SO/ Ras Al Khaimah
Ennismore’s first all-inclusive outside Europe, opened November 2025 on Al Marjan Island
Is SO/ Ras Al Khaimah worth it?
SO/ Ras Al Khaimah is a 5-star all-inclusive resort in Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah, about 80 minutes by road from Dubai International Airport. It has 257 keys and opened in 2025. It is operated under the Accor portfolio. Lead-in rates start from around AED 1,320 a night, so check live rates for your dates. Guest reviews average 8.8/10 on Hotels.com.
What you’ll find on-site
- Swimming pool
- Restaurants & bars
- Free Wi-Fi
- On-site parking
Where exactly is it?
Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates — with the coastline, the Hajar mountains and Ras Al Khaimah’s growing dining scene all within easy reach.
- Check-in / out15:00 / 12:00
- Best monthsOct – Apr
What it’s actually like
Ennismore’s first all-inclusive outside Europe, and the most design-led resort on Al Marjan
SO/ Ras Al Khaimah opened on 15 November 2025 and does something no other resort in the emirate does: it is Ennismore’s first all-inclusive property outside Europe, run as a fashion-adjacent design brand rather than a conventional beach hotel. Ten storeys, 257 rooms, five food and beverage venues plus the Savant lounge and a beach club, and a curated art programme running through the public areas.
It suits couples and design-minded travellers who want everything bundled and do not want the atmosphere of a family club resort. It also suits anyone timing a trip around Wynn Al Marjan Island, since SO/ sits on the same island. The all-inclusive format here is not the buffet-and-wristband model — it is built around the resort’s own restaurants and bars, which is a meaningfully different proposition.
The single biggest reason to hesitate is the price. The lead-in figure of around AED 1,320 is an all-inclusive rate, not a room-only one, and it is the highest opening rate of any hotel on Al Marjan Island. Whether that is good value depends entirely on how much you eat and drink at the resort. If you plan to spend your evenings elsewhere on the island, you are paying twice.
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At a glance
- Area: Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah
- Class: 5-star
- Rooms: 257, across ten storeys
- Opened: 15 November 2025
- Price from: around AED 1,320 per night — this is an all-inclusive rate covering food and drink, not a room-only rate. Check live rates for your dates
- Best for: couples, design-led travellers, all-inclusive stays without a club-resort feel
- Drive from Dubai International (DXB): roughly 80 minutes
- Guest score: 8.8 on Hotels.com at the time of writing. That is the aggregated guest score, not a RAKTraveller rating
Location
SO/ sits on Al Marjan Island, the reclaimed island cluster that has become the centre of gravity for new hotel development in Ras Al Khaimah. The island is the location for Wynn Al Marjan Island, and every hotel here is positioned in relation to it to some degree. If proximity to Wynn is part of your reason for visiting, this is the right island.
The trade-off is that Al Marjan is still a construction environment in parts. It is newer, flatter and less green than Al Hamra ten to fifteen minutes south, and there is less to walk to outside your own resort. Budget around 80 minutes by road from Dubai International.
Rooms and suites
There are 257 rooms across a ten-storey tower. That vertical format is worth noting because it is unusual on this coast, where most resorts are low-rise and spread out. It means more rooms get a genuine sea view than at a horizontal resort, and it means the walk from your room to the beach is a lift ride rather than a five-minute path.
The design language is the brand’s selling point — bold, colour-led and deliberately not neutral. Some guests love it and some find it more style than comfort. Detailed category-by-category specifications are not consistently published, so if you need a specific configuration, confirm it with the hotel rather than inferring it from photographs.
Beach, pool, and facilities
There is a private beach and a beach club, a spa, and a gym. The art programme is curated rather than decorative and runs through the public spaces, which is the clearest signal of what SO/ is trying to be: a resort that reads as a destination in itself rather than a base for exploring Ras Al Khaimah.
What is not published in detail is the pool count and layout, so we are not going to guess at it. If pool space is your deciding factor, the Sofitel in Al Hamra publishes four pools across roughly 6,000 sqm and is the clearer choice on that measure.
Dining
Five food and beverage venues, plus the Savant lounge and the beach club. That is a reasonable spread for 257 rooms, and it has to be: with an all-inclusive format, the restaurant line-up is the product. You are not buying a bed and then choosing where to eat — you are buying the resort’s kitchen for the length of your stay.
Before booking, ask precisely which venues, which menus and which drinks are included at your rate, and which carry a supplement. All-inclusive definitions vary widely, and this one is unusual enough that assuming the standard rules is a mistake. Compare against the other all-inclusive resorts in the emirate, which mostly run a more conventional model.
Family suitability
This is not built as a family resort. There is no kids’ club in the property’s published feature set, the design is adult-oriented, and the format is a tower rather than a sprawling low-rise with lawns. Children are not excluded, but nothing about the resort is arranged around them.
Families on the same island are better served by Movenpick Resort Al Marjan Island, Radisson Resort Marjan Island or Rove Al Marjan Island, and our family shortlist sets out the differences.
