendar — the Richard Mille Desert Polo, the Ancient Kingdoms Festival and Hegra After Dark — with villa blocks and private transfers handled end to end.
Request this setting →The resort's published accommodation — from a two-guest dune villa to a six-guest three-bedroom, each with its fire pit and desert view.
Handcrafted Arabian antiques, a king bed, bathroom patio and an external fire pit.
Enquire →The one-bedroom villa with a private swimming pool added.
Enquire →Outdoor dining, a fire pit and a private pool with sun loungers under the tent canopy.
Enquire →A spacious living area, a ten-seater dining table and a secluded terrace with private pool.
Enquire →For a private incentive or celebration, we buy out the resort and build the days around it — dining, transfers, Hegra access and the return flights.
Villa sizes, facilities and awards are the resort's own; all photography — the Banyan Tree AlUla resort images and the AlUla landscape — is licensed from Wikimedia Commons contributors. Event capacities are indicative for a desert resort and confirmed with the property in your proposal.