Red Sea Island Resort Opens On Shura In December 2025

Published on Dec 11, 2025, 10:56 am CST

8 min read

Key points

Red Sea island resort opening on Shura adds InterContinental branded barefoot luxury from December 1 2025
178 rooms and 32 suites, LEED Platinum design, and coral inspired villas anchor the new Shura Island resort
Guests arrive via Red Sea International Airport with boat or electric vehicle transfer across the Shura crossing
Dining spans Levantine Moroccan, South American, Mediterranean, and a mangrove inspired dessert parlor led by named chefs
Club InterContinental, Planet Trekkers kids club, and a spa with open air domes target luxury families and wellness focused travelers
The opening strengthens Shura Island as a clustered Red Sea hub alongside The Red Sea EDITION and upcoming SLS and other brands

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the biggest immediate impact for high end leisure travelers and advisors building Red Sea resort itineraries that now include Shura Island stays
Best Times To Travel: Plan shoulder season or midweek dates outside Eid and peak school holidays for better availability and softer opening rates at the new Red Sea island resort
Onward Travel And Changes: Route trips through Red Sea International Airport and leave time for boat or electric vehicle transfers across the Shura crossing when planning same day arrivals and departures
What Travelers Should Do Now: Advisors and independent travelers should compare packages across InterContinental The Red Sea Resort, The Red Sea EDITION, and future SLS openings, locking flexible rates while the island continues to build out
Health And Sustainability Factors: Expect strict sustainability standards, LEED Platinum design, and protected marine ecosystems that may translate into rules on reef access, boat use, and guided activities

A new Red Sea island resort opening on Shura Island has moved from concept images to a bookable option, as InterContinental The Red Sea Resort begins welcoming guests from December 1, 2025. The property, part of Saudi Arabia's flagship regenerative tourism project, brings a barefoot luxury hotel to Shura's mangrove lined lagoons, with rooms and villas shaped around coral inspired architecture. Travelers most affected are high end leisure guests, families, and advisors knitting together itineraries that combine Red Sea beach time with city stops in Riyadh, Jeddah, or AlUla. The practical next step is to treat Shura as a multi resort island hub, check new air links into Red Sea International Airport, and compare early opening rates across competing flags.

The Red Sea island resort opening on Shura gives travelers a new InterContinental branded base that combines LEED certified design, coral reef access, and clustered dining and wellness options, but it also adds one more moving part to plan around in a still evolving destination.

InterContinental The Red Sea Resort sits on Shura Island, the main hub of The Red Sea destination developed by Red Sea Global, and is described by the developer as a five star barefoot luxury escape with 178 rooms and 32 suites, five dining venues, and a spa, all inspired by the surrounding coral reefs. Official launch communications from IHG and partner outlets confirm that the resort is among the first three hotels to open on Shura, following the October debut of The Red Sea EDITION and ahead of an SLS property and several other brands slated to follow in 2026.

Rooms, suites, and a neuroscience influenced design

Public information from Red Sea Global and IHG describes a low rise layout with villas and pavilions tucked around lagoons rather than a single tower, reflecting the broader "Coral Bloom" design language that Foster plus Partners developed for Shura. The resort's 178 rooms and 32 suites span classic king and twin configurations at around 50 square meters up to larger multi bedroom suites, including a named Red Sea three bedroom suite that effectively functions as a residential style villa.

IHG highlights a LEED Building Design and Construction Platinum certification target, with curved facades, organic textures, and Saudi artworks used to tie the architecture to the island's dunes and reefs. Interiors draw on a collaboration with designer Isabelle Sjövall, who applies neuroscience principles to color, texture, and lighting so that rooms prioritize rest and cognitive recovery, a pitch that dovetails with InterContinental's broader partnership with the Timeshifter jet lag app.

For guests, the practical takeaway is that most room types should feel more like enclosed garden or beachfront pavilions than city hotel corridors, with design choices aimed at reducing overstimulation and improving sleep quality. Advisors booking multi stop trips through time zones can lean on the Timeshifter integration, which offers complimentary jet lag plans for InterContinental guests, as a tangible perk for long haul travelers who arrive via Europe or North America.

How to reach Shura Island and build in transfer time

Shura Island sits off Saudi Arabia's north western coast in Tabuk Province, anchored by Red Sea International Airport (RSI), which already has scheduled flights from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Gulf hubs, with a new Doha service from Qatar Airways announced for the near term. From RSI, guests either board a boat across the lagoons to the island marina or travel in electric vehicles over the Shura Crossing, a roughly 3.3 kilometer route with a 1.2 kilometer bridge that links the mainland to Shura.

