Originally Posted by stargold

Having stayed at Al Maha plenty of times, and having visited a 2BR villa and the restaurant for dinner at Al Wathba, the only thing that the latter has going for it is the newness of the hard product. (And the lack of an age limit for children, if that matters to you)

For me, the biggest issue for the Al Wathba is that it is located in quite a random stretch of desert without any impressive views or interesting features - it might be okay if all you care about is being in the desert surrounded by sand.

Otherwise, Al Maha is in a much better location with a great sense of place, not to mention that the villas are spread far enough apart for privacy and quiet, compared to Al Wathba where they are adjacent to each other.