Opening 2027

Amansamar

Name: Amansamar
Address: Wadi Safar, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's first Aman, an 80-key Jean-Michel Gathy resort in the Wadi Safar masterplan

Wadi Safar, Saudi Arabia

Get notified when it opens

The day it opens + our first honest verdict. No paid placements. Joins the Fat Voyage list — leave any time.

First look

Amansamar is slated for 2027 in Wadi Safar, near Diriyah on the edge of Riyadh. The plan is an 80-key resort plus residences designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, sitting inside the larger Wadi Safar masterplan. It would be Saudi Arabia's first Aman, part of the country's broader push into high-end tourism.

Not yet scored. We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — this is a first look, not a verdict.

What we'll be watching

We haven't stayed yet — here's what will decide whether it lands when we do.

Whether 80 suites is actually enough to carry Aman's peace-and-privacy promise in a masterplanned community that also runs a Greg Norman golf course, polo fields and a racquet club. The amenity stack is unusually loaded for a brand that normally keeps things spare — we'll be watching whether the resort reads as an Aman or as a country club with an Aman sign.
Whether the hammam-and-banya spa program reflects anything genuinely rooted in local tradition or just imports a wellness formula onto the Arabian Peninsula. The name 'samar' leans into desert storytelling culture, which sets a real bar for how deep the cultural grounding goes.
Whether Jean-Michel Gathy's desert take holds up at close range. Gathy's work tends to photograph extremely well — Amanjiwo, Amanyara — but a Saudi site without the forested valley or turquoise sea backdrop lives or dies on the materiality and the detail. We'll find out when we visit.
Whether 2027 sticks. This is a new-build inside a large phased development, next to the Wadi Safar golf and equestrian complex that was itself still opening in stages. Masterplan dependencies are the most common cause of a slip, and the surrounding infrastructure matters as much as the hotel here.

First look · gallery

Renderings & press imagery, courtesy of the hotel — details may change before opening.

Sofie, who runs the Fat Voyage booking desk with Nicolas

Want us to get you in when it opens?

Nothing to book yet — rates usually load a few months out. We're Sofie and Nicolas; tell us roughly what you're after and we'll come back the moment Amansamar is bookable, with rates, what the rooms are actually like, and whether we'd go in the first season.

You'll be dealing with the two of us the whole way through, which is why we only take on a handful of trips at a time — if we're full, we'll say so. We reply by email, usually within one working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.

Before it opens

When does Amansamar open?

Amansamar is slated to open in 2027, according to the Aman pipeline and trade press. Some sources say 2026–2027, but the realistic target is 2027. As with any new-build inside a larger masterplan, treat the date as expected rather than fixed — delivery depends on the wider Wadi Safar development coming together on schedule.

Where is Amansamar located?

It sits in Wadi Safar, a gated community on the outskirts of Riyadh near Diriyah — the UNESCO-listed mud-brick city of At-Turaif is close by. The address puts it on Saudi Arabia's most prominent cultural-tourism corridor rather than a remote desert site.

Is this Aman's first hotel in Saudi Arabia?

Yes. Amansamar is reported to be Aman's first property in the kingdom, and the first time the brand has entered Saudi Arabia. The project is developed in partnership with Diriyah Company, the state-backed entity behind the wider Wadi Safar masterplan.

How many rooms will Amansamar have?

The hotel is planned at 80 suites, alongside 37 branded residences — five- and six-bedroom villas on private plots starting from 9,000 square meters. The residences are marketed as the first Aman-branded residences in Saudi Arabia.

What restaurants and facilities will Amansamar have?

Confirmed facilities include an Aman Spa with hammam and banya houses and hydrotherapy, multiple pools, a Racquet Club, multiple dining venues and a Kids' Club. The wider Wadi Safar site gives access to a Greg Norman-designed Royal Signature Golf Course and polo and equestrian facilities. Architecture and interiors are by Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston Architects, the studio behind Amanjiwo and Amanyara.

