Al Faya Retreat, a second life in the desert.

Published 4 November 2026 · WHV

The view at Al Faya takes in a fire pit, the rocky terrain and a building close to the ground. Look at the stonework before you look at the pool. Two buildings on the site began as a clinic and a grocery store. ANARCHITECT kept them in the project and gave them new uses beside carefully distinguished contemporary additions.

The project record describes buildings from the 1960s. Their modest scale matters in a place where the surrounding ground and sky do so much of the work. Five rooms keep the operation small. The existing structures give the retreat a local history that a newly built desert property would have had to invent.

If you stay, take time to walk between the buildings. Notice where the old masonry gives way to new surfaces and how shade and enclosure change through the day. Confirm whether the property is offering single rooms or exclusive use on your dates. Those arrangements matter more to the visit than the setting alone.