Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Write your own Arabian fairytale in the desert

Beyond the highways and skyscrapers of Dubai, nestled inside the tree-scattered desert of Ras Al Khaimah; Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel is a peaceful Arabian-style retreat in the sand. Made up of luxurious villas — each wonderfully-appointed and with private pools — the resort has an award-winning spa with an excellent hydrotherapy facility called The Rainforest, and exceptional dining opportunities like the Thai restaurant Safran, and Al Waha overlooking a natural watering hole. The wildlife rich surroundings are home to Gazelle and Oryx, while the onsite falconry centre has many feathered residents. Couples will love private dining on the tower and candlelit shisha on the rooftop bar while families will appreciate the kids' club. The Experience Concierge team is at hand, offering a great service to personalise extraordinary programmes to make sure you have a truly unforgettable desert getaway.

Hayes & Jarvis Rating

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Hotel Category

Luxury

Location Type

Away from it all

Recommended For

Family Friendly

TripAdvisor Review

494 Reviews

Read reviews

Hotel Gallery

Hotel Features

General Information

Check-in Time:
15:00
Check-out Time:
12:00
101 rooms
Transfer duration: Approx. 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport

Main Facilities

Fitness facilities
Outdoor pool
Spa facilities
Wifi

Accommodation Type

Boutique
Glamping
H&J Recommended
Hidden gem
Luxury Collection
Private villas

Board Basis Options

Full Board
Half Board
Bed & Breakfast

For Families

Kid's Club

Hotel Location

Location Highlights

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Away from it all
Approx. 45 minutes from Dubai International Airport
Spectacular desert views
Spread out resort

494 Reviews

80% of travellers recommended this hotel

Traveller ratings

Excellent 342
Very Good 68
Average 38
Poor 22
Terrible 24

What to Expect

Location
Sleep Quality
Rooms
Service
Value
Cleanliness

Reviews

Jan 19, 2020

A wonderful relaxing stay

Having arrived a day late due to a flight cancellation my daughter and I were given a very warm welcome from staff here. Nothing was ever too much trouble. The room was spacious and lovely and the setting was perfect for what we were looking for. A short relaxing break with some sunshine and things to do. We really enjoyed having bikes to cycle around the resort and had an amazing time horse riding before breakfast. Food was excellent in both restaurants and breakfast too. The only slight downside was the music at the pool which was pounding out and seems completely unnecessary and incongruous in this quiet setting. Thank you to all the staff and we would both love to come back!

Jan 08, 2020

New year in the desert

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

We arrived here on the 30th December and stayed for four nights. We stayed in an Al Khaimah tented villa which was beautiful. The rooms were very spacious and the outside area with the pool was huge with plenty of outside furniture. The pool was lovely and warm. The food was excellent. We are vegan and at the buffet the chef always prepared something special for us. The food at The Farmhouse was also excellent, especially on New Year’s Eve, the selection and quantity were very good. It was no problem at all that wee were vegan, we were very well looked after. We did a couple of activities which were good, the animal feeding drive and The Rainforest which was a very relaxing walk through spa area (we did that three times!) Bikes were provided at the villa which was great and we enjoyed using them but if you wanted you could call for a buggy which always arrived almost instantly! Finally the staff were excellent, always asking what they could do to be of help. We would love to return.

Jan 07, 2020

Great conveniently located desert resort near Dubai for family with kids.

