How can Ras Al Khaimah compete with Dubai and Abu Dhabi? The question, once largely hypothetical, has now become a central part of the emirate’s long-term development strategy. While the country’s major tourism and commercial hubs have relied on a familiar mix of record-breaking towers, megamalls, and marquee events, Ras Al Khaimah has quietly pursued a different path that is now drawing global attention.
In early 2027, the emirate will become home to Wynn Al Marjan Island, a $5.1 billion integrated resort designed by Wynn Resorts, the same firm that helped redefine luxury hospitality in Las Vegas and Macau. It will be the first resort in the Middle East to incorporate a gaming component—a significant and symbolically complex shift for the region. But to reduce it to that would miss the point entirely. Part precision-engineered fantasy, part masterclass in contextual design, Wynn Al Marjan Island is set to position the emirate as a viable international destination in its own right—and doing so through a model that blends architectural ambition, cultural adaptation, and a studied understanding of the global luxury market.
“This is truly our company’s first destination resort in the truest sense of the word resort,” said Todd-Avery Lenahan, President and Chief Creative Officer of Wynn Design & Development. “Our projects are to date all urban resorts… This one… truly is a resort.”
Wynn’s entrance into Ras Al Khaimah doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The company’s global portfolio includes the flagship Wynn Las Vegas, widely considered one of the most meticulously designed and expertly operated resorts in the world. Founded by Steve Wynn—whose name is synonymous with the reinvention of the Las Vegas Strip— the brand has always operated at the intersection of theatre and architecture. It has also, crucially, been consistently profitable.
The hotel opened in 2005 and expanded with Encore in 2008. The 215-acre property on the Las Vegas Strip includes over 4,700 rooms and suites, two full-service spas, multiple pools, a golf course, a theater, and a 70,000-square-foot luxury retail promenade. But what sets it apart is not just scale, it’s execution.
Dining at Wynn Las Vegas is a major draw in itself. The resort’s culinary program is helmed by some of the most respected chefs in the industry. There’s Wing Lei, the first Chinese restaurant in the U.S. to earn a Michelin star, led by Chef Ming Yu. Casa Playa, Wynn’s upscale coastal Mexican restaurant, offers a contemporary take on regional cuisine from Baja to Oaxaca, curated by Executive Chef Sarah Thompson. Mizumi, the resort’s Japanese fine dining concept, offers sushi and robatayaki in a serene garden setting with a waterfall view, under the direction of Executive Chef Jeff Ramsey.
Notably, every pastry and baked good served across the resort is made in-house at Wynn’s own patisserie—an unusually high standard even among five-star hotels. The bakery team’s dedication to detail recently earned them the Best Pretzel award at the World Bread Award USA, a testament to the level of technical rigor that permeates even the smallest offerings.
The wellness offering is equally uncompromising. Wynn Las Vegas is home to two Forbes Five-Star spas—The Spa at Wynn and The Spa at Encore—each offering individualized treatments in elegant, calming spaces designed to emphasize privacy, stillness, and understated luxury. Together, they’ve become benchmarks for the spa industry globally, cited for their consistency, innovation, and guest experience.
Entertainment, too, is handled with editorial precision. Wynn Las Vegas is home to Awakening, a technologically advanced theatrical production staged in a custom-built 360-degree venue, as well as Delilah—a modern supper club channeling 1940s and 1950s Vegas–which is regularly frequented by celebrities and name-dropped in rap songs.
All of this isn’t simply background context. It’s the operational backbone from which Wynn Al Marjan Island draws. The Ras Al Khaimah project is informed by two decades of iterative refinement across Wynn’s global properties, taking the operational discipline of Las Vegas, the spectacle of Cotai, and the discretion of Mayfair, and translating it into something designed, finally, for the Gulf.
Still, the UAE presents a new kind of challenge. Local legislation, cultural considerations, and market behavior required an entirely different kind of planning. Wynn Al Marjan Island is being constructed on a man-made island 50 minutes from Dubai, accessible via bridge and framed by open sea on three sides.
