Melisa Pezuk is head of development at Amaala, Red Sea Global’s bespoke, regenerative, wellness destination in Saudi Arabia. An architect and one of the region’s most influential and accomplished figures in development, Pezuk has been driving large-scale, iconic projects across the Middle East for more than 20 years, including museum and heritage precincts in Abu Dhabi’s cultural district.
Amaala is described as an ultra-luxury destination focusing on wellness and healthy living, and located on the Red Sea Coast. A beacon of Amaala will be its arts village for Saudi and international art, and for events, concerts and shows put on in dramatic natural surroundings.
Pezuk told blooloop: “I’ve been with Amaala and Red Sea for over five years now. I’ve been heading the development team since day one, and it’s been a thrilling experience. I’m an architect originally. But I’ve developed major signature projects around the world, including Louvre Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi and the overall district, which wasn’t just the Louvre, it was the Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum at the same time.
“I’ve done major development projects, but when I found out about Amala and its vision on wellness and arts, it got my attention. It’s really exciting. Its challenge is not one project, it’s to make everything here happen with a great vision around wellness and art.”
Wellness travel
In respect of trends in wellness travel, the Middle East market has been the fastest-growing region in the industry, according to research by Strategy&. It has significant untapped potential, from its diverse landscapes to PIF-led government initiatives.
Pezuk said: “Wellness tourism around the world is growing tremendously. It’s an exponential growth at the moment. There are more informed travelers today. They want to go to the places that are giving them the best, healthiest options.
“In the GCC, Amala will be the first wellness tourism destination. It will break ground not only within GCC, but globally. We’ve done a lot of studies around the world to find out where the true wellness destinations are. We came across Switzerland, Thailand, Spain, or Bali, and we came across cities, but we didn’t come across one place.
“What we’ve done is brought all of these experts into one place, and that’s differentiated us from anyone else.”
Wellness tourism trends
Amaala’s positioning as an integrated community, or “an integrated resort destination with a community in it”, Pezuk said, also sets it apart from other destinations.
She said, “We have our second home residences and hotels, as well as our activity projects and cultural projects, such as the Corallium marine life institute, the yacht club and equestrian centers, and our sailing school. The whole community creates a lifestyle within the Red Sea region.”
Moreover, Amaala is a comprehensive awareness destination. Pezuk said: “We’re creating an environment that is going to help generations to live healthily and live well.
“As a comprehensive awareness destination, we brought key wellness and longevity stakeholders to the table, such as Clinique La Prairie, Equinox, and Jayasom. We have five more in our next phase. They are also top stakeholders whose experience in the wellness community is well respected.”
From a design and development point of view, Amaala is also a unique project.
“When I say integrative, Amaala has resorts, but within the resorts, there are communities of second homes. It’s very connected. As a resident, you have your own beach and your own space. But at the same time, you are next to a very well-known resort, so then you’re together,” Pezuk added.
Amaala, a comprehensive awareness destination
“All of the resorts are connected with a wellness route for running, biking, equestrianism or buggies. It’s a green belt that connects everything together. So, you can go from one side to the other side without interruption by walking. There are no fences; nothing. Everything is open, so everyone can go in and out. It doesn’t matter where you’re staying within the community.”
As for the climate at Amaala, Pezuk said it’s “incredible”.
She added: “It’s 32 degrees Celsius year-round. It’s one of the only destinations in the GCC that is year-round.”
Innovative sustainable technologies are being employed across the Amaala development, and Red Sea Global’s projects generally, from greener aviation fuel to AI-powered coral gardening.
The developer even has a robot cleaning its beaches. The machine can scour and scrub 3,000 square metres in just one hour, efficiently collecting plastic waste and debris. Other smart technologies, like the Internet of Things, play a key role in meeting climate commitments at Amaala.
Pezuk said: “We use the top technologies within our resorts, like making sure that the cooling systems are down, that there’s no noise, and ensuring that we don’t have blackouts. We want to make sure that we protect the environment, and there is a dark sky policy across all of our developments. We also have very sensitive beaches, which are turtle nesting beaches, and the whole development is solar powered.”
Technology-driven treatments and innovative practices will be showcased in Amaala’s wellness resorts, as guests increasingly seek new ways to relax and prioritise their health and wellbeing. Caring for the body and mind has expanded as a lifestyle trend around the world in recent years. The wellness economy is now projected to rise from $5.6 trillion to $8.5 trillion by 2027.
Clinique La Prairie’s longevity resort
As mentioned above, Red Sea Global has partnered with longevity clinic and wellness brand Clinique La Prairie to develop a health resort in Amaala.
The 36,115-square-metre hotel will include 13 villas, as well as 74 rooms and suites. Designed by architect John Heah, it offers four unique areas inspired by each of Clinique La Prairie’s pillars – medical care, nutrition, movement and wellbeing. It will have a diagnostics lab, a museum, a beach club, a workshop and training rooms, a private dining space, and a cooking school.