Japan

Very nice and conveniently located resort in the desert with lots of nature activities for kids. Highly recommended if you want to go to some kids friendly high end desert resort. One thing to note and hope them to improve is their service quality. Their service level were not really 5 star hotels that are charging US$1800+ per night compared with other similar price range hotels in the world. However, I could feel they’ve tried their best to provide better services after I have made several complaints on the first day and that made me want to come back to the resort again. (Note: Main reason for me to chose expensive hotels for our family holiday is to “relax” while avoiding hustles of making complaints to get what I need as I know I am VERY detail oriented and picky.) We have stayed there for 3 nights at Al Khaimah Tented Villa with a swimming pool, 1 King Bed & 1 Sofa Bed with 2 adults and 2 kids (6yrs & 3yrs) from January 1, 2020 until January 4th, 2020. We chose the hotel because our friend visited the resort with similar age kids (4-6yrs old) and their kids loved the resort and experiences. Very spacious and big enough for 2 adults and 2 kids. 2 adults slept in the King Bed and 2 kids slept in the sofa bed. The swimming pool was heated (temperature goes up to 32 ℃), so we were able to swim despite our worry that it may be too cold to swim in January. I loved their huge bathroom, which gave us enough room to keep our 3 big suitcases open. A few issues I had about the room was level of cleanness of the room when we checked in. The cushion on the sofa had some new chocolate stain, which clearly showed that they did not check them when they clean and change it. The covers on deck chairs and cushion were quite dirty - some got hairs and got birds’ poo and I could see cleaner made it upside-down to hide them in stead of changing them to new one. We also had issues when we get the first cleaning service on the 2nd day. The toilet sheet and bath tub were very wet. There were dirty towels on the floor of the livingroom. The sofa bed were not folded back. Glasses used were removed from the room, but were not replaced. Things in the mini bar were not replaced neither. We have made complaints and these issues have been sorted on the day and cleaning had been done properly rest of our stay. The place is definitely not for people who are looking for gastronomy. The resort have 5 restaurants in total. KAHEELA is all day dining restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch & dinner. MOORISH is a restaurant serves dinner only. KANZAMAN served BBQ / Arabic food buffet outdoor on Friday only. FARMHOUSE is grill restaurant open for dinner and there is pool side bar opens for lunch. We have tried KAHEELA, MOORISH and KANZAMAN. KAHEELA & KANZAMAN serves more or less similar foods in buffet style while MOORISH serves spanish/moroccan foods. I am personally not a big fun of buffet, so did not really enjoy the food at KANZAMAN nor KAHEELA. (Note: breakfast buffet were ok.) I wish there is more choices for lunch as KAHEELA is the only restaurant there other than the poolside bar open for lunch. I tried to order a la carte at KAHEELA at lunch, but gave up the idea because I’ve been warned that it may take 45min to serve a la carte menu because chefs are busy for buffet. We had room service twice and I felt that were the best meals for us, except for 1h+ waiting time. (Make sure to order room service long ahead of lunch / dinner time...) Their stuff for activities were super friendly and extremely nice. We could feel they were trying their best to entertain us. The resort is definitely worth coming for their friendly stuff and activities. Make sure to book activities before coming to the resort if you are coming in the peak season. - Wildlife Feeding (8:00am) : drive around the desert within the resort property in 4WD with a guide. The guide will stop a few places and called for Oryx and take photos with them. I enjoyed the tour the most as we could learn about the resort and different types of animals live in the area. The guide’s photo technique were amazing too. He took many nice photos of our family with wild animals on our background. We saw gazelles, oryxes and blackbuks. - Sunset Camel Caravan (4:30pm) : Ride a camel from the Activity Centre and walk up to stat gazing point near FARMHOUSE restaurant. (15-20 ride?) Once get there, you get off from the camel and enjoy the sunset with glasses of sparkling wine. The sunset was nice and romantic, but the actual camel ride itself were one we did outside the resort was better because it was longer and we met many wild camels along the way. - Pony Splash (9:30am) : Take cate of a pony by brushing them & cleaning their feet. After that they will let kid ride a horse (not pony) in the desert. Total activity lasted 45min+. My daughter said it was the best activity. (I found the pricing very reasonable too for what they can experience.) - Falcon Show (4:30pm) : It runs everyday at 4:30pm. You get to learn about the falcon, hawks, eagles and owls. The best part is you can hold them and take pictures with the birds. We have done twice this activities. - STARGAZING (7:00pm) : We go to the stargazing point a bit off from the stable by the hotel buggy. Then, guide will give you some lectures about constellations and let you look at starts with high spec telescope. The tour last around 45min. It’s not a private tour and we had around 20+ppl in the tour. It was quite disappointed for me as I was expecting them to take me to pitch black place to see amazing # of stars. The place is quite blight and you will see the similar amount of stars from your villa. If you are looking for some lecturers about constellations and stats, then may worth it. Not worth it if you are expecting to see amazing night sky with millions of stars.(Also, I found the price was expensive for what it is...) Having said that the guide did very good job explaining about stars. - Catch & Release Fishing (12:00pm) : Good mini entertainment for kids, but better do it in the morning or later in the afternoon. It was too hot for us to do it at noon! My 6yrs old daughter was able to fish 6 fishes by herself and the guide (Mr Wilson) catched small fishes with a net to entertain my 3yrs old daughter. We wanted to do QUAD BIKE, but the resort has age restrictions (4yrs old or above) for their activities while we found the similar activity outside the resort without the age restrictions, so we have done it outside. I am mentioning here just because QUAD BIKE was definitely worth doing it while you are here. My older daughter loved it and we ended up doing twice. They have nice playground and facility itself is not too bad. I hope they do more activities that are unique to the resort rather than just offering some art craft activities indoor. I also want them to offer a baby sitting services in the kids club with even some extra cost as we cannot drop off kids below 4yrs old while many activities have age restrictions of 4yrs old or above. They offer outdoor movie night everyday at 6:00-7:30pm and my daughters love it. You can ask them to order room service for them to eat while watching the movie. - Bicycles : The hotel provides bicycles for every guests. We ride bicycles to go everywhere within the resort. My kids love this and I found it much more convenient than calling a buggy. (It takes 15min+ to call a buggy in the resort...) - Airport Transport : We booked 7 seater van from Dubai city on our way to the resort and to the airport on our way back. The cost was AED 540 each. I think it worth ordering it because Uber 7 seater will cost about the same while no guarantee of nice car vs the van organized by the resort was very nice and clean. - Service : Main issue they have is mis communications or lack of communications between their stuffs. Our activity & restaurant schedule were already pre booked and we have received schedule upon check-in, but they have managed to mess it up several time. When you ask for the status, they gave us “it’s on its way” as a default answer without checking the actual status nor following up with the relevant person. This drove me completely mad as I had to call or ask several times to get something I need with looong waiting time. (Note: After many many complaints, they finally fixed the issue and I had a lovely stay after 2nd day.) - Planning : It would have been more helpful if the hotel could provide some suggested activities or more details on activities they provide prior to arrival. We booked all activities prior to our arrival, but I had difficulties finding information about the details of activities. They just simply send us the brochure and even you get copy & paste answer from the brochure when ask them specific questions of each activities. Hence, I had to dig and read many ppl’s review on the trip advisors to understand each activities before deciding the activities. (I’ve added as much details as I can here because I found it was very helpful for me.)

