Soudah Peaks: a high-mountain wellness cluster in Aseer

The project and the owner

Soudah Peaks is a year-round high-mountain project in Aseer Province. Its wellness component is carried as Soudah Peaks Luxury Mountain Wellness (phase 1). It is not a standalone hospital; it is the wellness cluster inside the resort.

The developer is Soudah Development Company (SDC, شركة السودة للتطوير), a closed joint-stock company incorporated on 24 February 2021. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) holds 100 percent. In the PIF portfolio the company sits in real estate, infrastructure and giga-projects.

Two bases of the wellness cluster

The wellness component has two documented bases. The first is master-plan zone Sabrah (zone 3) on the southern plateau, a secluded wellness and regeneration enclave. The second is the investment lot Luxury Wellness Resorts Development at Soudah Peaks: nine hotels and a glamping cluster totalling 1,120 keys, including one upper-upscale wellness hotel of 130 keys.

The lot requires an international operator for the 130-key wellness hotel and for the two ultra-luxury hotels totalling 120 keys.

Where the figures do not match

The same parameters do not match across editions of the project and across retellings. Both figures are shown. Where the project’s own documents disagree, neither figure is dropped.

The fund’s 2026–2030 strategy

In early 2026 the PIF board approved the 2026–2030 strategy. Assets under management are targeted at $2.67 trillion by 2030. At the end of 2025 they stood at SAR 3.396 trillion (over $900 billion).

The same strategy records other projects being retimed: a pause on the Mukaab in Riyadh in January 2026, New Murabba shifted to 2040, and NEOM and Trojena restructured. That is context for the fund’s strategy, not an assessment of Soudah Peaks.

Announced investment

The figure named at launch in February 2021 is more than SAR 11 billion (about $3.0 billion) for 2021–2023. The later figure for the whole project is more than $3.9 billion (about SAR 14.6 billion). The infrastructure budget is then given as about $1 billion (about SAR 3.75 billion). company data

The study estimates infrastructure at about 25.6–27.3% of the total budget. There is no separate reported line for that share. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

The same passage gives a calculated vertical-development cost of about $2.9 billion and $530,000–700,000 per notional key or home, including the commercial space. That is the study’s calculation, not a separate announced budget. Sale of 1,336–1,337 residences (mansions, villas, chalets) is named as a partial return of capital. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

Three phases

Phase 1 (target 2027) covers five of the six zones, excluding the Jareen agritourism zone: 940 hotel keys (34.8% of the base plan), 391 residences (29.3%) and 32,000 m² of retail (40.0%).

Phase 2 (2029) brings the cumulative stock to 1,735 keys (+795) and 641 residences (+250), and delivers 2,150 staff housing units.

Phase 3 (2033) adds Jareen and takes the resort to 2,700 keys in 18–20 hotels on the base plan, or 2,810 on the 2025 detailed plan, plus 1,336–1,337 residences, 3,022 staff homes and 80,000 m² of commercial space. being verified

The 1,120-key lot

The lot offered to private developers and operators is 1,120 keys, 41.5% of the whole hotel stock. The category shares below are those in the lot specification.

Other rates and the summer climate

No rate for Soudah Peaks itself is stated. As context, other published 2025–2026 rates are given: Six Senses and Ritz-Carlton Reserve on the Red Sea at SAR 5,000–12,000 a night; AlUla resorts at SAR 4,000–8,000 a night. AlUla visitor spend is given as SAR 2,100 against a plan of SAR 1,400.

From May to September, at 3,015 m in Soudah, the average temperature is given as about 20 °C — the months when most of the country is hot and in low season. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

No inpatient hospital

The master plan contains no inpatient hospitals, surgical clinics, licensed invasive-medicine centres or hospital-type sanatoria. The profile described is non-invasive: preventive, climatic, sports-recovery and holistic wellness.

The text contrasts this with the coastal AMAALA project, where clinical resort clinics are named. That clinical scheme is not attributed to Soudah Peaks.

Four contours

Four infrastructure contours are described. They are not priced programmes on sale.

• Eco-spas and wellness centres in the landscape: hydrotherapy, bathing rituals, physical regeneration.
• Meditation centres, retreats, yoga pavilions and quiet zones.
• Active longevity: walking trails, mountain biking, riding routes, an 18-hole golf course on the Tahlal plateau, and an outdoor gym in Red Rock.
• Agri-wellness in Jareen: mountain coffee, strawberries, apiaries. That is a raw-material base, not an approved treatment menu.

Altitude of 3,015 m

Elevation across the site (637.5 km² in the document, with the edition range) runs from 802–820 m in the valleys near Rijal Almaa to 3,015–3,025 m at Jabal Soudah.

For 3,015 m the study gives calculated values: barometric pressure about 525 mmHg against 760 at sea level; the partial pressure of oxygen in inspired air about 30% lower; an effective oxygen fraction of about 14.8% against 20.9%. That is the study’s model, not a measurement on site. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

The band 2,200–3,015 m is described as a hypoxic setting. Inside the resort the study names a live-high, train-low pattern: sleep at 2,500–3,015 m and effort on terraces at 800–1,500 m. It is not recorded as an installed hotel protocol. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

Juniper and planting

The slopes are covered with Juniperus procera forest. 335,542 native trees have been planted; the target is more than 1 million by 2030. company data

A broncholytic, antibacterial and sedative effect of the juniper volatiles, and a link from the “flower men” tradition to future spa protocols, is the study’s reading, not an announced service. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

Built share and protection

The master plan is by AtkinsRéalis for SDC and PIF. The building footprint is capped at 1% of the site (under 6.3 km²). Developed area including roads, golf and open grounds is 3.6% (about 22.9 km²). Strict protection with the National Center for Wildlife covers 28% of SDC’s land bank (about 178 km²): 10 Arabian mountain gazelles and 23 endangered ibex have been released.

