Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is changing at a scale rarely seen in contemporary travel. Riyadh combines traditional Najdi architecture, mud-brick fortifications and rapidly evolving districts with an increasingly ambitious skyline, while Jeddah’s historic Al-Balad is a dense world of coral-stone houses, intricate wooden rawasheen and Red Sea trading history. Beyond the cities, the country becomes even more extraordinary: the monumental Nabataean tombs of Hegra at AlUla, desert oases, volcanic landscapes, Red Sea islands and the mountains of Asir. Alongside this heritage, a wave of contemporary architecture, cultural institutions and vast new developments is reshaping the country, making Saudi Arabia a fascinating—and sometimes overwhelming—laboratory for architecture and hospitality.

Food provides a more intimate route into Saudi culture. Rice, lamb, dates, spices and flatbreads underpin regional dishes such as kabsa and jareesh, while Jeddah and the Hijaz bring influences accumulated through centuries of pilgrimage and Red Sea trade. Saudi coffee, flavoured with cardamom and traditionally served with dates, is inseparable from hospitality. Riyadh and Jeddah now have increasingly sophisticated restaurants, bakeries and speciality coffee scenes, while chefs are beginning to reinterpret regional Saudi cooking in contemporary ways. Alcohol remains prohibited, which has helped produce an unusually inventive culture around coffee, tea and non-alcoholic drinks.

Saudi Arabia’s emerging hotel landscape is one of the most ambitious anywhere. Historic buildings are being restored as intimate stays, while desert retreats around AlUla and new Red Sea resorts use architecture to engage with some spectacularly remote landscapes. International names sit alongside projects that draw more convincingly on local materials, craft and climate. At DNA Hotels, we curate the places where architecture, landscape and Saudi culture matter more than sheer scale—hotels that reveal a country opening itself to international travellers while simultaneously rediscovering the value of its own design heritage.