View all

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Facilities

Falconry Centre

Enjoy an afternoon Falconry show followed by a nature walk with owl interaction.

Horse and Camel Riding

Enjoy a camel ride on the desert dunes as the sun begins to set for a traditional Arabian experience. Set out in the lateafternoon and meander through charming valleys, which span over 500 hectares before enjoying a sundowner at the base of the dune while the sun sets. If you love horses don't miss a visit to the Equestrian Centre, which is home to over 30 horses and camels. Experienced stable staff will take you on a journey around the stables and tell you more about the resident horses.

Fitness Centre

Fully equipped fitness centre is available along with an aerobics and a yoga studio.

Archery Range

Why not start a new hobby and try your hand at Archery. Private and night sessions are available on a request basis.

Bicycles

Enjoy complimentary bicycles to explore the desert surroundings. You can even park your bike outside your villa so you can come and go as you please. Guided rides are available on request.

Al Wadi Spa

Al Wadi Spa offers locally sourcedherbs and spices, expert therapists and recuperative hydrotherapy facilities to provide guests with an unforgettable spa experience.

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Room Types

More images

Al Rimal Pool Villa

Complementing the desert landscape, these Arabian mud-brick villas are furnished inside with stylish flourishes, warm hues, and modern conveniences. There is a terrace with private plunge pool and a spacious bathroom with shower and bath.Bicycles are parked outside every villa so you can get to the spa, the restaurants and the bars in no time at all — or just call for a golf buggy to pick you up.

Show room facilities

Air Conditioning
Flatscreen TV
Minibar
Private Pool
Safe
Satellite/Cable TV
Separate Shower
Telephone
Towels included

More images

Al Sahari Tented Pool Villa

The Al Sahari Tented Pool Villa is perched away from the rest of the resort and creates a sanctuary of exclusivity and luxury that you'll really appreciate. Similar in design to the Al Khaimah Villa — with its silk draped bathroom and bedroom, spacious deck with private pool — it affords you the additional benefit of a dedicated villa host to assist you with booking activities, private dining and more. Additionally, you'll get a daily 60 minute Rainforest experience in the spa, a 30 minute head and shoulder massage per stay for two, and daily in-villa evening cocktails and canapés, a daily in-villa breakfast, and fruit platters.

