Boutique Group, the Saudi hospitality brand focused on converting historic palaces into luxury hotels, plans to open its first property — the Red Palace in Riyadh — in early 2026, with additional openings scheduled through 2030.
Boutique Group, a part of the Public Investment Fund for the Kingdom, was launched by its crown prince in 2022.
After three years of planning, the group still hasn’t opened a single hotel. But new CEO Christoph Mares remains confident.
“The Red Palace has been the focus of my last six-months.” [in capital city Riyadh] Last week, Mares spoke to Skift about the opening of the new palace at Arabian Travel Market. “I’m confident that we will be ready to open the palace in early Q2 of 2026.”
Another site — the “Japanese Palace” in Jeddah — will open in late 2026.
Two other historic sites will be added in 2027-2028. Al Hamra Palace, in Jeddah, with 77 key and Tuwaiq Palace, in Riyadh, with 96 key. All properties will have multiple restaurants and extensive wellness facilities.
Boutique Group’s first phase consists of four properties.
“The shareholders are expecting a level above Mandarin Oriental — potentially in the range of Cheval Blanc, Aman, that sort of bracket,” Mares said. “Our hotels are going to be small, but our palaces will be huge.”
The U.S. business will be ‘Crucial.’
There is a big question: Will there enough demand for 5-star accommodations? In addition, Skift has reported Saudi Arabia has too many hotels of the highest quality in development, but not enough of the middle-tier variety.
Saudi Arabia’s domestic tourism is the majority of its current tourism. Saudi Minister of Tourism has said Last year, it welcomed 30 million tourists from abroad out of the total of 127 millions. It is aiming for 70 million tourists from abroad by 2030.
Mares, the former COO of Mandarin Oriental until January, says there is a strong appetite among international visitors to experience Saudi heritage.
If one wants to explore Saudi and the origins of it, we will find our market. It is no surprise that the luxury, heritage and culture of Saudi Arabia will attract international tourists at the upper end of the market.
Aman is also working on five other projects across Saudi Arabia. These include sites in AlUla, Diriyah Gate, and Diriyah Gate.
Mares also outlined the markets that Boutique Group will target.
“The Saudi market is a major pillar of our business, closely followed by the GCC and finally international markets.” Riyadh Air, the new airline that will launch later this summer, has a lot of potential for us in Asia. “Europe has a large following in the Gulf and we can capitalize on this.”
He believes the U.S. will be a core market, despite Riyadh being a 12-hour flight from New York and lacking direct West Coast connections — something Riyadh Air hopes to address.
“It’s very critical how we make the entry into the U.S. — through Virtuoso, through American Express, and so on. It is the largest luxury market in the entire world. It’s better to have 5% of an extremely large market than 10% of one that is very small. The critical mass is significant. Don’t forget to count the number U.S. residents in the Gulf.
‘No Cutbacks, No Delays’
Mares’ predecessor, Mark DeCocinis, said in 2023 that the first palace would open in 2025. Mares says Boutique Group is not experiencing delays and does not see any signs of budget reductions.
Our budgets are approved and our construction schedule is on track. The schedule is tight, but realistic. “Every week counts,” he said.
We’ve made no changes or cuts. No delays and no requests for slowdown. The first palace is on schedule to be completed in Q2 2019.
Phase 2 Growth Plan
After the opening of the first four properties, phase 2 will begin.
“We will have a portfolio by 2030, for sure. There are other palaces that we are considering and evaluating. All of these are in Saudi Arabia. “We have Medinah and Makkah. Taif is another option.
“I’m in Boutique Group to the end, phase two. We’re looking at branded residences, and international management contracts for other palaces. We are evaluating whether we should do this. “We have tried several approaches.”
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