Samantha van Exter Appointed General Manager of Six Senses Southern Dunes

Six Senses Southern Dunes, The Red Sea has appointed veteran luxury hotelier Samantha van Exter as its new General Manager, anchoring leadership at the pioneer desert outpost in Saudi Arabia. Anchored amid the undulating dunes of the Kingdom's western interior, the property—comprising 40 private pool villas and 36 guest rooms running entirely on solar energy—stands as one of the cornerstone hospitality openings of the regenerative Red Sea destination.

According to Saba Azim of Safari India, van Exter joins the desert sanctuary with a diverse leadership portfolio spanning resort management, multi-property oversight, hotel openings, and wellness-centric operations across Southern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Azim reports that she most recently served as Head of Hotels at the Montcalm Collection in London, where she spent 11 years and oversaw an independent hospitality portfolio that notably included the B Corp-certified Inhabit wellness brand.

Azim notes that van Exter also possesses proven regional fluency, having served in 2023 as Area Director – Middle East for ME by Meliá, where she helmed the launch and operation of ME Dubai within Zaha Hadid's fluid, sculptural Opus building. Her broader executive career spans senior appointments at Shangri-La The Shard, London and ME London, alongside General Manager assignments in the Netherlands for Accor and Steigenberger.

The Safari India report traces van Exter's luxury pedigree back to South Africa, where she cut her teeth under legendary hospitality visionaries Sol Kerzner and Jerry Inzerillo at The Palace of the Lost City within Sun City Resort. Her recent accolades include being named Hotelier of the Year at the 2025 Hotel Designs Brit List Awards, followed by finalist recognition at The Hotel Magazine Awards in 2026.

At Southern Dunes, van Exter takes the helm of an architecturally significant hideaway conceived by Foster + Partners, where sweeping timber canopies echo the desert ridges. The resort balances restorative wellness—anchored by an expansive multi-level Six Senses Spa complete with sound healing, biohacking recovery suites, and sensory meditation pavilions—with off-grid solar infrastructure and local Nabataean-inspired guest experiences.

Our take: Placing an executive with pedigree in both B Corp sustainability frameworks and boundary-pushing architectural statements is a deliberate signal for Six Senses in the Red Sea. As Saudi Arabia's giga-destinations shift from visionary desert construction to everyday ultra-luxury stewardship, Southern Dunes requires operational leadership that can harmonise rigorous environmental stewardship with the exacting, understated polish global nomads expect.