Show room facilities

Air Conditioning
Bath
Flatscreen TV
Minibar
Private Pool
Safe
Satellite/Cable TV
Separate Shower
Telephone
Towels included

More images

Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa

These private tented villas exude luxury and Arabian mystique. They are made up of two separate wings draped in silk fabrics — one the bedroom with a king-sized bed and living space, and the other a large bathroom with central freestanding bathtub and rain shower. On the spacious deck is a large plunge pool overlooking the dunes, with a daybed for ultimate relaxation.

Show room facilities

Air Conditioning
Bath
Flatscreen TV
Minibar
Private Pool
Safe
Satellite/Cable TV
Separate Shower
Telephone
Towels included

VILLA TENTED-AL KHAIMAH-POOL-VILLA

VILLA AL RIMAL-DELUXE-POOL-VILLA

VILLA TENTED-POOL-VILLA

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Food & Drink

Safran

Safran is a signature restaurant offering contemporary Thai and Southeast Asian delicacies.

Al Waha

This restaurant offers both popular international and local cuisine.

Destination Dining

For a truly unforgettable experience embark on a dining journey like never before. The Tower: Enjoy private dining at the top of the watchtower where you will have views of the desert and your own dedicated chef. Desert Dining: Perfect for couples, families and groups. For those seeking a true desert experience, enjoy this customised desert experience with a traditional setting and a selection of menus ranging from light picnics to a seafood feast. Picnic Hamper: For an evening under the stars, head off into the sand dunes where you will be greeted with your own waiter and picnic hamper.

Moon Bar

This romantic Arabianroof top terrace lounge is exquistely designed overlooking the dessertscape and endless sand dunes. Relax on thespacious daybeds while admiring a wild desert sunset.

Samar Lounge

For fine wines and signature cocktails visit Samar Lounge. This double storey cove is a great place to relax on an evening.

Board Basis Options

Bed & Breakfast

Breakfast in the all day dining restaurant Al Waha. Service charges may apply.

Half Board

Breakfast in the all day dining restaurant Al Waha. Lunch at Al Waha or dinner at either Al Waha or Safran. Service charges may apply.

Full Board

Breakfast in the all day dining restaurant Al Waha. Lunch at Al Waha and dinner at either Al Waha or Safran. Service charges may apply.

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Family Friendly Facilities

Ritz Kids' Club

Guests aged 4 years and older can enjoy adventure, exploration and education at the Ritz Kid's Club,learning all about the natural wonders and cultural traditions Ras Al Khaimah has to offer. Activities include camel riding, bird watching and a unique opportunity to care for injured animals before they are released back to the wild. Restrictions: Activities offered with an additional fee include: Kids archery, Mini falconry and owl interaction, pony rides and bedtime stories under the stars.

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Write your own Arabian fairytale in the desert

Hayes & Jarvis Rating

TripAdvisor Review

Hotel highlights

Hotel Gallery

Moon Bar

Al Khaimah Villa Bathroom

In-Villa Massage

Gazelle

Al Khaimah Villa Pool

Tented Villa Bedroom

Library

Safran Restaurant

Desert Picnic

Al Rimal Villa Bathroom

Al Rimal Villa

Falconry

Al Waha Restaurant

Bicycle Trail

Spa

Kids Club

Al Rimal Villa

Hotel Features

General Information

Main Facilities

Accommodation Type

Board Basis Options

For Families

Hotel Location

Location Highlights

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Traveller ratings

What to Expect

Reviews

A wonderful relaxing stay

New year in the desert

Great conveniently located desert resort near Dubai for family with kids.

Wonderful stay

thanks to shiva jessica javed darlington kahjeer neha

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Facilities

Falconry Centre

Horse and Camel Riding

Fitness Centre

Archery Range

Bicycles

Al Wadi Spa

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Room Types

Al Rimal Pool Villa

Al Sahari Tented Pool Villa

Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa

VILLA TENTED-AL KHAIMAH-POOL-VILLA

VILLA AL RIMAL-DELUXE-POOL-VILLA

VILLA TENTED-POOL-VILLA

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Food & Drink

Safran

Al Waha

Destination Dining

Moon Bar

Samar Lounge

Board Basis Options

Al Wadi Desert, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel

Family Friendly Facilities

Ritz Kids' Club

You might also like these

Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa

H&J Rating

Governors' Il Moran Camp

H&J Rating

How we tailor make your holiday

1. Browse

2. Create

3. Customise

The Hayes & Jarvis Way

Award Winning

Exceptional Service

In the Know