The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Star rating

Al Sahari Tented Pool Villa
Oasis Pool
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Private Pool
Oasis Pool & Bar
Lobby Lounge
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Tented Pool Villa Deck
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa Deck
Farmhouse
Farmhouse
Al Rimal Enclosed Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa Twin
Farmhouse
Kaheela
Moorish
Moon Bar
Ritz Kids® Club
Al Wadi Spa
Hamman
Brine Cavern - The Rainforest Experience
Relaxation Room
Detination Dining
Fitness centre
Equestrian Centre
Spa
Sensory Showers
Al Sahari Tented Pool Villa
Oasis Pool
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa
Private Pool
Oasis Pool & Bar
Lobby Lounge
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa
Tented Pool Villa Deck
Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa Deck
Farmhouse
Farmhouse
Al Rimal Enclosed Pool Villa
Al Rimal Pool Villa Twin
Farmhouse
Kaheela
Moorish
Moon Bar
Ritz Kids® Club
Al Wadi Spa
Hamman
Brine Cavern - The Rainforest Experience
Relaxation Room
Detination Dining
Fitness centre
Equestrian Centre
Spa
Sensory Showers

The hotel

Tranquil and committed to the environment, The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert resort has a natural yet sanctuary feel in beautiful surroundings with gazelles and oryx roaming around. Choose from a wide selection of recreational activities and experiences, or simply bask in the surreal aura of the desert's romance. All villas come complete with their own swimming pool, ensuring utter privacy as you bask in the sun’s rays. There’s also traditional tented villas for those who want the full-on Bedouin experience. There’s a dedicated nature reserve on-site, home to Arabian gazelles, camels and oryxes. Children and adults alike will enjoy the opportunity of getting up close to these gentle and fascinating creatures as they wander the dunes at leisure — magical! Also magical is the resort’s spa, offering lavish treatment pavilions, state-of-the-art hydrotherapy and signature treatments including the rainforest experience which comes highly recommended.

Amenities

  • Horse Riding
  • Babysitting service
  • Kids Club
  • Bar
  • Internet Access
  • Laundry Service
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Spa
  • Swimming Pool

Where is it

Located in the UAE’s northern emirate Ras Al Khaimah, the closest desert resort from Dubai International Airport. Transfer time from Dubai International Airport: 50 minutes.

Hotel information

108 private villas. All with air-conditioning, private swimming pool, furnished sun deck, cosy seating area, 41” interactive LCD TV, Bose music system, telephone, complimentary WiFi access, mini-bar*, tea/coffee maker, safe, silk bathrobe, hairdryer, robes, slippers, separate soaking tub and rain shower, bathroom amenities, iron and ironing board. 

Al Rimal Pool Villa with 1 king-size bed or twin beds, and lounge area with sofa bed, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children (subject to extra bed, sofa bed).

Half Board option: includes breakfast and choice of lunch or dinner in the participating restaurants: Kaheela, Farmhouse, Oasis Pool Bar and Paddock. Excludes mini-bar and in-villa dining.

Full Board option: includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner at participating restaurants: Kaheela, Farmhouse, Oasis Pool Bar and Paddock. Excludes mini-bar and in-villa dining.

All Inclusive option: includes three meals and selected alcoholic beverages and soft drinks at the time of dining and does not include any activities. Participating restaurants: Kaheela, Farmhouse, Oasis Pool Bar, and Paddock. Excludes mini-bar and in-villa dining.

Al Rimal Enclosed Pool Villa are the same as Al Rimal Pool Villas, with an enclosed private pool, offering maximum privacy.

Al Khaimah Tented Pool Villa with king-size bed, lounge area with sofa bed, terrace, sun-loungers, dining table and chairs with barbecue area. Oversized bathroom with free-standing tub and separate rain shower, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Al Sahari Secluded Tented Pool Villa with king-size bed, lounge area with sofa bed, terrace, sun-loungers, dining table and chairs with barbecue area. Oversized bathroom with free-standing tub and separate rain shower, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Sunrise Signature Pool Villas and Sunset Signature Pool Villas are 2 bedroom villas sleeping maximum 4 adults, 1 child and 1 infant.

