First Neom region completes as "luxury island" Sindalah opens in Saudi Arabia

Sindalah, an island resort in the Red Sea designed by Italian studio Luca Dini Design and Architecture, has become the first Neom region to be completed in Saudi Arabia.

The resort, which is described as a "luxury island destination" located five kilometres off the Neom coastline in the Red Sea, has opened to a number of invited guests.

This makes the 840,000 square-metre project the first part of Neom, a mega-development in north-eastern Saudi Arabia, to be completed.

"NEOM is committed to supporting the Kingdom's new era of luxury tourism, with the opening of Sindalah," Neom CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr said.

"The realization of this landmark destination, the gateway to the Red Sea, is due to the visionary leadership of His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Vision 2030," Al-Nasr added.

Sindalah was designed by Luca Dini Design and Architecture, which is best known for designing superyachts, and built around an 86-berth marina and yacht club. According to Neom, it will serve as the project's "gateway to the Red Sea."

The island features hotels, restaurants and venues including the Sindalah Yacht Club, which features interiors by Italian fashion brand Stefano Ricci. It also has a beach club and a golf club, as well as retail outlets and yacht management services.

Visitors to the island, which was described by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman as the "future of luxury travel", can choose from 440 rooms, 88 villas and over 200 serviced apartments.

"This is a proud chapter in the NEOM story and we are excited to achieve more of our ambitious goals, with the continued support of His Royal Highness," Al-Nasr said.

"NEOM's inaugural destination offers visitors a 'first glimpse' of what the future holds for our extensive portfolio of destinations and developments."

Sindalah expects to host 2,400 visitors per day by 2028. It is the first of the 10 regions created for the Neom project, which includes mega city The Line, to open.

The controversial project has been heavily criticised. In 2022, human rights organisation ALQST reported that three members of the Huwaitat tribe who are believed to have criticised displacements connected to Neom had been sentenced to death.

Human rights campaigner Lina Alhathloul earlier this year told Dezeen that Neom is being "built on the blood of Saudis" and Dezeen editor Tom Ravenscroft asked if it's "time for architecture studios to walk away from Neom?".

In April of this year, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia was scaling back plans for its The Line megacity and in June, we unveiled the architecture studios working on the Neom megaproject.

The photography is courtesy of Neom.

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