Red Sea Global’s flagship island hub is now open for business — and for trade buyers across hospitality, DMOs and aviation, the scale of what’s been built demands attention.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea destination passed a significant milestone in late 2025 when the first resorts on Shura Island opened their doors. The island, a dolphin-shaped landmass designed under Foster + Partners’ “Coral Bloom” concept, is the centrepiece of Red Sea Global’s (RSG) wider tourism giga-project — and with eleven world-class resort brands, an 18-hole championship golf course, a marina and branded residences all coming online, it is one of the most consequential new destination launches in the Middle East in a generation.
For travel trade professionals sourcing product across MENA, the opening timeline and brand mix are now confirmed. This spotlight brings together the latest available information as of early 2026.
What is Shura Island?
Shura is the main hub island within The Red Sea destination, one of 92 islands in the wider RSG archipelago located on Saudi Arabia’s north-western coastline. The island’s master plan was conceived by Foster + Partners under the “Coral Bloom” design philosophy, with every resort targeting LEED Platinum certification and the entire island powered by renewable energy drawn from RSG’s solar farms, backed by one of the world’s largest off-grid battery storage systems.
Guests arrive either by high-speed boat to a purpose-built marina or by electric vehicle across the 3.3-kilometre Shura Bridge — the longest internal bridge in Saudi Arabia — connecting the island to the mainland highway network and, beyond that, Red Sea International Airport (RSI).
RSI is positioned within a three-hour flight of 250 million people and eight hours’ flying time for 85% of the global population. Domestic services from Riyadh and Jeddah have been running since 2023, with international routes — including twice-weekly services from Dubai and three-weekly flights from Qatar Airways — now operating and further lift expected to be announced.
Phase one: resorts now open
Three internationally recognised brands opened on Shura Island in late 2025, with the Red Sea EDITION becoming the first property to open on the island in October 2025.
The Red Sea EDITION
The EDITION property was named Forbes’ top new hotel opening of 2025. Positioned along a kilometre of private beachfront with direct sightlines across the island’s turquoise waters and over Shura Links golf course, the resort offers 240 rooms and suites — including rooms with private terraces and ocean-facing pools — alongside a spa drawing on regional wellness traditions. The property is Marriott’s second EDITION in Saudi Arabia following its Jeddah debut.
InterContinental The Red Sea Resort
IHG’s flagship opened in December 2025 with 210 rooms and suites, each designed to LEED BD+C Platinum standard by Foster + Partners with interiors by Kristina Zanic Consultants. Coral-inspired facades, curved organic textures and a curated collection of Saudi artworks define the aesthetic. The resort sits within a protected marine ecosystem on the island’s shoreline.
SLS The Red Sea
SLS brings 150 rooms and villas to Shura, including both beachfront and overwater options. The brand’s characteristically bold design approach is adapted here to the island’s coastal setting, with curated cultural, wellness and leisure programming built into the offer.
Shura Links: Saudi Arabia’s first island golf course
Shura Links opened in September 2025, becoming Saudi Arabia’s first island golf course. The par-72, 7,400-yard course was designed by Brian Curley and is managed by Golf Saudi. Eighteen holes wind through native mangroves and coastal dunes before running along the Red Sea shoreline in classic links fashion. The clubhouse, itself designed by Foster + Partners to LEED Platinum standard, serves as a social hub with dining, retail and fitness facilities — and will be operated by Four Seasons as the residences programme develops. The course is open to guests across all Shura Island resorts as well as those staying elsewhere in The Red Sea destination.
Coming in 2026: eight further resort brands
The remaining eight resort brands are scheduled to open during 2026, completing Shura Island’s full complement of eleven properties. The confirmed brands are: Faena, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, Jumeirah, Miraval, Raffles and Rosewood. Trade buyers should note that the Miraval opening — a wellness-focused concept — and Four Seasons will be of particular interest to operators working in the wellbeing and ultra-luxury segments respectively.
Branded residences: a growing sales channel
RSG launched its residential property brand, Red Sea Residences, in January 2025 and Shura Island is the first location in the portfolio. The residential offer spans three distinct collections: Four Seasons Private Residences (75 homes comprising 43 Dune Villas and 32 Waterside Villas, situated between the Four Seasons Resort and Shura Links); SLS Residences; and Shura Marina Residences. The first properties were due for handover by the end of 2025. Residents have access to all island leisure, dining and wellness amenities as well as the wider destination. For DMOs and luxury real estate operators, this residential layer adds a long-term audience segment beyond the transient hotel guest.
Sustainability credentials
RSG’s regenerative tourism positioning underpins the entire Shura development. Beyond the renewable energy infrastructure and LEED targets, RSG operates a landscape nursery covering over one million square metres — the largest in the region — as part of its commitment to a net conservation benefit by 2040. The island’s marine environment is one of its primary assets: guests have access to 200 kilometres of Red Sea coastline and the world’s fourth largest barrier reef system, with water activities managed under the WAMA (over-water), Galaxea (underwater) and Akun (inland) experience brands.
The wider Red Sea destination
Shura sits within RSG’s broader Red Sea destination, which has been welcoming guests since 2023. The wider destination currently operates five established resorts: Six Senses Southern Dunes, St Regis Red Sea, Nujuma (a Ritz-Carlton Reserve), Chibara and Desert Rock — the latter two operated directly by RSG. A third RSG destination, Thuwal Private Retreat, also opened in 2024. AMAALA, RSG’s wellness-focused destination, is separately on track for its first guest arrivals.
RSG’s financing position reflects the scale of the project: the developer secured a SAR 2bn ($522mn) facility from Riyad Bank for the Four Seasons development, and a $3.76bn green loan and revolving credit facility from four Saudi banks was announced in May 2025. According to Oxford Economics, the phased, revenue-first delivery model has “bolstered credibility and investor confidence” — an important signal for trade partners evaluating the destination’s long-term viability.
Shura Island is no longer a pipeline project — it is an operational destination with three open resorts, a live golf course and expanding air access. For travel trade professionals, the combination of diverse brand positioning (from SLS to the forthcoming Raffles and Rosewood), strong sustainability credentials, and a residential tier that extends the commercial relationship well beyond hotel bookings makes this a destination worth building into MENA portfolios now, ahead of the full 2026 opening cycle.
This article will be updated as further resort openings are confirmed. Trade enquiries and press contacts for individual properties can be directed through Red Sea Global’s media centre at redseaglobal.com.