Al Hamra’s golf course has genuinely hosted European Tour events for good reason: designed by the well-known golf course architect Peter Harradine and originally opened back in 2007, it’s a genuine par-72 championship layout stretching a full 7,325 yards when played from the very back tees, built around a series of interconnected lagoons that blend coastal and desert golf in the same round, with the closing stretch running right along the water so that late-afternoon rounds genuinely finish with both the marina and the Gulf in view. The course fully reopened in November 2025 after a genuine 90-day renovation carried out by Harradine’s own team, which entirely redesigned three holes and substantially reworked two more, and it has consistently hosted the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024 alike.
Right beside Al Marjan Island and about an hour’s drive from Dubai, Al Hamra genuinely pairs a relaxed golf-and-marina lifestyle with the beach itself, as part of our main Ras Al Khaimah guide.
Updated: July 2026 — by Monica Bonalto
Getting your bearings in Al Hamra
The community gathers around the Al Hamra Marina and golf course, with a beach, Al Hamra Mall and a heritage village, next door to Al Marjan Island. The marina itself, formally known as the Royal Yacht Club of Ras Al Khaimah, holds a full 226 sheltered wet berths and 30 dry berths for vessels up to 60 metres in length, while the heritage village referenced is Al Jazeera Al Hamra, a genuinely abandoned pre-oil pearling settlement of coral-stone houses, wind towers and an old mosque left much as it was when residents moved out entirely in the 1960s.
Where to eat in Al Hamra
The marina and Al Hamra Mall — open since 2010, with a full 27,000 square metres of retail space and more than 130 local and international brands under one roof — bring a solid line-up of restaurants and cafes, from casual to waterfront dining, and the gold-domed Waldorf Astoria separately adds seven more restaurants and lounges on its own private stretch of the beach, with its 149 rooms and 54 suites together making it easily the most self-contained address if you’d genuinely rather not leave the resort for dinner.
Beach and things to do in Al Hamra
Golf, a marina, watersports and genuinely quiet beaches fill an easy full day here; see the UAE’s best beaches for more coastline nearby.
A 203-room resort beside the fairways
Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah genuinely anchors the stay-here case: a gold-domed, arabesque resort with 149 rooms and 54 separate suites, a private stretch of white-sand beach on one side and the Al Hamra golf course on the other, plus two entirely separate pools and its own dedicated water-adventure area for families. It’s genuinely the most self-contained base in Al Hamra, and a comfortable step up from the smaller beach and golf resorts nearby.
Beside Al Marjan, best in golfing weather
About an hour from Dubai by car, sitting right on the quiet RAK coast next to Al Marjan Island. The cooler months from October right through to April are genuinely ideal for golf, the marina and the beach alike.
Around Al Hamra
It’s a relaxed, family-friendly base right next to Al Marjan Island, and and the wider Al Hamra Village masterplan altogether spans some 77 million square feet in total and around 4,000 homes altogether, giving the whole district a genuinely lived-in, residential feel rather than a purely resort one. Next door, the Wynn Al Marjan Island resort is rising. Combine both golf and relaxed beach time here with the rest of the emirate in our Ras Al Khaimah guide.
Top things to do at Al Hamra
- Al Hamra Golf Club — designed by Peter Harradine, opened 2007: a par-72 championship layout stretching 7,325 yards from the back tees, built around interconnected lagoons blending coastal and desert golf, and a genuine European Tour host venue.
- Al Jazeera Al Hamra — a genuinely abandoned pre-oil pearling settlement of coral-stone houses, wind towers and an old mosque, left much as it was when residents moved out entirely in the 1960s.
- Al Hamra Marina — 30 dry berths for vessels up to 60 metres, plus the Royal Yacht Club, Al Hamra Mall and the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah alongside it.
Al Hamra, quick questions
Is Al Hamra Golf Club actually open to non-members? Yes — it genuinely operates as a pay-and-play championship course, and it fully reopened in November 2025 after a renovation touching several holes.
Has Al Hamra genuinely hosted professional golf before? Yes — it hosted the DP World Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship across 2022, 2023 and 2024, plus a run of European Challenge Tour events between 2016 and 2018 as well.
What’s genuinely the best hotel base in Al Hamra? The Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah remains the clear standout, with golf, beach and multiple restaurants on one site, though several smaller resorts nearby also work well for a simpler, lower-key stay.
Is Al Hamra actually close to Al Marjan Island? Yes — they sit right next to one another on the very same stretch of RAK coast, so it’s genuinely easy to combine golf here with a beach day or a look at Wynn Al Marjan Island.
Al Marjan Island, one beach over
Right next door: Al Marjan Island. Or simply head back to the main Ras Al Khaimah guide.
Is Al Jazeera Al Hamra a real abandoned village?
Yes — it’s a genuinely abandoned pre-oil pearling settlement, its coral-stone houses, wind towers and old mosque largely untouched since residents moved out in the 1960s, making it one of the more atmospheric heritage sites in the emirate.