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.
Where Al Marjan Island actually is
Al Marjan Island is not a single beach but a cluster of four man-made, coral-shaped islands that reach out into the Gulf from the coast of [Ras Al Khaimah](/emirates/ras-al-khaimah), near the emirate's southern edge. It already holds a run of beach hotels and residences; the Wynn resort is rising on its own reclaimed peninsula at the seaward end, which is why the project has room for a resort of this scale.
Getting there is easier than the "next frontier" framing suggests. From most Dubai hotels it is a 45 to 60 minute drive straight up the coast on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, with no city traffic once you clear the northern suburbs. From Ras Al Khaimah International Airport the island is roughly half an hour to the south. For a private car it is a comfortable morning run, close enough that the emirate works as a day trip yet far enough to feel a world away from the city.
Confirmed, and still to come
It helps to separate what Wynn has actually stated from what is still speculation. Confirmed: the resort holds the UAE's first commercial gaming licence, granted in October 2024; Wynn Resorts is the operator; and in a statement on 5 August the company set a September 2027 opening, later than an earlier target. Total investment has risen by roughly $600 million to about $5.7 billion amid higher material prices and regional supply disruptions.
Also confirmed by Wynn: 1,530 suites and villas, which would make it the UAE's third-largest hotel by room count after Atlantis The Palm and JW Marriott Marquis, and a projected 9,000 or so jobs at launch. Chief executive Craig Billings pointed to the country's resilience, calling it "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.
Still to come, and worth treating as expected rather than fixed: room rates, the detailed rules of the gaming floor, and the exact line-up of other hotel brands planned for the wider island. Opening dates for projects on this scale have moved before, so the sensible reading is a resort firmly under construction for a 2027 debut, with the finer commercial detail yet to be announced.
Ras Al Khaimah beyond the resort
The casino headline can overshadow how much the emirate already offers. Its centrepiece is Jebel Jais, the highest mountain in the UAE, reached by a smooth switchback road that ends at viewpoints high above the Hajar range. The summit is also home to the Jais Flight, certified as the world's longest zipline, which sends riders soaring almost three kilometres across the gorge for those who want the thrill, alongside gentler walks for those who do not.
Down on the plain the history is just as rich. Al Jazirah Al Hamra is a rare, well-preserved old pearling town of coral-block houses and a mosque left largely as it was when its families moved on, one of the last traditional coastal settlements of its kind in the Gulf and quietly atmospheric to walk at golden hour. Dhayah Fort, on its hilltop above the date groves, adds the emirate's defensive past and a wide view to the sea.
For a slower thread there is the water and the land it made rich. A visit to a working pearl farm followed by the warm mineral pools at Khatt Springs traces the pre-oil Gulf economy and ends on something restorative, a calm counterpoint to the mountain drive.
What a private trip looks like today
Because the emirate is compact, it all knits into a single unhurried day from Dubai with your own driver-guide: a morning on Jebel Jais, an afternoon among the forts and the old pearling town, and an evening dune safari or a quiet beach before the run home. Nothing here needs booking months ahead or queuing at a gate, which is precisely the appeal of going before Wynn opens.
If you would rather spread it out, an overnight lets the mountains be enjoyed without a rush, and a broader loop of the north can take in the wider northern emirates in a single private day. Tell us where you are staying and how deep you want to go, and we will build the route around Ras Al Khaimah's slower, quieter side while it lasts.
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.
