Hospitality and history await amidst AlUla’s shifting sands.
A century ago, the Hejaz Railway pushed through the deserts of north-west Saudi Arabia, binding distant provinces to the Ottoman capital and, in time, carrying pilgrims all the way to Mecca. War intervened. The line reached Medina in 1908, then stalled 400 kilometres shy of its goal, and soon became a battlefield. In 1917, during the Arab Revolt, sections were sabotaged by forces aligned with T. E. Lawrence and AlUla station was bombed by British aircraft. The railway was abandoned not long after. What remains today, in a landscape of wind-carved monoliths and Nabataean tombs, has been reimagined as a luxury boutique hotel set within Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is The Chedi Hegra.
The setting is spectacular despite its remoteness. Far from the airport, Old Town, and the oasis, there’s an appeal to the remoteness of the location, where monolithic rock formations rise from the desert floor, hiding burial chambers and ancient inscriptions. Hegra’s rock-cut facades and ancient inscriptions sit minutes from the hotel, which occupies the restored 1907 station compound. The conversion is sensitive rather than showy, and it suits the hush of the site. Guestrooms sit in a string of low buildings along the alignment the trains once took, all opening to terraces that face the desert dunes.
Rooms and Suites
Design carries the railway story without turning it into a pastiche. Milan studio Gio Forma, also responsible for AlUla’s mirrored Maraya, leads the architecture and interiors here. A shimmering, latticed “Lamellae” canopy tracks the old rails like a mirage, casting dappled shade across pathways and courtyards. It is both a sculpture and a shelter from the sun.
Rooms are few and thoughtfully finished. There are 35 keys divided across six categories, from Deluxe Rooms to a Duplex Suite and a Two-Bedroom Pool Villa. Expect details that lift the stay above the merely scenic, such as Porfido Pedretti stone underfoot, refined Poltrona Frau leather, earthen plasters, and stone, which keep the palette calm and tactile.
Black-and-white prints of Hegra line the walls, while leather sofas invite you to sink in and admire the landscape. All muted tones and leather, the room is a haven for relaxation, punctuated by modern touches such as tea and coffee-making facilities tucked away in a vestibule. The Chedi Hegra offers a slice of luxury amidst the shifting sands
Destination Dining
Food and drink thread the railway narrative with restraint. Prima Classe, set in the historic station, does more than nod to golden-age train travel. A restored, black-and-crimson Locomotive 964 steam engine sits as the dining room’s centrepiece, while sections of original track remain visible beneath glass panels in the floor. Breakfast sets the tone with a cloud-light omelette scented with orange blossom and rolled in pistachio for texture, and the playful “Hegra Crush”, a tartine of camel cheese, banana and peanut butter that works as a salty-sweet jolt before a day’s exploring. By night, the room softens into a bistro that sweeps east and west, tracing a path from the romance of Paris and Venice to the vibrant flavours of Cairo and Tangier.
For afternoon idling, Al Mahatta is the hotel’s indoor-outdoor living room, offering a glass-lined lounge that opens to the elements and the horizon. It is the place for pastries, mocktails and a refined high tea, sometimes accompanied by a rawi, a storyteller who folds AlUla’s histories into the service.
Coffee, quite rightly, is treated as culture rather than a commodity. The Saudi Coffee House foregrounds Khawlani beans, whose cultivation is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Order classic qahwa brewed in a dallah, perfumed with cardamom, or taste flights that trace regional expressions from light, spice-forward “blonde” cups to darker northern roasts. In a destination where origins matter, the setting of the train station’s converted engine room seems fitting, and you can still see the boiler that would have been used to power the trains.
Exploration and relaxation
The Chedi brand has long traded on quiet competence, and that ethos transfers cleanly here. The cadence is unhurried, which suits a site where the urge is to wander off and explore. Practicalities are well handled too. The hotel can kit you out with bikes for slow circuits between the station compound and the dunes, and can arrange expert-led excursions in a vintage Land Rover to tour Hegra’s great tombs and live out your inner Indiana Jones or Lara Croft.
Wellness is embedded in the heritage fabric. The spa occupies a historic mud-brick “Mud House”, updated with hydrothermal circuits and a compact fitness space. It is more of a refuge than a destination spa, which feels apt. A more expansive spa and swimming pool are currently under construction, and will offer the largest swimming pool in AlUla upon completion in January 2026.
Beyond the gate, the UNESCO site remains the primary true draw. The classic hits are here, from the solitary bulk of Qasr al-Farid to the cliff-framed processional ways and inscriptions. As the sun falls, the sandstone warms to terracotta and the desert hush deepens. Sit out on your terrace and watch the constellations start to prick the sky.
The Verdict
The Chedi Hegra offers a careful act of reuse in a landscape that prizes continuity over spectacle, and the railway’s bones remain legible in the plan. As for what comes next, the culinary map is expanding, with additional dining concepts flagged for the months ahead inside the old Hegra Fort, including a a sky view lounge, and a sunken water basin with unobstructed views of the Hegra historical site.
The Chedi Hegra is not the only Chedi property opening in the Kingdom. The Chedi Wadi Safar will be strategically located in one of Saudi Arabia’s most important heritage and cultural destinations at the centuries-old At-Turaif UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chedi Trojena will serve as a haven for reflection, recreation, and rejuvenation amidst the mountains of NEOM.
For now, The Chedi Hegra delivers something rare in a destination that is fast becoming a global headline: a stay that respects its location, honours its narratives and offers a sense of place that lingers long after the check-out.
Come for the railway romance and Nabataean grandeur, stay for the stillness that lets Hegra speak in full.
GO: Visit www.ghmhotels.com for more information.