The resort will use the latest technologies created by Clinique La Prairie to give its clients a longer, healthier and fuller life. Medical services provided by the longevity clinic will include radiology, physiotherapy, aesthetics, neuroscience and dentistry. Meanwhile, wellbeing services will include a cryochamber, hyperbaric suites and IV infusion.
Moving to Amaala’s timeline, the first resorts in the project will open by the end of this year, Pezuk confirmed.
“We’re opening multiple resorts throughout this year and next year. The first eight hotels will be open by mid-next year. Opening them one by one and seeing our destination go live is going to be our most exciting moment,” she said.
In addition to Clinique La Prairie and Jayasom, Amaala includes Rosewood, Six Senses and Four Seasons properties.
As of September 2024, Red Sea Global had awarded more than 600 contracts on Amaala worth nearly SAR 23bn ($6.13bn). John Pagano, group CEO of Red Sea Global, said at the time that “remarkable progress” had been made “across every aspect of Amaala”, with infrastructure works heading towards completion.
Amaala’s first resort by end 2025
Pezuk added, “Today, our construction is going ahead at top speed. Every week I go and it’s a different story, which is great to see.”
Building work is well underway on Triple Bay, the destination’s first phase. This will boast 13 resorts with more than 2,000 hotel rooms. Pezuk described it as an “ultra luxury coastal community with a focus on mountains, arts and sports”.
Triple Bay is aptly named after the site’s “three beautiful bays”, she added. “It’s even more beautiful in reality, with clear waters. We have a beautiful coastline with gorgeous mountains at the back, as the development lies between the mountains and the sea.”
Nearing completion at Amaala are the marina and yacht club at Triple Bay. The $2 billion yacht club, designed by architecture firm HKS, is inspired by the waves of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastline. It covers an area of 7,900 square metres and is the centrepiece of the Triple Bay marina. It will provide a terrace restaurant, infinity pool deck and rooftop cabana lounge.
“The marina has a signature architectural design and is going to be one of the key energy spaces in Amaala. It’s a 116-berth marina and can host super yachts. We’re trying to bring a marine lifestyle into our destination, also with the Amaala Yacht Club, which is associated with M3 Monaco. This brings a lot of knowledge to our yacht club operation,” Pezuk said.
Also located in the Triple Bay marina will be a marine life centre created by architectural firm Foster + Partners. The state-of-the-art Corallium Marine Life Institute will serve as both a scientific research centre and visitor destination.
Designed to resemble the Red Sea’s coral formations, it will cover an area of more than 10,000 square metres. Visitors will enjoy panoramic views of the Red Sea.
Corallium, a state-of-the-art marine life institute
The marine institute will house one of the world’s largest artificial reefs, futuristic laboratory spaces, educational exhibitions, and augmented reality (AR) experiences. Visitors will also get to walk underwater, snorkel with rare species, take part in lab tours, and dive in a submarine.
The design of Corallium is “very unique”, Pezuk said, adding that “it looks like coral coming out of the ground”.
“We’re telling a story with immersive technology inside Corallium, and showing our guests the marine life under the Red Sea. You see everything above it, but you don’t necessarily see the rest. We’re talking about seaweed, we’re talking about corals, we’re talking about fish,” she said.
“On the first floor, there are immersive technologies and aquariums. As guests [make their way down], they finish their journey with a grand reveal. This is a nine-metre opening to the sea that will allow our guests to see marine life without diving or snorkelling in our waters.
“The design and architectural spaces are very spectacular.”
Retail, dining, wellness and more
Once complete, Amaala will feature nearly 4,000 rooms across 30 hotels, in addition to 1,200 luxury villas, apartments and homes. There will be retail, dining and wellness facilities, and Amaala will be powered entirely by solar energy. This will result in a saving in CO2 emissions to the atmosphere equivalent to nearly half a million tonnes annually.
It will also limit the number of annual guests to 500,000 to protect the local environment, and plans to deliver a 30 percent net conservation benefit to local ecosystems by 2040.
With climate change and biodiversity loss intensifying, the current sustainable tourism model is no longer considered sufficient. More than a sustainable tourism destination, Amaala is a regenerative development. It aims to contribute to the restoration and enhancement of the area and its local communities.
When it comes to travellers, in the past 10 years there have been major shifts in their references and priorities, with visitors hoping to have a positive impact on local destinations, communities and ecosystems. Recent research by Booking.com, among 230,000 travellers, found that 93 percent want to make more sustainable and ethical travel choices.
“[It’s] about giving back to the community”
Through a new report, Red Sea Global is calling for urgent investment and innovation in the regenerative tourism sector, valued at $2.5 trillion and expected to double by 2030. The report reveals that rising consumer demand for eco-conscious travel far outpaces the industry’s capacity to develop and deliver regenerative tourism experiences.
Pezuk told us: “Regenerative tourism is about giving back to the community and making sure that everything else around us is being uplifted through this development. That’s what we’re trying to do at Amala, and not only Amala, but across all of our Red Sea projects.”
