Banyan Tree AlUla

We had an amazing time at Banyan Tree Alula. Could not fault anything. Incredible views. The pool Villa was brilliant and the staff are all very friendly and attentive.

I took my family to visit Alula and we made a decision to stay at Banyan Alula and then Our Habita so we got a chance to experience the vibe. At first, we were skeptical by Banyan given all the review had been mentioning that it mainly targets adults. However, upon our stay at Banyan, we changed our mind completely. Our kids love the spaciousness and privacy of Banyan. Each villa is beautiful designed and well maintained with the highest quality. Services level was top notched and excellent. Special thanks to Francesca who kindly welcomed us with an upgrade on the back of our disappointment that the Rock Pool was not available for swimming. She is on top of her job and a great guest manager and problem solver. Also special thanks to the staffs at Saffron Thai restaurant including food and beverage Thai manager Jaisek and also Junie from Philippine who kindly treated us well with all the wonderful food and kind suggestions. We ended going back again even after we left Banyan. They all deserve great respect for all their hospitality and good client service.

I recently stayed at Banyan Tree, and unfortunately, my experience was far from what I expected. The main attraction—the rock pool—was closed during our stay, which was incredibly disappointing. It’s hard to justify such high prices when the f. we were looking forward to were inaccessible. At the very least, a discount on our room night should have been offered. The alternatives provided were not acceptable. Each staff member gave us different information, leading to confusion about what options were available. We wanted to visit MyHabitas to use their pool, but they were fully booked. When we asked to check it out, we were told we had to pay a minimum spend, which should have been waived under the circumstances. We ended up having an overpriced mediocre lunch there. s. inconsistency was another major issue. Upon arrival, the concierge assured us we could book tickets to Hegra later that day. However, when we tried, we found out the tickets were sold out, and we ended up waiting four hours to get in. Interestingly, the ticketing office mentioned that Banyan Tree often provides incorrect information to guests about tours. While some staff members were great—like the friendly Philippine girl at breakfast and one attentive bellboy—the overall s. lacked attention to detail. The resort itself had no proper program of experiences or activities. When we asked the concierge what to do on-site, he casually suggested we "relax and sleep," which felt dismissive. Our villa was visually stunning, but the wear and tear was disappointing. We noticed many scratches and signs of neglect. The bathroom amenities were not luxurious and felt poorly curated. For a high-end resort, thoughtful touches like a pool bag or sun hat should be standard. We were celebrating an anniversary, and while the team did a bed decoration, the effort felt lackluster. A small sweet plate from the lobby sweet corner and fruit basket were provided, but no one acknowledged our special occasion upon arrival, which was a missed opportunity for engagement. The arrival experience felt rushed and transactional, likely because staff were uncomfortable discussing the pool closure. It was disappointing that Banyan Tree couldn’t deliver a memorable experience. Additionally, we left our sunglasses in the room. Despite lingering in the lobby until 9 PM, no one thought to return them to us. We only realized they were missing at the airport, highlighting a lack of care and attention to s. detail. You could have emailed or called us as the room was checked and cleaned as you claimed you were full house and couldn’t extend the late checkout not even for 30min. Overall, Banyan Tree offers stunning f. and brilliant architecture, but the s. is lacking. Without improvements, I fear they may lose guests to upcoming competitors like Aman. I cannot recommend this resort based on my experience.

For a 5 star resort I would never expect to have to chase scheduled buggy pick ups, more than once. In fact, I would expect everything to be managed to avoid any need for guests to have to worry about ire arranged pick ups etc, so this lets you down significantly.

One of the most unique property. Villas are incredible! Breakfast amazing. Spa, 10 out of 10! However, you should improve the service overall. Very sloppy at a time. Alway waiting for the baggy way too long. Sometimes for 30 minutes! Villa swimming pool unusable due to birds droppings, perhaps you should introduce pool cleaning ( for the occupied villas) twice a day! I haven't used a swimming pool, not once, due to amount of birds dropping. It would have been a health hazard. Yes, it's nature, difficult to stop birds to come, and part of the nature experience. I've ordered for my birthday a floating breakfast, and specifically asked for the pool to be cleaned before the food delivery, but no response. Breakfast arrived, pool unusable due to the hazard from the birds droppings. I had to call the reception to send someone and sort out the pool. That was done, and the food was left in the baggy for almost one hour, while the pool was tended. You can imagine that we couldn't really enjoyed the food after avocado toast turned black, juice to hot, pastry baskets content turned chewy, etc. It was unacceptable. We were fully charged of course. Not the experience to be desired for one's Birthday. Every hotel would've send a Birthday wishes on a special day, but not Banyan Tree Al Ula. Never mind, i truly enjoyed the location, facilities, had a very unique star gazing dinner, in the spectacular setting, but would be really amazing to see the improvements, as you have something very special, hard to find. Best regards, Tamara Z.