An Entire Man-Made Island Dedicated to Wellness Is Coming to the UAE

When it comes to wellness, we say the more ways to relax, rejuvenate and increase our mental and physical wellbeing the better. That’s why when we heard an entire island dedicated to luxury wellness was coming to the United Arab Emirates, we perked up.

In true UAE fashion, and as the land of glitz, glamor and gargantuan construction projects, the island will be entirely man-made — materialized from earth and ocean to create an entirely new kind of wellness destination. Bucking convention, it won’t be located right off the coast of Dubai though, but rather halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi along the Sahel Al Emarat Coast (a.k.a the Emirates Riviera). Part of a massive new development called AlJurf, “the world’s first healthy living island,” as they’ve dubbed it, will center around a hotel, clinic and spa from SHA Wellness, plus the first-ever SHA Wellness-branded residences.

If you’re not familiar with SHA, they’ve been operating their world-famous retreat in Spain for the past 15 years, and in January 2024, they opened a second, shiny location on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. It’s important to underline though that SHA isn’t a hotel with impressive wellness programing; it’s impressive wellness programming with a hotel. In other words, you’re likely not staying here just to get a massage, but rather to take part in one of their intensive, integrative, multi-day wellness programs. To give you a quick and general sense for what you can expect, think: dining on personalized therapeutic nutrition, working out with personal trainers, deep dives with doctors specializing in genetic, preventative and anti-aging medicine, holistic spa treatments, aesthetic procedures, and out-there offerings like the Cognitive Boost package. In summation, SHA’s mission boils down to helping you live a longer and better life.

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Skip the juice cleanse. We’re talking Italian saunas, bucket-list climbs and winery retreats.

Speaking of a longer and better life, if a week of optimizing your mind and body isn’t enough and you want to live the SHA lifestyle year-round, that’s where the residences come in. All 86 villas (which include lavish, 7-bedroom beachfront abodes) and 49 apartments (which include two over-the-top penthouses) have been designed around the health and well-being of residents with everything from eco-friendly paint, to an excess of natural light and materials, to solar-power. Like hotel guests, residents will have anytime access to the SHA Clinic and SHA Spa’s team of doctors, practitioners and experts, plus the island’s various pavilions dedicated to specific wellness pursuits. For example, the Wellness Kids Club Pavillon will introduce children to healthy lifestyle practices, the Holistic Pavilion will serve as the home to mental and spiritual well-being practices like yoga and meditation, and the Sports Pavilion will house a state-of-the-art gym.

Perhaps the most important wellness component here, however, will be the sense of community (oft cited as one of the most important yet overlooked parts of living a healthy life). The entire island will be interconnected via a bike path to foster a sense of place (plus a little extra exercise) and the pavilions, plus a beach club, will serve as community gathering places and host regular group events. All this is set to open in 2026, and residences are currently for sale if you’re ready to start planning your move.