Soul Beach: New destination on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island offers 400 sun beds

The attraction, located in the Mamsha Al Saadiyat community, also features a 400-metre swimming zone

Soul Beach opened on Al Saadiyat this weekend. Supplied

Many may have found their travel plans in disarray this summer, but you don't have to go overseas to find a little slice of paradise.

As restrictions ease in the UAE, with staycations on the rise and pools reopening at hotels around the country, a new beachfront destination has opened, bolstering the places you can catch some rays in the capital.

Soul Beach, a new attraction in the Mamsha Al Saadiyat community, opened to visitors on July 24.

The destination, located at Aldar Properties' beachfront development on Saadiyat Island, offers one kilometre of shoreline to visitors, as well as a 400-metre swimming zone in the Arabian Gulf and 400 sun beds set up along the sand.

Soul Beach will be open daily, from 8am to sunset, and entry costs Dh50 per person on weekdays, and Dh75 per person on Fridays and Saturdays. The price includes the use of a sun bed and a parasol.

To ensure social distancing regulations, Soul Beach can deliver food and beverages straight to sun loungers. Each table features a QR code, which gives visitors access to the menu. Orders can be made via WhatsApp, and will be delivered by buggy.

All sun beds are spaced at least two metres apart, with free sanitiser on hand for guests, while a lifeguard will watch the swimming zone.

The launch comes a week after hotels in Abu Dhabi were given the green light to begin reopening pools, after almost four months of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While it's best to check ahead for each hotel's safety precautions, hotels will be following guidelines set out by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT).

General guidelines include employees being tested for Covid before returning to work and then being tested regularly, guests bringing their own towels, and sun beds and loungers being placed two metres apart.

For Soul Beach enquiries, call 056 432 560