Diriyah Company and Midad sign $827 million Four Seasons hotel and residences deal.

His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism and Secretary General of Diriyah Company, hailed the agreement as a milestone in the nation’s tourism evolution. "Saudi Arabia continues to set new benchmarks in destination development, and Diriyah stands at the forefront of this evolution," he said. "Partnerships such as this enhance the Kingdom’s global tourism offering and reinforce our position as a leading destination."

Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of Diriyah Company, emphasised the project’s scale and strategic importance. "The Four Seasons Hotel Diriyah will be one of our largest luxury hotels, and we are proud to announce this joint development agreement with Midad, one of the Kingdom’s leading real estate developers," Inzerillo stated. "This agreement reflects our ongoing commitment to enabling Saudi partners to participate in Diriyah’s transformational journey and underscores Midad’s confidence in the opportunities the project presents."

From Midad’s side, President Abdulelah bin Mohammed Al Aiban described the venture as a pivotal step forward. "This project represents a milestone for Midad, allowing us to bring the Four Seasons experience to one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant heritage destinations," Al Aiban noted. "We are excited to deliver a development that exemplifies design excellence, world-class service, and enduring value, while actively contributing to the Kingdom’s tourism, cultural, and economic ambitions."

One Four Seasons, not three.

It is worth being precise about which Four Seasons this is. The scheme announced here is the Four Seasons at Diriyah, inside the 14 square kilometre Diriyah masterplan on the edge of Riyadh. It is a separate property from the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Jeddah on the Corniche, and there is no Four Seasons at the adjacent Wadi Safar district, whose hotel line-up runs to Aman and Amansamar, Janu, Oberoi, Faena and The Chedi under a roughly $2 billion agreement. The Four Seasons remains a Diriyah-core address, which matters for buyers comparing branded residences across the wider programme.

The Four Seasons project is embedded within the broader Diriyah masterplan, which is being transformed into a global cultural and lifestyle hub on the birthplace of the Kingdom. The At-Turaif district within Diriyah is the UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage site, the heart of the first Saudi state. Diriyah Company envisions nearly 40 hotels across the 14-square-kilometre Diriyah project and the adjacent 62-square-kilometre Wadi Safar area, blending heritage preservation with modern amenities.

The announcement aligns with Vision 2030, the programme aimed at diversifying the economy beyond oil through tourism and entertainment. The overall Diriyah initiative, dubbed the "City of Earth," is now framed as a roughly $64 billion programme (SAR 236 billion and rising), with Group CEO Jerry Inzerillo describing it publicly in 2026 as a $64 billion project. As of the January 2026 deal announcement, Diriyah had awarded over $27 billion (SAR 101.25 billion) in construction contracts; by the MIPIM property fair in March 2026 that figure had passed SAR 120 billion (around $32 billion), and it continues to rise as the build progresses. On completion, the masterplan is projected to contribute $18.6 billion (SAR 70 billion) to the Kingdom’s GDP, create more than 180,000 jobs, house approximately 100,000 residents, and attract up to 50 million visitors annually.

Diriyah is targeting an opening ahead of Expo 2030 Riyadh, and the partnership lands while the masterplan is still early in its visible build. As of early 2026, Diriyah Company reported roughly 80% of the complex underground and enabling infrastructure complete, but only around 5% of above-ground development finished. For buyers, that is the honest delivery-risk picture: the groundwork is well advanced and the funding and contracts are committed, while most of the towers, hotels and residences, including the Four Seasons, are still to rise. The Four Seasons agreement is therefore a forward commitment within a programme whose foundations are largely in place but whose skyline is mostly ahead of it.

Beyond hospitality, the masterplan brings together a full cultural and civic programme, and each named anchor below now has a publicly announced construction contract rather than a plan on paper.

• Workplaces. Contemporary office spaces for sectors including technology, media, arts and education.
• Culture. Museums and venues now under contract, including the Royal Diriyah Opera House (a $1.4 billion contract), the Diriyah Arena superblock ($1.53 billion) and the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art ($490 million).
• Learning and retail. A university, the Diriyah Square retail district and a variety of dining options.
• Heritage. Restoration of the historic quarter, preserving the birthplace of the Kingdom alongside the new build.

For the residences specifically, the Four Seasons enters a crowded field. Diriyah’s branded-residence ecosystem already exceeds 300 units across names such as Aman and Amansamar, Armani, Baccarat, Corinthia, Raffles and two Ritz-Carlton collections, which sets the competitive frame for where Four Seasons buyers will sit. Industry observers see the agreement as a key move in positioning Saudi Arabia for international travellers, leveraging global brands such as Four Seasons to deepen its hospitality offering. As Diriyah continues to evolve, the partnership underscores the growing role of private-sector capital in national projects, supporting economic growth and cultural preservation in tandem.

To act on the wider opportunity, explore current developments in Riyadh or read the broader Saudi Arabia market view. Every figure here is indicative and not investment advice.