Signature Villas are luxurious new villas that feature a living room with 75-inch TV, grand 10-seater dining table, personal chef, private pool, outdoor dining area, private butler, pantry, fitness studio, and master bedroom with king-size bed, second bedroom with 2 single beds, bathroom with walk-in shower and separate tub, and outdoor shower, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Please note: Al Khaimah and Al Sahari tented villas are available on the Full Board package only.

Specific Villa Benefits:

Al Sarab Desert View Pool Villa:

- Welcome bottle of Champagne plus food and beverage amenity (per stay for 2 guests)

- Sunset cocktails (per day for 2 guests)

- Welcome gift per stay

- Complimentary mini-bar (refill per day)

- 30 minutes complimentary spa massage when 60 minutes massage is booked

- Butler service.

Signature Pool Villas:

- Complimentary welcome bottle of Champagne and amenities, day of arrival ONLY

- Complimentary mini-bar (refilled daily)

- One daily sunset cocktail per guest

- Butler service

- Complimentary packing and unpacking service

- Complementary pressing of 4 items per villa per stay

- The Ritz-Carlton daily Bedouin Ritual including the daily Falcon and Owl Interaction.

Tented Villa (Al Khaimah, Al Sahari and Al Sarab Tented Pool Villa) One ‘Al Wadi Experience’ per person per day, bookable in advance via the Experience Concierge):

- Archery

- Horse Lead Ride

- Night Archery

- Fat Biking – Guided Desert Trail

- Birdwatching

- Nature walk

- Night walk

- Camel ride Tree Planting

- Pony Adventures with Spot & Fluff

- Wildlife feed

*Experiences are subject to change and seasonality. The above are given as example.

Kaheela (International and regional cuisine, open for breakfast and lunch, with buffet and a la carte options). Farmhouse (farm-to-table inspired menu, open for dinner). Paddock Cafe. Arabian BBQ nights at Kan Zanam on Saturday's. Oasis Pool Bar. Destination Dining* options include in the desert dunes including picnics and private barbecues under the stars.

Oasis Pool & Bar featuring a large swimming pool, jacuzzi, kids' pool and Ritz-Kidz splash pool area. The Ritz-Carlton Spa* with indoor hydrothermal pool and the Rainforest Spa experience. 24-hour fitness centre. Yoga*. Complimentary bikes to use in the resort for the whole family. Nature and bird-watching walks*. Nature drives*. Stargazing*. Archery*. Fishing*. Desert biking*. Horse riding*. Owl Experience. Complimentary access to the Ritz Kids® club (aged 4 years and above). Feathered Friend experience for kids. Trail Tales experience for kids. Complimentary beach access at The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach (only 15 minutes away).

Complimentary WiFi access. 24-hour room service*. Concierge. Laundry service*. Complimentary parking.

Minimum stay of 3 nights for arrivals between 29 - 31 December 2025.

* Denotes local charge.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (1170)
  • Very good (129)
  • Average (75)
  • Poor (40)
  • Terrible (61)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Great hospitality and fantastic team

May 18, 2025 Charl0tteL88 London, United Kingdom

We stayed here for a night at the end of March and had a fantastic time. The welcome we had was fantastic, with our 4 year old being greeted by everyone and made to feel so special. She was given a lovely rubber duck as a souvenir as well as treats delivered to the room. Pablo who showed us to the room was amazing. He was so friendly and gave us… Read more
We stayed here for a night at the end of March and had a fantastic time. The welcome we had was fantastic, with our 4 year old being greeted by everyone and made to feel so special. She was given a lovely rubber duck as a souvenir as well as treats delivered to the room. Pablo who showed us to the room was amazing. He was so friendly and gave us a tour of the hotel. He remembered our daughter's name throughout our stay and when we checked out, he even left drinks in our car for the drive back to Dubai - a true asset to your team! The room itself was lovely and we loved having a private pool. We had lunch at the Paddock and this was amazing. Again, the service and attentiveness, particularly to our daughter was incredible. The waitress and the barman there were so friendly and the food was amazing (we had the truffle pizza). We watched the falcon display in the evening and it was the best I've seen - the team were super knowledgeable and gave lots of facts. They were also great with all the children. The following day we went on the wildlife experience. We loved it but think it should be more obvious that there is some very fast, bumpy driving in the desert, just in case! We weren't aware of this but luckily our 4 year old loved it and the guide was great. All in all, a great stay made more memorable by the fantastic team there. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating 5 Star are not enough

