New this autumn: Raffles The Red Sea and Waldorf Astoria KL

Two well-known hotel brands have new addresses this autumn. One is on a Red Sea island. The other is in the center of Kuala Lumpur.

Raffles The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

Raffles has added a resort on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast: Raffles The Red Sea. You will find it on the northwestern shore of Shura Island, with a lagoon on one side and the open sea on the other.

Rooms. The resort has 121 guest rooms, 14 suites and 33 private pool villas. Each guest room has its own terrace facing the lagoon or the sea.

Design. The resort is part of the Coral Bloom masterplan for Shura Island by the architecture firm Foster + Partners.

Food and drink. The menus mix Eastern Mediterranean, Asian and Arabian cooking. Ni’ma is built around plates for sharing. Siparaja looks to Singapore, where the Raffles story started, for its menu. El Nay, a lounge by the sea, serves Arabic small plates (mezze) with Saudi tea and coffee. Anbara is the place for afternoon tea. The hotel says some restaurants and the bar will open at a later stage.

Spa. The Raffles Spa & Wellness is planned for later. It will have seven treatment rooms, a hammam, a sauna and steam facilities. The children’s and teens’ centers will also open at a later stage.

Beyond the resort. Guests can play Shura Links, which the resort calls the first 18-hole golf course on an island in Saudi Arabia. There is also diving and a marina.

Getting there. The hotel says Shura Island runs on renewable energy. Guests travel by electric vehicle from Red Sea International Airport, over the 3.3 km (about 2 mile) Shura crossing.

Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hilton says Waldorf Astoria Kuala Lumpur opens on October 30, 2026. It is the brand’s first hotel in Malaysia, and reservations are open.

Rooms. The hotel is all suites. There are 268 of them. They range from one-bedroom suites of 80 square meters to the 745-square-meter Waldorf Astoria Suite.

Location. The address is 73 Jalan Raja Chulan, in the Golden Triangle district. It is close to the Petronas Twin Towers, Bukit Bintang and the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur mall.

Food and spa. Dining includes collaborations with chefs Garima Arora and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. There is also a Waldorf Astoria Spa.

Before you book

• New hotels often open in phases. Ask which restaurants, pools and spa areas are open on your dates.
• At Raffles The Red Sea, the spa and kids’ centers are listed as coming later.
• Rates for both hotels change by date. Check the live price directly with the hotel.

Top photo: ELIZABETH XIONG via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Cropped.