Four tables, and a whole desert to set them in
The kitchen cooks over date-palm wood and charcoal, with vegetables from our oasis farm, fish from the Red Sea and spices from the souk in AlUla. Tell us what you like and the menu bends to it.
A day at the table
06:00
Coffee at sunrise
Saudi coffee and dates before the morning hike
08:00
Breakfast at the oasis
Under the palms, or on your terrace until 11:00
13:00
Lunch in the shade
16:00
Tea in the majlis
Mint tea and sweets as the heat goes
17:30
Sunset
Mocktails and mezze on the canyon rim
19:30
Dinner
At Saffron, in the dunes or on your terrace
Restaurant
Saffron
Opening hours
Dinner on the terrace beneath the cliff: lamb slow-cooked for a day, saffron rice, the morning’s catch from the Red Sea and vegetables from our oasis farm.
Every day
19:00 to 23:00
Every evening. Included in half board.
Tonight
Lamb ouzi, saffron, pine nuts
Included
Slow-cooked for twelve hours
Red Sea hamour, preserved lemon
Included
Line-caught off Umluj
Kunafa, pistachio, rose
Included
Made to order, ten minutes
Zero-proof
Date and cardamom spritz
$14
Medjool dates from the farm
Pomegranate and rose cooler
$12
Pressed at the bar
Desert dinners
Under the Stars
Opening hours
Twice a week the kitchen moves into the dunes: one long table, a fire, lanterns in the sand and an oud player as the Milky Way comes out.
Tuesday and Friday
19:30 to 23:00
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Closed
Tuesday and Friday. Included in half board.
From the fire
Mandi lamb, smoked in the sand
Included
Spiced rice, toasted almonds
Grilled halloumi, za’atar, honey
Included
Honey from Al Baha
Flatbread from the tannour
Included
With labneh and olive oil
Lounge
The Majlis
Opening hours
Low cushions, Saudi coffee scented with cardamom, fresh dates and mint tea all day, and the best seat on the resort for sunset over the canyon.
Every day
07:00 to midnight
All day. Coffee, tea and dates are always on the house.
In the majlis
Saudi coffee and Medjool dates
Included
Cardamom, saffron, a little clove
Moroccan mint tea
Included
Poured from a height
Mezze for the sunset
$22
Hummus, muhammara, warm khubz
Breakfast
Breakfast at the oasis
Opening hours
Breakfast under the date palms or on your terrace: shakshuka, labneh, khubz from the oven and juice pressed to order.
Every day
06:30 to 11:00
Daily, at the oasis or on your terrace.
Breakfast
Shakshuka, feta, warm khubz
Included
Eggs from the farm
Labneh, olive oil, za’atar
Included
With cucumbers and mint
Dates, figs and honey
Included
From the valley’s farms
Dinner wherever you like
A table on your own terrace, a fire on a dune crest at sunset or a long lunch in the shade of a canyon wall. Tell your host in the morning and the kitchen will meet you there.
Everything we serve is halal. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free menus are cooked separately. Tell us when you book and the chef will write to you before you arrive.
Saudi coffee, mint tea and fresh juices are always on the house. Our bar makes zero-proof drinks from dates, rose, pomegranate and herbs from the farm.
Children
Early suppers at six, a menu of their own, and flatbread pizzas from the tannour oven on Saturdays.
Cook with us
Join the kitchen to fold sambousek and bake khubz in the tannour, then eat what you made for lunch.
Where the heritage fee goes
where-the-heritage-fee-goes
Heritage
Faisal Al-Rashid
Every night you stay, forty-five dollars a guest goes to the people who protect the valley. Here is exactly how it is spent, and what it has achieved so far.
heritage, conservation, community
Hegra, slowly: a morning among the tombs
hegra-slowly
Heritage
Khalid Al-Harbi
How to see Saudi Arabia's first World Heritage Site without the rush: when to go, what to look for in the carvings, and why the quiet tombs are the best ones.
hegra, nabataeans, heritage
The falconer's morning
the-falconers-morning
Stories
Saad Al-Mutairi
Before dawn in the mews with the birds, the hood, the glove and the quiet patience of an Arabian tradition that is older than the tombs of Hegra.
falconry, heritage, stories
When to come to AlUla: a month-by-month guide
when-to-come-to-alula
Planning
Reem Al-Zahrani
Cool clear winters, golden springs and quiet summers. An honest guide to the weather, the light, the crowds and what each month in the valley is best for.
planning, seasons, weather
What the stars look like at 900 metres
what-the-stars-look-like-at-900-metres
Desert
Khalid Al-Harbi
No lights for thirty kilometres, dry air and a sky that fills from edge to edge. A guide to stargazing in the valley, and what to look for in each season.
stars, night sky, astronomy
Dates: a primer from the oasis farm
dates-a-primer-from-the-oasis-farm
Kitchen
Omar Haddad
Medjool, Barhi, Ajwa and the dozens in between. Our chef on how dates are grown in the valley, how to tell them apart and how we cook with them.
dates, farm, kitchen
Why the desert flowers in February
why-the-desert-flowers-in-february
Desert
Khalid Al-Harbi
After the winter rains, the valley turns briefly green and gold. What blooms, where to find it, and why it lasts only a few weeks.
wildflowers, seasons, nature