Couples suitability
This is the audience the resort is designed for. A lounge, a beach club, five venues, an art programme and a design identity that gives the place a bit of personality — and the all-inclusive format removes the nightly decision about where to eat, which for a short break is genuinely useful.
The reservation is atmosphere. A ten-storey tower with a beach club is livelier and more social than it is romantic. Couples wanting seclusion should look at Al Wadi Desert or Anantara Mina Al Arab instead.
What is good
- A genuinely distinct design identity in a market of similar-looking beach resorts
- All-inclusive built around the resort’s own restaurants rather than a buffet hall
- Five venues plus the Savant lounge and a beach club for 257 rooms
- On Al Marjan Island, so well placed for the Wynn development
- Ten storeys means more rooms with a real sea view
What is not good
- The most expensive lead-in rate on the island by a wide margin, even accounting for the all-inclusive inclusion
- Its 8.8 guest score is below several cheaper hotels on the same island, which is a signal worth taking seriously
- Not set up for families — no published kids’ club, and an adult-oriented design
- Pool provision is not clearly published, so it is hard to compare on that measure
- Still a young property, opened November 2025, on an island that is still being built
Value verdict
Around AED 1,320 sounds steep next to the AED 185 to AED 200 lead-in rates elsewhere on Al Marjan, and the comparison is not fair, because those are room-only and this is all-inclusive. Strip out food and drink for two people and the gap narrows considerably. It does not close entirely: this is still the premium option on the island.
The honest test is behavioural. If you will eat three meals a day and drink at the resort, the maths works. If you intend to be out most evenings — at Wynn, in Al Hamra, or on Jebel Jais — you are paying for meals you will not eat, and a room-only booking at Movenpick or Rove will leave you better off. The 8.8 guest score also lags the island’s cheaper properties, which suggests expectations set by the price are not always being met.
Who should book SO/ Ras Al Khaimah?
Couples on a short break who want everything included and want the resort to have a point of view. Design-led travellers who find most Gulf beach resorts interchangeable. Anyone who values not thinking about the bill, and who genuinely intends to spend their time on the property. It is also a reasonable base for a Wynn-focused trip, provided you accept the double-paying issue on evenings out.
Who should skip it?
Families — there are better-equipped and much cheaper options within a few minutes. Anyone planning to explore the emirate rather than stay put, because the all-inclusive rate is wasted. Value-focused travellers, who will find the island’s best guest scores at a fraction of this rate. And anyone wanting quiet seclusion, which a ten-storey tower with a beach club will not provide.
Nearby alternatives
- Rixos Bab Al Bahr — the established all-inclusive on the island, more conventional and more family-oriented
- Movenpick Resort Al Marjan Island — a solid mid-market beach resort at a much lower room-only rate
- Rove Al Marjan Island — the island’s best-scoring open hotel and its clearest value pick
- DoubleTree by Hilton Resort & Spa Marjan Island — a longer-established option on the same island
- Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah — if you would rather spend the money on classical luxury in Al Hamra
FAQ
Is SO/ Ras Al Khaimah all-inclusive?
Yes. It is Ennismore’s first all-inclusive resort outside Europe, and the headline rate of around AED 1,320 covers food and drink rather than the room alone. Definitions vary between properties, so confirm which of the five venues, which menus and which drinks are included at your specific rate.
When did it open?
It opened on 15 November 2025, making it one of the newest resorts on Al Marjan Island. That also means the operational picture is still settling, and its guest score currently sits below several older and cheaper hotels on the same island. Read recent reviews rather than launch coverage.
Is it suitable for children?
It is not designed for them. There is no kids’ club in the published feature set and the design and atmosphere are adult-oriented. Families staying on Al Marjan Island will be better served by Rixos Bab Al Bahr, Movenpick, Radisson Resort or Rove, all of which cost considerably less.
How close is it to Wynn Al Marjan Island?
It is on the same island, so it is among the closest hotel options. Exact walking times depend on which of Al Marjan’s islands each sits on and on how access roads are finalised, so check current details with the hotel closer to your travel dates rather than relying on masterplan maps.
Bottom line
The most distinctive resort on Al Marjan Island, and the most expensive. If you want an all-inclusive that feels like a design hotel rather than a package holiday, nothing else in Ras Al Khaimah does this. Just be honest with yourself about how much time you will spend on the property, because the rate only works if the answer is most of it.
How this review was prepared
This review is desk research, drawing on the official SO/ and Ennismore property material, opening announcements, and verified guest-review data from booking platforms. It is not a paid placement and not based on a hosted or complimentary stay. Where information is not published — pool provision, for example — we have said so rather than estimated. Compare with every hotel on Al Marjan Island.
All Ras Al Khaimah hotels at a glance
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So, is SO/ Ras Al Khaimah the right call?
If you’re after couples · design-led travellers · all-inclusive in a five-star luxury setting, it’s hard to beat. Winter dates book out early — lock yours in.
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