The land is protected, the beach is private

There’s a wilderness component in store for visitors to Banyan Tree Al Wadi…

There’s a wilderness component in store for visitors to Banyan Tree Al Wadi (www.banyantree.com; from £659), the first all-villa resort in the United Arab Emirates to be situated in the middle of a nature reserve – 100 hectares of protected land, abutting a stretch of private beach.

The resort gratifyingly, and rather more predictably, also boasts two south-east Asian restaurants (along with three others offering international cuisine), an 18-hole golf course and a sprawling hydrotherapy spa.

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