On 5 August, Wynn Resorts confirmed that its long-awaited Wynn Al Marjan Island will open in September 2027, with total investment now around $5.7 billion. It will be the UAE's first integrated resort and, at 1,530 suites and villas, the country's third-largest hotel. Beyond the headline numbers, the announcement marks a turning point for Ras Al Khaimah, the emirate that is quietly positioning itself as the Gulf's next high-end destination.
What Wynn confirmed
The resort on Al Marjan Island will open in September 2027, later than an earlier target, and construction costs have risen by roughly $600 million to about $5.7 billion amid higher material prices and regional supply disruptions. The project holds the UAE's first commercial gaming licence, granted in October 2024, making it the country's first integrated resort to combine a casino with luxury hospitality, dining and entertainment.
With 1,530 suites and villas it will rank among the UAE's largest hotels, third by room count after Atlantis The Palm and JW Marriott Marquis, and is projected to create around 9,000 jobs at launch. Wynn chief executive Craig Billings pointed to the country's resilience, saying it is "a country that absorbs pressure and keeps functioning rather than one that gets knocked off course by it." A large staff community is already rising nearby.
Why it matters for a private trip now
The arrival of Wynn confirms what luxury developers already sense: Ras Al Khaimah is the emirate to watch. Yet the resort is still more than a year away, and today RAK remains uncrowded, a calm counterpoint to Dubai just 45 to 60 minutes up the coast. For a private traveller that is precisely the opportunity, because the emirate's headline experiences are open now and rarely busy.
Compact Ras Al Khaimah brings together the UAE's highest mountain, Jebel Jais, red-dune desert and long empty beaches. It all works beautifully as a private day trip or overnight from Dubai with your own driver-guide: a morning in the mountains, an evening dune safari, or a quiet cultural stop at a pearl farm. Going before Wynn opens means the landscapes, not the queues, define the day.
Wynn's September 2027 date confirms Ras Al Khaimah's luxury future, which is exactly why now, while it is still quiet, is the moment to explore it privately.
