Anantara, the hospitality brand of hotel owner and operator Minor Hotels, will make its debut in Umm Al Quwain with a 125-key resort and 125 branded residences on Siniya Island. Both are scheduled to open in 2030.
Minor Hotels has signed the project with Sobha Al Siniya FZC, a joint venture between property developer Sobha Realty and Umm Al Quwain Properties, the emirate government’s real estate investment arm. The joint venture will own the resort and residences.
A groundbreaking ceremony for Anantara Siniya Island Resort and Anantara Residences Sobha Siniya Island took place on 06 October, attended by Sheikh Rashid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain.
The resort will serve as the hospitality anchor of the wider Sobha Siniya Island waterfront development.
The wider Siniya Island development
Sobha says the masterplan covers approximately 23 million sq ft and includes apartments, villas, resorts and leisure facilities. More than 60% is allocated to water features, open spaces and greenery.
Plans for the wider community include an 18-hole golf course, private marina, boardwalk and retail boulevard.
The island lies off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, connected to the mainland by a bridge approximately 1.7km long. Sobha says the island is approximately 50 minutes from Dubai.
Anantara operates properties in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah and has a resort planned in Sharjah. The Siniya Island project will extend its UAE presence to another emirate.
Siniya Island’s landscape and heritage
Sobha says the resort’s design will take inspiration from the island’s mangroves, beaches, wildlife and marine life.
Siniya Island also contains an ancient pearling town and a Christian monastery. The UAE’s National Cultural Map dates the monastery to between the late sixth and mid-eighth centuries AD. The complex was built from local beach stone, with gypsum plaster coating its walls and floors.
