SHA unveils its first wellness island residences

“What is our main wealth?” ask the minds behind SHA Residences. “Time? Our loved ones? Personal development? Material goods? The outdoors?” While various answers might spring to mind, there is one non-negotiable that underpins them all: our health. For nearly two decades, SHA has been recognised as a global leader in health and wellbeing, pioneering a holistic model that merges preventive medicine with natural therapies. Its mission has been consistent: to help individuals live longer, healthier lives through a fully integrated approach to wellness. Now, that philosophy extends beyond the clinic into the realm of branded residences.

The SHA Method, developed and overseen by internationally renowned specialists, fuses cutting-edge science with natural disciplines. Genetic medicine, preventive therapies, healthy ageing programmes, and advances in biomedicine meet with therapeutic nutrition, mindfulness practices, hydrotherapy, and movement. Nutrition is central, with a philosophy that food is not only sustenance but also medicine for us, capable of transforming the body’s capacity to regenerate and regulate itself. This vision, first realised in SHA’s pioneering wellness clinic in Spain, has since attracted figures from across the spectrum of power and influence - among them public leaders and royal families - all drawn to SHA’s ability to recalibrate the body and mind.

What started as a single wellness clinic on the Mediterranean coast in Spain expanded to Mexico’s Caribbean shoreline and now finds its most ambitious form in the United Arab Emirates. With homes ready for occupation in 2027, SHA Emirates presents a radical proposition: the world’s first healthy living island, where wellness becomes a permanent condition of life. Here, individuals are invited to inscribe the SHA way into their daily existence, in residences conceived as domains of longevity, serenity, and transformation. The project is being launched and sold exclusively by Knight Frank.

The island is located at AlJurf, along the coast of Sahel al Emarat, approximately halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For years, the SHA team scoured the Gulf for a location that balanced natural beauty, privileged climate, and accessibility. They found it in this secluded enclave - a landscape of planted forests, crystalline waters, and sandy shores - imagined as a sanctuary echoing the vision of the UAE’s ancestors; a place where human life harmonises with nature and legacy. Thousands of trees have been planted here, contributing to a living forest that enfolds the development. Residents are immersed in a world of greenery, white-sand beaches, and unspoilt waters, but are always just a short drive from two of the world’s most connected airports. A marina and heliport offer additional connectivity, underscoring SHA’s belief that seclusion should not equal isolation.

At the island’s heart is the SHA Resort and Clinic, the central hub of integrative medicine and wellness programming. Consultation rooms overlook the Gulf and mangroves; hydrotherapy circuits and yoga studios open out onto natural light and water; the Athletics Club is fitted with the most advanced equipment alongside movement studios and guided meditation trails. The clinic’s presence ensures that medical expertise is embedded in the everyday lives of residents. Radiating from this core, the island’s built environment is conceived as an ecosystem of wellness. There is a Mind and Body Pavilion dedicated to disciplines including yoga, meditation, and Pilates, designed as sites for psychological balance and spiritual centring. The Healthy Nutrition Pavilion hosts immersive cooking classes, where residents and guests learn to prepare food aligned with SHA’s nutritional philosophy. The Movement Pavilion provides a state-of-the-art environment for physical training and rehabilitation. A Kids’ Wellness Pavilion introduces younger generations to the joy of healthy living through games and interactive programmes.

Beyond the clinic, the island’s social fabric is also structured around the art of living well. The beach club has been designed as a chic retreat for restoration by the sea; a marina pavilion hosts sailing, yachting, and water sports; bike routes cut through shaded greenery; and an organic garden fuels residents with locally grown produce. SHA’s iconic restaurants, SHAmadi and Earthy, extend the culinary experience across the island, emphasising fresh, seasonal, and therapeutic cuisine. Such a structure reinforces the notion that health is not an isolated practice but an interconnected ecosystem that flows into community life.

The residences - villas and apartments - are designed to embody a philosophy of harmony between architecture and ecology. IMKAN, the Abu Dhabi-based developer behind SHA Emirates, has embedded sustainability at every stage of the project, from passive design strategies that reduce energy consumption to intelligent monitoring systems and solar-powered heating. Every home integrates natural materials, including marble, stone, native woods, and natural fibres, while regional handicrafts and pottery root the interiors in cultural tactility and specificity. Spaces are open and light-filled, oriented to capture breezes and views of the Gulf, balancing modernist clarity with ecological sensitivity. Dynamic lighting and advanced air purification are part of the residential wellness design, supporting sleep and indoor health, while sustainable energy sources reduce environmental impact. The intention is to construct living environments that support restoration, sleep, energy, and focus.

Villas are available in four to seven-bedroom configurations, each designed to balance modern elegance with privacy. The ground floor is conceived as an open plan space, with living and dining areas extending into shaded terraces and private pools, while full-length glazed panels dissolve the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Upper floors hold en suite bedrooms and family rooms overlooking landscaped gardens and pools, with expansive terraces connecting the spaces and encouraging a lifestyle that blends gathering with retreat. Villa typologies include garden, shoreline, and beach, each responding to the island’s natural topography. Garden villas range from four to five bedrooms, shoreline villas from five to six bedrooms, and beach villas from five to seven bedrooms, the latter offering direct access to the shore and private docks.

Apartments are offered in one- to four-bedroom layouts, with options for beach-front or garden views. Each residence is designed to maximise natural light and space, with private gardens, community swimming pools, and access to shared amenities across the island. At the pinnacle of the apartment offering are signature penthouses with five bedrooms, private gardens, and swimming pools that overlook the sea.

Life within SHA Residences is designed as an immersive wellness experience. Residents have direct access to SHA’s professionals - doctors, therapists, trainers, nutritionists, and chefs - who can provide consultations, therapies, classes, or fitness sessions in the comfort of their home. Services extend to in-residence catering, live cooking, massages, and hydrotherapies, extending the calibre of a world-class resort into daily life. Ownership also comes with membership in the SHA Residences Owners Club, which grants exchange privileges with SHA’s other properties in Spain and Mexico, and participation in the Healthy Living Academy.

The emergence of SHA Residences reflects a broader cultural shift in how luxury is appreciated. Wellness real estate has grown rapidly in recent years, shaped by demand for environments that extend life as well as offer comfort. On this private island, SHA merges architecture, medicine, and nature into a way of living where each detail is directed towards longevity. With some residences ready for occupation in 2027, the project signals what the future of high-end living may look like: private communities where tailored services, personal wellbeing, and the seclusion of island life set a new standard for exclusivity.