Private Hotel Yachts

By Anne Kalosh.

Aman, which Town & Country magazine has described as “arguably the world’s most exclusive hotel chain,” is planning a 600-foot/183-meter yacht to debut in 2025.

It is a joint venture with Cruise Saudi, a company launched by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to develop the kingdom as a cruise destination.

Private Hotel Yachts include the Sana from Aman

The 600-foot yacht will have a “beach club” at the stern with direct water access. * Rendering: Sinot Architecture & Design

With the project name Sama (Sanskrit for tranquility), the yacht will have 50 suites, all with balconies, several restaurants, an Aman Spa with a Japanese garden and a “beach club” at the stern with direct water access.

Aman spa will be aboard the private hotel yacht from Aman

The Aman Spa aboard the yacht will have a Japanese garden. * Rendering: Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design

Designed by Sinot

It is being designed by Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design, the Netherlands company behind the concept for the 367-foot/112-meter Aqua, the world’s first hydrogen-powered super-yacht with a reported price tag of $644 million. Sinot also designed Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s nearly 288-foot/88-meter Musashi, whose features include a basketball court.

Given the Cruise Saudi involvement, it would not be surprising if the Aman yacht sails the Red Sea and/or the Arabian Gulf where cruise ports are being nurtured.

It’s also possible the vessel is intended for Saudis; in 2020, Silversea Cruises’ Silver Spirit was chartered by the kingdom for a two-month stint of Red Sea cruises targeted at the local market.

Aman already operates several smaller vessels in connection with its resorts. These include the Amanruya, a 40-foot motor yacht for day cruises along the Aegean coast from Turkey’s Amanruya resort.

And Amandira is a custom-built, two-masted “phinisi” sailing and diving vessel with five cabins that sails around the remote islands of Indonesia’s Flores Sea and Raja Ampat, an archipelago with magnificent coral reefs.

This won’t be the first hotel company to field a private super-yacht. There are other private hotel yachts in the works.

Ritz-Carlton to make a splash

2022 is the year when The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection‘s Evrima is finally scheduled to debut. The highly anticipated 624-foot/190-meter vessel will sail the Mediterranean in summer and the Caribbean in winter.

A bird’s eye view of the Evrima. * Photo: The Ritz-Carlton

Its maiden voyage, delayed several times by construction issues and the pandemic, is now to sail May 6 from Lisbon, Portugal.

UPDATE 8/6/22: Evrima’s inaugural sailing has been delayed until Oct. 15 (2022), with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection attributing this latest in a string of setbacks to “ongoing global supply chain challenges and the unprecedented delay in receiving certain compulsory materials necessary for the final stage of finishing.” The yacht is now scheduled to debut in Barcelona.

In all, Evrima has 149 suites and total capacity for 298 passengers, which would be about triple the number of guests on Aman’s similarly sized (just slightly smaller) yacht — provided that vessel, still in development, has 50 double-occupancy suites.

Evrima is set to wow with a cascade of open decks, multiple restaurants, an infinity pool, a water-level marina, a spa, numerous lounges and Ritz-Carlton’s renowned service.

infinity pool and water-level marina of the Evrimas private hotel yacht

Evrima’s infinity pool and water-level marina. * Rendering: The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

Other brands thinking about private hotel yachts?

There’s regular buzz about other hotel brands getting into cruising. It makes sense as a means of providing new options to their loyal customer base. Think of the enormous Marriott Bonvoy program, whose members will be able to earn and redeem points for Evrima cruises.

But for all that hotels and cruises have in common, cruising is a very different business with steep barriers to entry and many more operating challenges. That’s why nobody so far has gone it alone.

Hotel companies have sought established cruise partners, or cruise groups have approached hotel brands for joint projects.

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection was conceived by cruise veteran Douglas Prothero with the backing of a private equity fund.

Last year, at the naming festivities for Crystal Cruises’ first expedition vessel, Crystal Endeavor, a senior executive from Crystal’s parent company, Genting Hong Kong, said future Endeavor-class ships to be built at the Genting-owned MV Werften in Germany would be customized for international hotel brands and operated by Crystal.

The 200-pax Crystal Endeavor. * Photo: John Roberts

But Genting Hong Kong has been struggling during the pandemic, and MV Werften just declared bankruptcy so the viability of those plans is in doubt.

Four Seasons tried …

Years ago, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and a seasoned Miami-based cruise-ship development team planned to build a vessel that would have 86 fully-owned residences and 10 units for fractional ownership, but that never got off the ground — er, into the water.

Many eyes are on Ritz-Carlton and, now, Aman, to see how they fare — and small-ship fans can look forward to at least a couple lavish new options.