Zaya Nurai Island
A private island ten minutes from Abu Dhabi's coast, with day visitors on the beach.
Nurai is a small island off Saadiyat, about ten minutes by boat from Abu Dhabi, holding one resort along with a number of privately owned villas. The Gulf coast here is calm and shallow, and the island's proposition is proximity: a resort day within half an hour of a capital city rather than a remote retreat.
Around thirty-two villas make up the resort inventory, with several restaurants and a beach club that receives day visitors from the mainland — a significant part of the business and a fact guests should know before booking. The private villas are separately owned and let independently.
A city island, honestly described. Nurai sells convenience and a good beach near a capital, and the register records that rather than implying isolation.
Owners as well as guests. The private villas mean the island is partly residential, which changes who is on the beach in the evening.
Who it is not for
Nurai is wrong for guests seeking seclusion, given day visitors and villa owners. It is wrong for travellers wanting a natural island, since the site is heavily built. And it is wrong for anyone visiting in high summer, when Gulf heat makes the beach unusable. And it is wrong for guests who want a dive operation or a reef, neither of which the Gulf provides here. Those wanting a larger Gulf island resort should look at Banana Island Doha.
Sources
- zayanurai.com — around thirty-two villas plus private residences, Nurai Island, Abu Dhabi
- Villa count and day-visitor arrangements unverified. Confirm before publication.
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
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