Will Fat Voyage score Amansamar?

We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — drawn from luxury travel communities, editorial publications, and verified guests, never paid placements. This is a first look, not a verdict; we'll score it once there's enough independent signal to be fair.

Open now

What you can book today

Amansamar is still under wraps. Here's what's already open and scored in our collection — more from Aman, and nearby in Saudi Arabia.

Fat Legend

Aman

Amanpuri

Phuket, Thailand

Amanpuri is the original Aman, built in 1988, and what keeps coming up, from first-time guests and people on their fourth or fifth stay, is that the service here still outdoes most of the brand it started: housekeeping that refreshes a villa the moment you step out, staff who remember a tea order or a preferred pillow without being told twice. The beach, shared only with The Surin next door, is the other constant: hosed down, rarely crowded, and consistently called the calmest stretch of sand on the island. The teak-and-thatch architecture reads as timeless rather than dated for a property closing in on 40 years old, and enough people single out the gym — two floors, a boxing ring, a full Muay Thai setup — that it clearly isn't a throwaway amenity for a beach resort. The catch is what you book. Anything below a pool or ocean villa loses the plot fast, and guests say so bluntly. The hillside villas (18 and 19 specifically) come with genuinely brutal staircases; a buggy fleet solves it for most people, but one guest was put in a room 170 steps from the lobby with no cart available and ended up asking for a refund on the remaining nights, so it's worth asking about step count directly when you book. Dining draws a mixed verdict against Trisara nearby: solid, occasionally very good, but rarely what people book the trip for, and at these rates a few guests wanted more. A handful of recent reviews also flag family-heavy villa bookings, with unsupervised children disrupting the quieter, adults-leaning mood Aman built its name on. The Surin sits on the same beach for less, and people who've stayed at both still give Amanpuri the edge on service and grounds. Book the room category that matches the price and this stays the Aman most repeat guests call their favorite.

Fat Favorite

Aman

Aman-i-Khas

Ranthambore, India

This is ten tents on the edge of a national park, and the case for it is almost entirely the people running it. Guests describe a general manager, Kishan, who took one couple to a village wedding mid-stay and brought his own family along so they wouldn't feel out of place. The batler system (their word, one per tent) produces the same kind of story on repeat: a butler who noticed a child was a picky eater and had the chef rework meals twice a day, another who set up a surprise birthday table with cake and flowers. The tiger sightings back it up too. One couple saw six tigers across two drives with an Aman-arranged naturalist, while friends of theirs who hired their own guide for a week saw none. Where it gets messy is the money. The room rate looks reasonable next to other tented camps, and then the add-ons start: private safaris and airport transfers priced high enough that several guests felt nickel-and-dimed on top of an already expensive stay, one reporting a $2,400 one-way transfer quote for a three-hour drive. The tents themselves split opinion too, gorgeous to look at but with furniture (hand-built by local craftsmen on site) that a few people found stiffer to actually sit in than they expected. The food is good rather than a highlight, and it's worth knowing there's no television and thin canvas walls, so noise from neighboring tents or the odd 3am monkey overhead is part of the deal. Book it for the safari access and the way the staff run the place, not for a five-star dining programme. It suits people who want a real wildlife trip with a soft landing at the end of the day, and who won't flinch at paying twice for the extras. Skip it if you want an all-inclusive rate with no surprises on the bill, and go in expecting the tents, not a hard-walled suite.