For itinerary planning, that connective step matters. Travelers should avoid scheduling tight back to back connections between international arrivals and same day regional flights out of RSI until the airport and transfer pattern bed in. A safer pattern is to treat RSI as the final flight leg, allow at least several hours between landing and any guided activity, and consider adding a post flight buffer night on Shura before more ambitious excursions or onward domestic flights.

Once on island, guests can treat Shura as a walkable but spread out resort district, not a compact town center. Maps and marketing from Red Sea Global show 11 planned luxury resorts, a marina, a retail and dining village, and an 18 hole Shura Links golf course. In practice, that means golf days, spa sessions, and off property restaurant bookings will often involve short buggy or vehicle transfers instead of casual strolls, especially in peak heat.

Dining, spa, and on island experiences

InterContinental The Red Sea Resort leans heavily on its food and beverage mix to differentiate itself from neighboring properties. Promotional material and coverage highlight three signature restaurants, Darein, Ardo, and Chimes, along with Murrma, a dessert and pastry bar.

Darein is positioned as a Levantine and Moroccan concept that taps spice route history and seasonal local ingredients. Ardo focuses on South American influenced open fire cooking and sharing plates, while Chimes covers more casual Mediterranean style tapas and grilled seafood. Murrma, led by pastry chef Raamin, draws inspiration from nearby mangroves and blends Levantine memories with Parisian technique, right down to a signature apple cinnamon vanilla spiral donut.

On the wellness side, The Spa InterContinental uses open air wellbeing domes and hydrotherapy spaces to frame the Red Sea environment, positioning the resort as a "haven of stillness" that contrasts with busier city stays. For families, Planet Trekkers, InterContinental's kids and teens club concept, offers marine focused programming, climbing, and splash park features, while Club InterContinental adds a layer of lounge access, private check in, and concierge support for guests who prioritize service.

Travelers planning longer stays can also lean on the concierge for off resort activities. Resort and brand communications emphasize sailing, cycling, and guided diving among nearby reefs, which can be important reassurance for guests who want more than pool time but are wary of unregulated operators.

Background, Vision 2030, and sustainability context

Shura Island is the centerpiece of The Red Sea, a multi island tourism initiative backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and developed by Red Sea Global as a flagship for Vision 2030 diversification. Official messaging casts the destination as a regenerative tourism model that limits visitor numbers, uses 100 percent renewable energy, and aims for a 30 percent net conservation benefit by mid century.

InterContinental's property leans into this context with its LEED BD plus C Platinum ambitions, extensive use of low rise, earth colored structures, and a layout that protects mangroves and coral reefs as defining features rather than obstacles to be cleared. For travelers, this translates into a more regulated environment than many traditional beach destinations. Expect structured rules around reef access, guided dives, and water sports, plus a strong emphasis on staying on designated paths to protect fragile coastal ecosystems.

At the same time, visitors should remember that the Red Sea corridor remains a complex region from a wider travel risk standpoint. Adept Traveler's recent coverage of Red Sea cruise reroutings and regional security advisories underlines that even as Saudi invests in resort infrastructure, cruise lines and some tour operators continue to treat the southern Red Sea and nearby waterways with caution. Air travelers bound for Shura are unlikely to face the same constraints as ships, but this broader context reinforces the value of flexible tickets and up to date insurance coverage on multi country itineraries.

How this fits into the wider Saudi hotel pipeline

InterContinental The Red Sea Resort also marks a milestone for IHG's Saudi portfolio. Hospitality trade coverage notes that the opening coincides with roughly 50 years of InterContinental operations in the kingdom, stretching back to the 1975 opening of InterContinental Riyadh, and that the group now has more than 100 hotels either open or in development in Saudi Arabia. In the western region alone, the new resort joins Six Senses Southern Dunes and InterContinental Jeddah, with Regent Jeddah and Six Senses Amaala due to follow as the Red Sea and AMAALA clusters fill in.

For travelers who follow hotel brands and loyalty programs closely, that density matters. It means IHG One Rewards members can realistically plan chain heavy routes that move from Riyadh or Jeddah to The Red Sea and, eventually, to AMAALA without leaving the ecosystem. It also sets up a competitive dynamic with Marriott's EDITION and future brands, Hyatt's Miraval, Jumeirah's planned Red Sea property, and other luxury flags that will share the same coastline.

Adept Traveler has already covered The Red Sea EDITION opening on Shura Island and AMAALA Triple Bay's first resort wave, so this InterContinental launch slots into a pattern of Saudi west coast developments that collectively change how high end travelers think about the region. The practical planning move is not to treat any one resort as a standalone destination, but to decide whether to build a single hub stay on Shura, or combine Shura with AlUla, AMAALA, or city stays as flight schedules and budgets allow.