As part of a trillion-dollar project, Saudi Arabia has unveiled a new hotel that looks suspiciously like something out of Lord of the Rings — and its development has caused anger
A new tourist development has been announced for the Gulf of Aqaba, but it looks suspiciously like something out of the Lord of the Rings.
As part of its hugely controversial NEOM mega-city project, Saudi Arabia’s leaders have unveiled plans for Siranna – a new hexagonal-pillar-shaped hotel, with 65 rooms and 35 private residences. The only way to access the hotel will be via sea.
However, for eagle-eyed Lord of the Rings fans, the building looks a lot like The White City. In the Peter Jackson smash, the walled white fortress towers above the dusty plains below and is built into the face of a mountain — much like Siranna will be. According to NEOM’s website: “Siranna is an example of NEOM’s uncompromising efforts to create spaces in nature that support sustainable future living and nurture creativity, while offering the ultimate luxury hospitality experience.”
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In addition to its quirky design, the hotel will feature a beach club, wellness facilities and a spa. Commenting on the architecture of the building, the website adds: “The towering, rich stone of the hotel is beautifully carved into the mountainside. The lines will be blurred between whether you’re inside the mountain or the building. Siranna will provide the ultimate opportunity to disconnect and unwind.”
Designed by Woods Bagot, Siranna’s surrounding landscape features rugged rocks and nature trails.
While the exact cost of the wildly ambitious hotel has not been made public, the broader NEOM project is touted to come in at between $1trillion and $1.5trillion. This is more than the vast Saudi Arabian public investment fund, which sat at $925 billion as of July this year.
With reports that the cost of NEOM have already spiralled hugely from its original $500 billion price-tag – and now that the man leading it, Nadhmi al-Nasr, has been removed from his post this week – the future of the project is hugely in doubt.
“As NEOM enters a new phase of delivery, this new leadership will ensure operational continuity, agility and efficiency to match the overall vision and objectives of the project,” a Neom statement said. It did not disclose the reason for the departure of Al-Nasr.
In total, the NEOM project is due to contain 10 regions in total, featuring an octagon-shaped port city named Oxagon, the mirrored mega-city The Line and an island resort named Sindalah.
The project has been consistently criticised in the past months, over its human rights. Human rights organisation ALQST reported that three men were sentenced to death after being removed from the NEOM site. More recent news has reported that 21,000 workers have died since Saudi Arabia’s wider Vision 2030 project began in 2016.
In October, the ITV documentary titled Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia also claimed that around 100,000 people have gone missing since the Vision 2030 plans were launched. According to Reuters, project leaders have been working under extremely tight deadlines but many of the several schemes have fallen behind schedule or face delays, multiple sources have previously said.
Earlier this year experts from the UN Human Rights Council expressed “alarm” over the imminent executions. Saudi Arabia responded to the UN by denying abuses had taken place. The Kingdom’s ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has pledged to spend trillions to transform his country and its international image.
NEOM has been contacted for comment.
