Let me start with what nobody says about the Ritz-Carlton Al Wadi - the name does a lot of heavy lifting.
The property is set in the Al Wadi Nature Reserve in Ras Al Khaimah, around an hour and a half drive from Dubai. On paper and in photos, it is exactly the kind of escape that justifies the drive - think roaming animals, sand dunes and desert wilderness. I went with genuine anticipation, but left feeling disappointed.
This is an honest review. The Ritz name carries certain expectations and I think it is worth being clear about where this property meets them and where frankly, it doesn't.
The rooms
Dark. Very dark. And noticeably dated in a way that is hard to overlook at this price point. The villas are spacious but the interiors feel like they haven't been significantly updated in a long time. For a property charging Ritz rates, the room itself should not be the weak point and here, it is. One of the most disappointing parts of the stay was that the master bedroom did not have a TV, instead the TV was located in a sitting room, with a small sofa that looked both uninviting and uncomfortable, hence we skipped the family movie night all together. When I fed this feedback to my friend, she was shocked as she had stayed a few months prior and exclaimed the room was the highlight. After further review, the standalone villas (which start at a hefty AED 14,000 a night off-peak) seem genuinely exceptional, with private views of the desert. Safe to say, the regular villas did not come close to what I saw from her photos. The resort is huge, so it is worth clarifying whether your villa is overlooking the dunes or the grassy area (we overlooked the grass, and it was genuinely underwhelming at this price point).
Getting around
The property is extensive, which sounds like a selling point and is, until you realise what it means in practice. You are largely dependent on buggies to get anywhere and the wait times can be long. When you are travelling with children and trying to get somewhere with any kind of purpose, this becomes wearing fairly quickly.
There are bikes available, which in theory is a lovely touch. In practice: the helmets were cumbersome enough that by the time we had spent ten minutes trying to get them onto the children, the novelty had largely evaporated. The adult bikes were full mountain bikes - not exactly what you have in mind for a leisurely resort ride if, like me, you are not training for anything. And for my five year old, there were no stabilisers available, which I will leave you to imagine the outcome of. It is the kind of detail that sounds minor written down but is genuinely deflating in the moment.
The kids club
The staff were lovely - warm, engaged, clearly good with children, the kind of kids club team that Dubai has spoiled us into expecting. The daily schedule was robust and well thought through. But the facility itself was heavily outdated, with a playground that felt equally average and an overall sense that the physical space has not kept pace with the people running it. If your children are young enough not to notice or care (like mine) it was fine, however, older children with higher expectations may feel the gap.
Food and beverage
This was the clearest area where the Ritz standard holds. The property has several restaurants, and Zuma is among them which was the highlight. The F&B across the board was the most consistent part of the stay and the area I have no complaints about.
The spa
Interesting, and I mean that in the most neutral possible sense.
The centrepiece is something called the Rainforest - a labyrinthe-style maze of around fourteen different shower and sauna experiences, dimly lit and genuinely unexpected in the context of a desert resort. We went in May when outdoor activities were largely off the table due to the heat, so it made for a reasonable way to spend a few hours. As a concept it is novel. I will give it that.
What I will not give a pass to is the absence of any complimentary spa facilities with your stay. No steam room, no sauna access, nothing. The Rainforest is priced at AED 139 per person, which is not unreasonable given what's on offer, but the principle of paying separately for basic spa access at a Ritz-Carlton is something I have genuinely never encountered before. For guests expecting the standard that comes with the name, this will feel like an oversight.
The falconry and beyond
There is a falconry show at 6pm which is nice for kids and earns its place in a desert reserve setting. The property also offers a night desert safari with stargazing. We didn't do it on this trip given the weather and hear, but a guided safari under a desert sky with no city light interference is the sort of experience that is actually quite hard to replicate elsewhere. Worth booking in advance if you go, and worth noting it comes at an additional cost rather than being included in your stay.
In cooler months, with the full activity programme accessible, this part of the property would tell a very different story.
The honest verdict
Al Wadi is a weather-dependent property, and I think that is the most useful thing I can tell you. In the cooler months, with the outdoor activities, the hiking, the nature reserve fully accessible, I suspect the balance shifts considerably. We went in May and without those options the stay revealed its limitations more plainly.
If you go, go between November and March. Book a dinner at Zuma. Do the Rainforest if you're there in the heat and need something to do. And go in knowing that the Ritz name sets an expectation the property does not entirely meet.
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