Building rules

The Soudah Guidelines, prepared by AtkinsRéalis with SDC, are set as a mandatory rule for the regional Aseer planning code. They require Asiri stone and earth architecture, local materials, buildings stepped into the slope, and the Al-Qatt Al-Asiri pattern (UNESCO intangible heritage) in interiors.

Six zones

Sabrah: residences and the spa

On the base count of 180 keys, Sabrah has 17,980 m² of hotel GFA. The 165–166 residences are given 375,750 m² — 92.5% of the zone’s 406,370 m². Average residence GFA in that ratio is about 2,277 m², against about 234 m² in Tahlal. Sabrah has no staff housing: 2,881 units sit in Tahlal. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

The zone is described as a closed enclave of very large estates with access to the spa, yoga pavilions and retreats. The current hotel quota is 130 keys.

Power, water and the guest journey

The infrastructure consultant since 2022 is Khatib & Alami (elevations 820–3,025 m).

In December 2025–January 2026 SDC signed with National Grid SA (a Saudi Electricity Company company) a contract of SAR 1.3 billion ($347 million): a 380/132 kV hub substation of 500 MVA and two 132/13.8 kV substations. The capacity is described as enough for the peak of all three phases through 2033. company data

Water: 15 reservoirs and pumping stations totalling 93,150 m³. The stated aims are water self-sufficiency, an energy surplus and zero waste. Those are aims, not a report that they have been met.

Abha airport: in December 2023, 222 flights a week, 34 of them international. The expansion plan is more than 13 million passengers a year by 2028 and links with more than 250 destinations. Highways toward Taif and Riyadh are named. A cable car with a span of about 900 m historically ran at the peak. In-cluster mobility is attributed to Parsons.

Team and packages, 2022–2026

Building tenders, including WP3 with Sabrah in June 2026, sit in the middle of 2026. The study reads that by the end of 2027 the likely completions are modular buildings, glamping, WP5 and starter complexes, while phase 1’s capital hotels and large houses move into 2028–2029, alongside the Abha terminal (2028) and phase 2 (2029). That is a reading of the tender calendar, not a change to the official date. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

Ownership

Development rights and the assets sit with SDC. The chairman of the board is the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Board and executives

The board also names Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud (minister of culture), Prince Turki bin Talal Al Saud (governor of Aseer and head of the Aseer development authority), Eng. Ibrahim Al-Sultan, Prof. Fahd Al-Rashid and Eng. Ayman Al-Mudaifer.

Dr Reem AlFrayan leads community integration. Operator selection, letters of intent and management agreements sit with the hospitality asset department; the department head is not named.

Operators

At exhibitions in November 2024 and April 2025, SDC confirmed talks with hotel operators and did not publish a full brand list. company data

Chedi Hospitality’s roadmap records CHEDI Soudah Peaks with a 2030 opening. Stephan Schupbach, president and chief executive of Chedi Hospitality, confirmed four hotels in Saudi Arabia, including a mountain resort at Soudah Peaks at 3,000 m, plus projects in Riyadh (Wadi Safar), AlUla and Trojena. The group’s portfolio names the wellness brand Serai. company data

Before SDC, Daniel McBrearty led the concept for The Chedi Hotel Wadi Safar, which received Hotel Concept of the Year. That career link does not mean Chedi has been appointed to the 130-key Sabrah hotel: the lot still requires an international operator for that hotel and for the two ultra-luxury hotels (120 keys) as separate conditions.

For part of the boutique hotels, PIF established the national management company Adeera. company data

Certificates and memoranda

More than 200 historic monuments are named on the site (stone villages, mosques, minarets, towers, forts). Some are being prepared for a World Heritage nomination, following the village of Rijal Almaa.

Employer requirements in Abha

For operators and contractors in Abha the stated requirements are: the personal-data law covers guest records and senior hiring; private-sector employment contracts are registered in Qiwa, and the job title, pay and start date in the offer must match the registry entry; a foreign specialist needs a work-permit quota, a work visa and a resident identity (Iqama) via Muqeem. If an operator moves a regional headquarters into the country, licensing of the company is sequenced before final offers.

What is already on the record

Phase 1 is officially aimed at 2027: 940 keys, 391 residences, 32,000 m² of retail. The private-capital entry that is described is the 1,120-key lot, and inside it the 130-key wellness hotel in Sabrah plus five luxury and ultra-luxury hotels totalling 570 keys (450 + 120).

The grid contract of SAR 1.3 billion (500 MVA) and 15 reservoirs of 93,150 m³ are already named. The WP3 tender, which includes Sabrah, is set for June 2026, with Parsons supervising and AECOM designing.

Chedi Hospitality is the first ultra-luxury operator named, with The Chedi Soudah Peaks and a 2030 date. That is not an appointment to all 1,120 keys in the lot.

The study recommends that operators of Sabrah, Tahlal and Sahab build programmes around altitude up to 3,015 m (hypoxia, live-high train-low, juniper, acclimatisation monitoring, and enriching air in rooms and spas down to a “physiological altitude” of 1,500–1,800 m). The master plan does not list these as built systems. The SAR 4,000–12,000 a night range in that recommendation is other properties’ rates, not a Soudah Peaks price list. research estimate, not confirmed by filings

Risks and forks

What the material does not contain

The material has no revenue, occupancy, ADR or price list for Soudah Peaks itself, no headcount beyond the 8,000-job target and the staff housing counts, no company registration number, and no list of medical equipment.