Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) has announced the first 14 of its planned 38 hotel brands as part of the $50.6 billion transformation of the historic city of Diriyah over the coming years.

DGDA said it has received overwhelming interest from the world’s most revered luxury five-star brands to have a presence within the development’s carefully curated collection of 38 hospitality brands. Currently the concept design is nearing completion for the first 14 brands and DGDA aims to unveil additional hotel operators as their designs advance further.

Work on the te development – located 15 minutes north-west of Riyadh – remains on time, on budget and on track and will be the first giga project in the world to simultaneously open, ground-break and announce world-class assets every year from 2022 until completion in 2026, said the DGDA. It will also be the first of Saudi Arabia’s giga projects to open assets, with its first 18 restaurant brands launching in Bujairi Terrace in early 2022.

The hotel brands are strategically located across two of DGDA’s four masterplans – Diriyah Gate and Wadi Safar.

Hotel brands coming to Diriyah Gate Phase One, a five-sq-km mixed-use heritage, tourism and lifestyle destination  – in alphabetical order – include Address Hotels & Resorts, part of the Emaar Hospitality Group; Baccarat Hotels & Resorts; Campbell Gray Hotels and Resorts property, located in the Bujairi District combining sustainability and Najdi design with modern glamour to Diriyah Gate;  a 100-key hotel by Capella Hotels and Resorts; the first Fauchon Hotel in the Middle East, showcasing the Parisian “art de vivre” experience; and an 80-key retreat from LXR Hotels & Resorts,  Hilton’s exclusive collection of legendary, independent properties, representing the brand’s debut in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, Orient Express will make its debut into the Middle East, bringing the refined nomadic spirit and state-of-art detailing; while Raffles will reinterpret artistic and cultural tradition through an inspiring contemporary lens, with breath-taking views of Wadi Hanifah; a luxury Park Hyatt property; The Ritz-Carlton; and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts The Luxury Collection.

The hotel openings will commence in a strategically articulated manner with the first property which will be a part of The Luxury Collection, operated by Marriott International, due to open in 2022 with 141 keys.