Hilton Salwa: The gigantic luxury hotel in the middle of nowhere

(CNN) — Nothing much lies on Qatar’s border with Saudi Arabia. A few sunbaked outposts and miles and miles of vast, empty desert in all directions.

Then, earlier this year, something very different appeared in the middle of this nowhere: A huge, gleaming luxury hotel complex, complete with its own theme park.

The Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is clearly no ordinary hotel.

Seen from the air it resembles an entire coastal town. Pristine twin beaches peel away from a central harbor. Above the sands, bright white villas and buildings cluster around blue swimming pools. Behind them, oasis greenery. It’s one of the Middle East’s largest resorts.

So what happens, when a gigantic upscale hotel appears miles from anywhere just as a pandemic freezes global travel?

The complex is one of the largest resorts in the Middle East.

Dimitris Sideridis

It gets really busy, according to Etienne-Charles Gailliez, the resort’s general manager. On opening its doors in February it became a staycation hit with locals, he says. More recently it’s been a popular destination for visitors and business travelers from the wider region.

There’s plenty of room. Hilton Salwa Beach has 84 villas, ranging from two to four bedrooms, with private pools and direct access to the white-sand beach (prices from US$1,500-a-night). There are 31 Arabian village-style apartments and villas, while the main hotel has 246 rooms and suites.

The huge grounds also contain more than 20 food and drink outlets, including seven gourmet dining options, a high-end spa with VIP suites, sport courts, swimming pools surrounded by landscaped gardens, corporate facilities and a marina.

On top of that, there’s Qatar’s largest theme park, featuring dozens of attractions, including “King Cobra,” a thrilling twin tube ride that sends riders into the mouth of a massive snake-like structure.

Health and safety

The resort has its own water fun park.

Dimitris Sideridis

The luxurious complex has been built on 320 hectares of sandy land some 100 kilometers southwest of Doha, strategically situated to welcome visitors both from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Construction began in 2015 and the final stage before opening was focused on adapting it for the enhanced health and safety measures in line with Qatar’s mobility rules and hygiene protocols.

“Due to the impact of Covid-19, we had to accelerate the requirements for the opening of the resort and identify new unique selling points, which focused on staycations,” Gailliez told CNN.

That was good news for Sama Jamali, a 21-year-old Doha resident, and her friends. “Since it was unsafe and difficult to travel, we decided to have a staycation at the resort,” she told CNN. “The room was lovely and very spacious and comfortable — with advanced technology and very Covid-19 safe and clean.”

Villas and rooms are just steps from the beach.

Dimitris Sideridis

Gailliez said the introduction of travel guidelines and restrictions led to the adoption of a phased opening approach, with a number of outlets and facilities such as a diving center and a state-of-the-art sports academy expected to be functional in the coming months.

“We are a new resort and are more than just rooms. We have…