To say that the movement, culture, and history of the Red Sea are integral to Raffles Jeddah would be an understatement. Just how deeply these elements shape this waterfront destination becomes apparent from the moment you arrive. A golden entrance offers the first hint of Raffles’ storied heritage, a nod to the name that has welcomed guests since its founding in Singapore in 1887. Beyond it, however, the story belongs to Jeddah, a city whose identity has always been inseparable from its geography.
The lobby is awash in daylight and soft, pale tones. Mashrabiya screens, the carved wooden latticework of the region's traditional architecture, cast beautiful patterns across iridescent mirrors. Towering columns are sheathed in hammered metal, a reference to sunlight on the Red Sea. Along the walls, the lace-like motif takes its cue from the plasterwork of Al Balad, the city’s old town of coral-stone houses that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
Taken together, Raffles Jeddah reads like a portrait of the city drawn in its own materials. Its past finds new expression in the waters beyond its windows, the cultural heritage woven through its spaces, and a distinctly contemporary idea of Saudi luxury.
A city of arrivals
It makes sense that Jeddah should announce itself at the threshold. The city's history as a trading port stretches back some 3,000 years, and for pilgrims arriving by sea it was once the gateway to Mecca. Raffles Jeddah’s art collection picks up the thread. Contemporary works by artists from Saudi Arabia, the wider region, and further afield have been chosen to sit with the architecture. On the guest floors, photographs by the Jeddah-based Emad Alhusayni turn to the city itself: its architecture and everyday atmosphere. This is Jeddah as seen by someone who lives here, hung where guests pass it every day.
Sea and sun in every detail
Designed by Robert Angell, the hotel’s lobby and rooms weave the city’s character into a distinctly contemporary interior, allowing daylight to do much of the visual work. Upstairs, the Red Sea completely takes over.
The hotel offers 182 spacious stays, including 142 guestrooms and 40 suites, and every one faces the sea. Even entry-level options begin at 66 sq m, among the largest in Jeddah. Complementing the hotel are 126 residences, ranging from three- and four-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom residences and super-penthouse duplexes, each extending the waterfront setting into private living.
The overall palette is drawn from the view: lilac, blue, and pink, reflecting the changing colours of water and sky. Furniture curves, forms are organic, and the mashrabiya returns here, casting light and shadow across the interiors, so the language of the lobby follows guests all the way to their rooms. Welcome gifts draw on local flavours, from Taif rose drinks to date smoothies, while the Raffles Butler Service takes care of the details of your stay, discreetly and in the background.
Authenticity served
If the design draws on Jeddah's past, the dining speaks to its long appetite for the wider world. Under Executive Chef Carmine Di Luggo, whose career spans more than 25 years and includes MICHELIN-starred restaurants, the kitchens pair European technique with ingredients and influences from Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Atorie, designed by Tristan Du Plessis, is a French-Japanese patisserie and lounge that changes character as the day unfolds. Mornings bring plum and black sesame pastries alongside matcha and yuzu éclairs. In the afternoon, a tea trolley makes its way through the room, its Japanese teas brewed and poured at the table, ahead of a four-tier stand on which a tamago sandwich on soft shokupan shares space with a shiitake mushroom puff and matcha scones. By evening, there is music and the mocktails take over.
Surl'o is looser in mood. An all-day brasserie overlooking the Red Sea, it brings together flavours from across the globe on a menu designed for sharing, which perfectly suits a city defined by centuries of exchange and trade.
Rest and restoration
Raffles Spa & Wellness, also designed by Du Plessis, has dedicated areas for women and men, each with its own traditional hammam, treatment rooms, and fitness centre. Facials by Dr Burgener and AMRA are among the treatments, while the women’s spa also includes a VIP dual treatment suite, and relaxation lounge.
Outside, an infinity pool faces the Red Sea, the same view that runs through every room upstairs. A dedicated kids’ club and outdoor play area, with its own swimming pool, are also planned for younger guests.
At the water’s edge
Rising over 48 floors from its position on the Corniche, the hotel overlooks both the historic city and Jeddah's new waterfront. Jeddah has long welcomed people arriving from the sea. Here, along its shores, there is one more door to arrive through. It just happens to be gold.
Raffles Jeddah, Corniche Road, Ash Shati District, Jeddah 23415
@rafflesjeddah
raffles.com