Fat Favorite

Aman

Amanfayun

Hangzhou, China

What you're paying for at Amanfayun isn't the room. It's a reconstructed Longjing tea village strung along a stream beside Lingyin Temple, with monk-led chants at Yongfu at dawn and a footpath gate that lets you beat the tour buses. That's the whole case for the property. Travellers separated by years describe the same thing: the stream-lined pool against centuries-old stone, the tea gardens, the sense of arriving somewhere old rather than merely nice. One guest's grandparents got personal attention getting around the grounds; another's toddler had every staff member charmed within a day. The food backs it up too: the vegetarian restaurant and Steam House draw near-unanimous praise, and Hangzhou House, the Michelin-starred restaurant on property but run separately from Aman, has fans calling it among the best hotel meals in China. The rooms are the catch, and it isn't minor: the "cottages" get called too dark by admirers and critics alike, from a 2024 review through one from this June, so this isn't one unlucky villa. Hangzhou House also splits opinion hard: one couple paid around SGD 350 for two and found the mushroom dish bland and the service checked-out, while others rank the same meal among the best in China. Service overall skews warm, but there's a real minority describing poor English and a dismissive front desk, including one traveller turned away rudely when asking how to reach a nearby restaurant with a frail parent in tow. Worth flagging too: the public footpath lets non-guests wander the grounds, which cuts against the exclusivity a rate like this implies, and the traffic-controlled West Lake area makes arrival logistics genuinely complicated. Book it for the temple access and the atmosphere, not for a flawless five-star room. On the setting, the food, and the sense of stepping into old Hangzhou, nothing else nearby comes close.

Fat Favorite

Aman

Amanzoe

Porto Heli, Greece

Amanzoe is the rare Aman where guests who've done four, five, even eleven of these properties still call it their favorite. The pavilions and villas run enormous, most well over 2,000 square feet, with private plunge pools, his-and-hers bathrooms, and terraces that look straight down the Argolic Gulf. The architecture holds up against any Aman on any continent, according to people who'd know: hilltop, white-washed, built around light and stone in a way that keeps drawing the comparison. One guest checked out mid-trip, moved on to the next stop on their Greek itinerary, then rehired a helicopter within 36 hours to come back and finish the nights they'd walked away from. The catch is the food, and it shows up too often to wave off. The Japanese restaurant in particular gets called mediocre or repetitive by guests staying more than three or four nights, and the breakfast is the one meal almost everyone still praises. The beach club is also a real commitment, not a stroll down to the water: 10 to 15 minutes by buggy or boat, worth it once you're there but something you have to plan your day around, not something you wander into. Service is excellent almost everywhere, but not flawless everywhere: one spa visit turned unhelpful over a switched treatment and an unexplained coffee charge, and one guest's villa flooded through the windows on opening night of the season and got towels instead of a room change. Three or four nights is the sweet spot several guests land on; eight is what people warn against unless you're happy doing near-nothing but the resort itself. Families with young kids should know this isn't built like a beach resort — you're on a hill, and reaching sand takes real effort. Book it for the villas, the staff, and the view, and eat your best meals at the beach club.

Get notified

Be first when Amansamar opens

We'll email you the day it opens — and our first honest verdict once guests have actually stayed. No paid placements, ever.

Joins the Fat Voyage list — leave any time.

More anticipated openings

All openings

Reservations open

Six Senses

Middle East

Six Senses The Palm, Dubai

— Six Senses' UAE debut

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The wellness brand's first address in the Emirates, on the West Crescent of Palm Jumeirah — 61 suites and a sprawling spa over the Gulf.

Expected

Q4 2026

First look →

Oberoi

Middle East

The Oberoi Sukoonvilas, Wadi Safar

— Oberoi's gateway to Diriyah

Wadi Safar (Diriyah), Saudi Arabia

Sixty rooms and ten villas wrapped around a Greg Norman 27-hole golf course in the gated Wadi Safar community, minutes from the UNESCO-listed At-Turaif.

Expected

Late 2026

First look →

Rosewood

Middle East

Rosewood Dubai

— Rosewood's first address in Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Rosewood's first Dubai hotel goes on the Peninsula Dubai waterfront: 195 rooms, eight garden villas and a private beach club, with a separate residential tower alongside. Announced for 2029.

Expected

2029

First look →