Two hundred Red Sea rooms and suites on a private sand beach two hours south of the Treasury, the coastal counterweight to a Petra week, where the briefing books close and the snorkelling masks come out.
"The civilised second half of a Jordan trip. Petra in the morning, Red Sea by sundowner, Kempinski Aqaba is the address that lets a serious week of ruins decompress into something that actually feels like a holiday."
Kempinski Hotel Aqaba Red Sea opened in 2005 on King Hussein Street, the corniche that runs the length of Jordan's only saltwater coast. The brief, set by Aqaba's transformation into a Special Economic Zone, was to bring a European grand-hotel standard to a town that had until then been a regional Red Sea diving stop. Twenty years on, the property remains the most polished hospitality address in the city, a 200-room, four-storey, low-rise resort with a fourteen-thousand-square-metre footprint that backs onto its own private sand beach.
The 200 rooms and suites are arranged around a central garden courtyard and lagoon-style pool, with the better categories, Deluxe Sea View and the Premium Suites, looking directly across the Gulf of Aqaba to the Sinai mountains of Egypt and, on clear mornings, the Israeli border at Eilat. Rooms run a generous 40, 55 square metres; suites are larger and include the Royal Suite (192 sqm) and the Presidential Suite (260 sqm) on the top floor, with private terraces overlooking the marina. The 2022 refurbishment programme refreshed soft furnishings and bathrooms across the inventory without disturbing the original Mediterranean-villa aesthetic.
There are four restaurants and three bars on the property. Olives, the main all-day venue, runs a Mediterranean and Levantine breakfast that draws diplomats from Amman on weekends. Black Pearl is the international fine-dining room with a Red Sea-fish-forward seasonal menu. Burj Al Hamam is the Lebanese mezze house, the most-booked outdoor terrace in the resort. The Lobby Lounge is the all-hours patisserie and shisha terrace overlooking the lagoon. The Givenchy Spa, one of only a handful in the Middle East, sits beside the 25-metre infinity pool with treatment cabins, hammam, and a relaxation lounge.
The setting is the proposition. The private beach runs 200 metres along the Red Sea with a coral house-reef accessible by walk-in entry, Aqaba's shore-diving conditions are among the most consistent in the world. King Hussein International Airport is 10 minutes by car; the Wadi Rum protected area is 60 minutes inland; the Petra Visitor Centre is two hours by road. For travellers running a Jordan circuit, Amman, Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Kempinski is the considered five-star landing point at the coast.
The Kempinski's Family Sea View rooms and the lagoon pool, shallow at the children's end, deep enough for laps at the other, make this the most comfortable family base on the Jordanian coast. The kids' club runs supervised programmes in school holidays; the private beach has its own reef-snorkelling area with rented gear and a lifeguard; the Petra and Wadi Rum day trips are arranged through the concierge with hotel cars and licensed guides.
The Givenchy Spa is the regional draw, a full hammam circuit, hot-stone work, the brand's signature Sève d'Hivernale ritual, and a relaxation terrace facing the Red Sea. The 25-metre infinity pool is open from sunrise; yoga runs on the beach platform at 7 a.m. Wellness packages combine three-day spa programmes with diving or with a day at the salt-water health resort on the Dead Sea, the most thorough wellness brief on the Jordanian map.
For an anniversary built around a Jordan circuit, the closing two nights at the Royal Suite or Presidential Suite are the easy decision. The private terrace looks across the gulf to four countries' coastlines on clear days; the in-suite dining team runs a Lebanese-mezze sunset that the kitchen treats as its signature anniversary brief; the spa runs a couples' suite with a private terrace facing the Red Sea.
King Hussein Street
Aqaba 77110
Jordan
King Hussein International Airport 10 minutes; Petra Visitor Centre 2 hours; Wadi Rum 1 hour; Eilat (Israel) border 15 minutes.
200 rooms and suites
Deluxe Sea View from USD 220/night
Premium Suite from USD 480/night
Royal Suite from USD 1,400/night
Presidential Suite on request
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 2005; full property refresh 2022
Children of all ages welcome
Private 200-metre sand beach
25-metre lagoon infinity pool
Givenchy Spa with hammam
Four restaurants, three bars
High-speed Wi-Fi throughout
Kids' club, dive centre, marina
Petra and Wadi Rum excursions
From USD 220/night. Sea-view rooms and the Royal Suite book two to three months ahead for European school holidays (mid-February, mid-April, October), and four months for the Christmas-and-New-Year window.
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