Never mind the pandemic: There’s a lot happening these days in the northwest deserts of Saudi Arabia. This once-desolate region is in the midst of a building boom, with numerous high-end hotel brands rushing to create a tourism industry from scratch. Leading the way is Habitas, the upstart hospitality company that’s bringing a sustainably built, 3D-printed resort to AlUla before the end of this year. “Habitas wants to redefine the idea of luxury — for a long time it implied material luxury and isolation,” says Habitas co-founder and CEO Oliver Ripley. “We believe that luxury is something that cannot be bought or sold; rather it is a feeling that exists in the experiences and memories we create with others. We call this luxury for the soul.”