Functionally, the property is divided into zones that reflect different use cases and audience expectations: leisure travelers, long-stay residents, event guests, retail visitors, and gaming patrons all experience the resort through separate architectural flows. Arrival points are distributed based on guest category and purpose, with discreet entrances for residents, day-trippers, and nightlife visitors. “All guests are not really coming for the same reasons,” Lenahan explained. “And we want to honor people on their terms.”
Nowhere is this segmentation more pronounced than in Enclave, a hotel-within-a-hotel located on the uppermost floors of the tower. Enclave comprises 297 keys, including ten Marina Estates, four garden townhomes, and two two-story Royal Apartments. The largest townhome spans six bedrooms, while the Royal Apartments—each 1,500 square meters—contain eight bedrooms, private staff quarters, and space specifically designed for personal security and entourage support.
From a design perspective, Enclave is where Wynn’s philosophy of materiality and experiential detail is most fully realized. One example: the corridor walls appear to be clad in polished stone, but are actually made from handwoven silk that has been dyed and treated to resemble marble. “You’ll perceive it as marble, but your senses will tell you it’s something softer,” Lenahan said. The irony is that using real marble—even a rare one—would have been less expensive. But the choice was conceptual, meant to evoke the kind of craftsmanship more commonly found in historic European palaces than contemporary hotels.
The Enclave’s rooms are fitted with Fortuny chandeliers, a nod to classical Italian design that adds to the deeply residential feel of the interiors. Every detail—from dual pantries for morning and evening service to the compartmentalized floor plans that prioritize modesty—is intentional. “We’ve designed our most culturally sensitive rooms ever,” said Lenahan. “Even the way we’ve divided the bath areas is for personal modesty.”
Despite the symbolic weight of its inclusion, the casino has been designed to recede into the broader ecosystem of the resort. Unlike Wynn’s other properties—where the gaming floor is immediately visible upon entry—Wynn Al Marjan Island’s casino sits below the main podium and is fully separated from the rest of the resort. And while casinos are often characterized by heavy ornamentation and dim lighting, this one diverges significantly from that aesthetic.
“The space is much lighter,” Lenahan said. “It feels more appropriate to a beach environment because it’s fresh and neutral in its palette.”
The design team focused on rethinking the psychological impact of casino interiors in a Gulf context. The ceiling was raised, even above the slot machine areas—traditionally dense and low-lit spaces. Lighting was calibrated to balance the glow of gaming screens with a sense of openness. Fixtures were chosen for their sparkle and reflectivity, not for heaviness or grandeur. Carpets, while still richly patterned, were tuned down chromatically. “It’s very hot there,” Lenahan said. “You’re at the ocean, and even though there are no windows in the casino, we wanted it to have that airiness to it.”
And while the idea of a casino in the UAE has sparked international interest, the execution is far subtler than expected. “The casino is really just one little part of this building,” Lenahan reiterated. “Everything else has nothing to do with a casino.”
Which brings us to the dining landscape. Most of the resort’s restaurants are situated along a sweeping ocean promenade that ties together the entire site. From a two-story Japanese restaurant and Indo-Persian brasserie to Delilah—the LA-born supper club making its Middle East debut—the offering is intentionally diverse, both in cuisine and design logic. Between these spaces, guests encounter projected water shows and lush landscaping that softens the transitions. It’s spectacle, yes, but carefully paced.
Art, long a central feature of the Wynn brand, also plays a significant role. Several works from Steve Wynn’s private collection—widely considered one of the most significant private holdings of modern art in the world—will be moved to Wynn Al Marjan Island. Pieces previously held in Las Vegas may eventually be displayed in the UAE property, marking the first time many of these works have been shown in the region.
“This project… incorporates everything that we know to be the best of what we do,” Lenahan said. “It’s very, very exciting in that it is the penultimate of everything that we’ve ever done before.”
