AlUlaWorld-first earth-built property now open in AlUla

29.05.2024 - 13:03 / traveldailynews.com / Vicky Karantzavelou

Dar Tantora The House Hotel offers total immersion into the cultural heritage of one of Arabia’s most impressive heritage sites. The 30-room boutique eco-community sits in the heart of AlUla’s Old Town – a labyrinth of 12th Century mud and stone brick buildings.

AlUla, SAUDI  ARABIA -The Dar Tantora The House Hotel, AlUla Old Town, Saudi Arabia is officially open for bookings now. Operated by Kerten Hospitality, this unique 30-room boutique eco-community, designed in collaboration with Egyptian Architect Shahira Fahmy sits in the heart of AlUla’s Old Town – a labyrinth of 12th Century mud and stone brick buildings, surrounding a 10th-century castle or fort.

Built with the same materials and architectural techniques as AlUla Old Town’s 900 surviving traditional houses, the property utilises the southern end of the AlUla Old Town heritage site, reimagining some of the surviving homes into luxury multiple-level exquisite accommodations.

AlUla is a globally significant heritage destination in North West Arabia which has been home to 7,000 years of successive civilisations and was the crossroad of the historic trading route, the Incense Road. AlUla Old Town was built as the new city centre in the Islamic era, sitting opposite a shady and cool oasis of palm trees and surrounded by wells, the town was a welcome respite for pilgrims travelling through AlUla on their way to Mecca.

Dar Tantora The House Hotel (Photo: Maxime Seltenrijch)

The design and build of Dar Tantora The House Hotel includes 30 earth-clad dars (rooms) and suites, an infinity pool, gym, yoga and meditation studio, spa and hotel restaurant. A low-impact, sustainability-led property – the only one of its kind in the world – the hotel was built using traditional techniques and materials, is lit by candlelight, and uses expertly restored original irrigation and ventilation systems, all of which minimise energy usage and environmental impact. For this, Shahira Fahmy’s team worked with the founder of EQI (Environmental Quality International) Dr. Mounir Neamatalla.

Architect Shahira Fahmy – a Harvard Fellow hailed by Phaidon as ‘one of the architects building the Arab future’ and recently featured in RIBA’s 100 Women: Architects in Practice – worked closely with specialist restoration teams and traditional local craftsmen to restore the fabric of the 12th Century buildings that make up the hotel property: the original mud brick walls, stonework, windows and historic murals.

The walls of Dar Tantora The House Hotel – and AlUla Old Town more widely – are adorned with murals that were traditionally painted by the community as a wedding gift for newly-wed couples, to decorate their new home. These celebratory murals tell stories of local flora, fauna,