7 experiential stays in the GCC you need to check out in 2025

2025 is the year we say goodbye to boring getaways and hello to holidays that truly mean something

Travel is no longer just about the hotel room and buffet dinner — it’s about immersive, experiential stays that help you disconnect from routine, reconnect with yourself, and create memories that last long after checkout. Across the GCC, travellers are seeking meaningful escapes that offer a sense of place, purpose, and personality.

Think curated adventures, authentic local flavour, and the kind of hospitality that feels more like home than hotel. And the best part? These experiences are right on your doorstep — no long-haul flights, no complicated logistics. Just easy-to-plan summer stays that are close to home, close to heart, and rich in discovery.

Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar

Where: Nizwa, Oman

Why: Breathtaking views of the Omani mountains, full immersion into local culture

Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar is touted as the Middle East’s highest five-star resort, perched atop the peaks of this magnificent mountain range. The resort sits just one hour away from the Nizwa Fort, and property itself is constructed like a traditional Omani fort, and the whole experience is designed to immerse you into local culture completely, from a welcome marked by the rhythmic beats of traditional drumming and the rich aroma of Omani coffee and dates, to majlis courtyards, advanced mountain climbing, ziplining and the stillness you’ll find in few places. What’s not to like?

@anantarajabalakhdar

Our Habitas Ras Abrouq

Where: Ras Abrouq, Qatar

Why: Luxury on the Qatari coastline, disconnect from city life

Our Habitas Ras Abrouq is situated on the Arabian Gulf at the edge of the UNESCO-protected Al-Reem Biosphere Reserve, and offers a slice of dune-laden, Qatari coastline you need to see to believe. With a wide range of villas draped in raw, rustic look and feel, this is one spot you can go to and completely disconnect from city life. While there, you’ll be immersed in the nature, exploring the sand with their safari experience, eating at their farm-to-table restaurant and living the best of the Qatari music music, art and cultural scene. Of course, wellness is a vital part of the Our Habitas brand, and here you’ll find tailor-made experiences.

@habitasrasabrouq

Desert Rock

Where: Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

Why: Built into ancient rock formations, sweeping desert views

A stunning shift from the overwater villas that the Red Sea coast is all about right now – Desert Rock takes the land, honours it and offers you an experience so raw, so rugged and so earthy, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The resort is built within the rock formations and blends into the cliffs as if a part of the landscape, and the design is no different. Smooth, ancient lines, raw textures and unparalleled luxury. The experience is also built around the terrain, with villas built into caves, private pools carved from the rock, ziplining and abseiling take place in volcanic valleys, and lantern-lit canyon walks.

@desertrockresort

Six Senses Zighy Bay

Where: Musandam, Oman

Why: Omani coastal charm, fishing town history, aquamarine waters

Six Senses Zighy Bay will transport you into a most perfect harmony of Omani landscape, both the rugged mountains and the shimmering waters. Located just off the UAE border at Dibba, in the Musandam Peninsula, it’s been named after a quiet fishing town right next it, and will push you into an experience that brings that far-flung historic world to life. This is luxury personified, the Omani way. It’s perched right at the coast, featuring 82 Omani-style pool villas and a spectacular view of aquamarine expanse – just what you’ll need to disconnect from hectic everyday life this summer.

@sixsenseszighybay

Our Habitas AlUla

Complete with 96 villas dotted across the vast desert landscape, rooms at Habitas AlUla are set between manmade dunes for optimum privacy, and many feature epic mountain views from their private terraces. The best way to get around is on an electric bike, and there’s something truly freeing about whizzing through the valley that way (although there’s buggies too for those looking to give their legs a rest). From yoga and mindfulness, to date seed body scrubs and herbal aromatherapy, Thuraya focuses on centuries-old practices to help clear the path to self-discovery and awaken focus on both our physical and energetic bodies.

@habitasalula

The Ned, Doha

Where: Doha, Qatar

Why: All the art and culture, championing female creatives

Spotlighting Middle Eastern female creatives, The Ned in Doha is housed inside Qatar’s former Ministry of Interior. Inside, art enthusiasts can find themselves in the presence and power of over 350 artworks by over 100 Middle Eastern artists, most of them women. The collection is sprinkled across the hotel and is permanent. The collection has been curated by Wadha Al-Aqeedi and Elina Sairanen, the co-founders of Mathqaf Arab Museum of Modern Art. On the outside, the architecture will take you back to the brutalist design of the 1970s. Art, inside and out.

@theneddoha

Nujuma, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Where: Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

Why: Overwater villas, the Ritz-Carlton brand of luxury

Now this is an escape – set on the remote Ummuhat Islands, Nujuma is a vision of raw, tranquil escapism, the kind one pictures when beach escapes with flowing waters and fresh, sweet air are mentioned. The 63 villas – twenty overwater, the rest nestled along the beach – fuse Saudi touches with that sort of organic island design, with shell-like curves, handcrafted accents, and private infinity pools overlooking the water. The resort immerses you completely into the nature, offering days spent exploring coral reefs, diving excursions led by marine experts, or cycling along the resort’s pathways. Conservation House brings the culture, showcasing Saudi traditions through art, books, and design.

@nujumareserve

Images: Social Media