May 17, 2025 schmumues Zurich, Switzerland

Wow, what an experience in terms of hospitality we had beeing 4 nights in this hotel. We felt being VIP's at every minute and everybody tried to make our day even better. I will not name any specific person, as they all were more than customer-oriented. Of course you can find small stoppers, but the overall picture was just great. If somebody… Read more
Wow, what an experience in terms of hospitality we had beeing 4 nights in this hotel. We felt being VIP's at every minute and everybody tried to make our day even better. I will not name any specific person, as they all were more than customer-oriented. Of course you can find small stoppers, but the overall picture was just great. If somebody would ask me, what could be done better, I would say "cleaning the bid windows at least after a guest change". But that is it. thanks to all of you. We came as guests and left as friends Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating A wonderful place

May 16, 2025 Paul4222 Blagdon, United Kingdom

So this was our 5th visit to this hotel and again it was a wonderful week. We again stayed in a Rimal Pool villa and it is a lovely room, the housekeeping team made our stay very pleasant. The staff were amazing as usual and made every effort to make our stay as wonderful as possible. The Kaheela staff were their usual excellent standard. The… Read more
So this was our 5th visit to this hotel and again it was a wonderful week. We again stayed in a Rimal Pool villa and it is a lovely room, the housekeeping team made our stay very pleasant. The staff were amazing as usual and made every effort to make our stay as wonderful as possible. The Kaheela staff were their usual excellent standard. The place is fantastic but there were a couple of minor issues that did detract slightly from our stay. Flys, I know it is a Desert resort with lots of animals and flys are to be expected but this visit the staff mentioned how they were experiencing issues. The hotel did provide some fly traps on request but previously there has been both spray and deterrents in the room. Weekends are I know busy but we requested some drinks and ice from room service and it took a long time, ice was forgotten once, also the glasses delivered were not very clean. The resort has just recently closed its pop up restaurant so the dining options were Farmhouse or Kaheela. But Kaheela was an international buffet which whilst was plentiful and of good quality. It was quite a surprise that the a la carte menu was not offered. This is a 5star hotel and I would have expected an a la carte option. We also visited the pool area on a couple of occasions but on one of the occasions we visited 2 of the Cabanas had been reserved, something we were unaware you could do. And we were directed to another area of the pool. No one turned up to these Cabanas. These are minor gripes but having visited 5 times in the last few years it just felt like the overalll standard had just slipped. I’m sure we will visit again as it is a wonderful place Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Our favourite hotel in UAE

May 13, 2025 roxyinyork York, United Kingdom

What an amazing hotel. Our new favourite place in the UAE. Fantastic luxury room, private pool and beautiful views of gazelle and oryx. Incredibly attentive and helpful staff, all of them just wonderful. Breakfast was a lovely experience, and we enjoyed both room service and dinner at the pool, all food and drink of excellent quality. Free falcon… Read more
What an amazing hotel. Our new favourite place in the UAE. Fantastic luxury room, private pool and beautiful views of gazelle and oryx. Incredibly attentive and helpful staff, all of them just wonderful. Breakfast was a lovely experience, and we enjoyed both room service and dinner at the pool, all food and drink of excellent quality. Free falcon show, bicycles, large pool with bar, great kids club, we had everything we needed and more. Loved everything about our stay and will definitely be returning. Special thanks to Pablo on the buggy for his friendly and welcoming nature, our son loved him. And to Medhat and Samuel at the large pool for excellent service all afternoon. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Location and service where amazing

May 12, 2025 Resort60563391502

We went for my husbands birthday to the rak al wadi and we went for the tented villa. It was an incredible experience. The tents are beautiful The staff ( Selina in special) was amazing!! She made this the best holiday. She had little welcome gifts, personal Notes, animal colorplates, a cake in the room etc All the activities were planned and also… Read more
We went for my husbands birthday to the rak al wadi and we went for the tented villa. It was an incredible experience. The tents are beautiful The staff ( Selina in special) was amazing!! She made this the best holiday. She had little welcome gifts, personal Notes, animal colorplates, a cake in the room etc All the activities were planned and also the trips ( horse riding and a polaris drive) were amazing. I wish we could stay forever in this little piece of paradise. And i want to thank you for making this such an amazing holiday Read less