The Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah is easy to mislocate, since plenty of write-ups drop it on Al Marjan Island. In fact it sits further south on the emirate’s coast, on a private stretch of Gulf beach beside Al Hamra Village and its golf courses, about 45 minutes from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and a little over an hour from Dubai. Opened in 2013, it is a low-rise, palatial thing in the Andalusian-Arabian style: arcaded courtyards, domes, water channels and roughly 346 rooms and suites spread wide enough that the resort never feels busy, even when it is full.
What you get is a proper beach resort rather than a city hotel with sand attached. There is a long private beach, a run of pools, a Waldorf Astoria Spa with a traditional hammam, and the two adjacent Al Hamra golf courses for anyone who wants them. Rooms are large and comfortable, most with a balcony and a sea or garden view, and the service is the calm, anticipatory sort the brand trades on. Families are well looked after, with a kids’ club and shallow water, while couples tend to gravitate to the quieter far end of the beach.
Dining leans international, anchored by the Lexington Grill and Bar for steak alongside Arabic, Italian and Japanese options, plus a Peacock Alley lounge for afternoon tea. It is not the cheapest way to reach the water in the northern emirates, and Ras Al Khaimah is quieter than Dubai by design, but that is rather the point. For a warm-weather escape built around the beach, the spa and the golf rather than nightlife, it is one of the more convincing luxury addresses on this coast.
