Banyan Tree

Another Al-Areen development. Banyan Tree Desert Spa and Resort is part of a luxury resort chain in Asia. With other heavenly resorts in China, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand and Seychelles, Bahrain is the latest unveiled destination. I went to check out the villas which were simply breath taking. The villas are all designed as a traditional arabic court yard house, they are either 1 bedroom for couples or 2 bedrooms for a family, they all have a private courtyard with a swimming pool and a jacuzzi, a majlis, and dinning and living areas. The interior decorations are all orienatal... I especially like the wall fountains at the entrance which produce light water sprinkling sound that is very relaxing. They are pricy I have to say which could get up to BD 1600 (US$ 600) per night.

On another note, there is something about Al-Areen area which makes it very special... travelling to it from Riffa, or Manama or any other city... you really feel like you are travelling somewhere else once you get to Sukheer... which I think is a really nice thing... it really feels like a getaway and an excellent opportunity for people to relax. With all the new developments going on in Al-Areen and around the BIC area... I just hope the desert landscape do not get destroyed because thats whats giving it its special character... the roads needs to be fixed and a proper route needs to be added to Al-Areen and everything... but I just hope that when we go there we still feel like we are in the middle of the desert... and all those new resorts and hotels do fit in the middle of the desert and not make it into something else.