Hawar Resort by Mantis recently hit its first anniversary. The island resort opened on 29 January 2025, and a year on, it’s marking the occasion with a handful of events and new offerings.
On the 30th of January, Chef Junior Gomez from the acclaimed Japanese restaurant, Mirai in Bahrain, made the journey to Hawar for a special Bluefin Brunch at C-Salt. The collaboration drew in guests from Bahrain for a signature Japanese-inspired brunch.
Here’s the other big draw: The resort is also launching the Hawar Explorer Club, offering year-round access to dining, leisure facilities, and private island perks.
One year since the resort opened, and we can honestly say it’s unlike anything you’ll see in Bahrain. There aren’t many places in Bahrain where you can genuinely disconnect. Hawar Resort occupies that rare category simply by virtue of geography.
It sits on Hawar Island, roughly 20 kilometres southeast of the mainland, which means getting there requires a boat transfer. That journey, brief as it is, creates a clear separation between the rhythm of Manama and what waits on the other side.
The island itself is part of an archipelago known for its migratory bird populations and resident wildlife. You’re likely to spot Socotra cormorants, which nest here in significant numbers, along with flamingos, herons, and the occasional dugong in the surrounding waters.
The landscape is largely untouched scrubland and coastline, which gives the resort a sense of remoteness that’s hard to replicate anywhere else in the kingdom.
Where most Bahrain resorts offer poolside luxury with views of the city skyline or neighbouring developments, Hawar trades that for open horizons, undeveloped beaches, and the kind of quiet that only comes with distance. There’s no hum of traffic, no construction noise, no ambient city light bleeding into the evening sky. It’s a different atmosphere entirely.
Being a standalone destination rather than a resort embedded in an urban area, the experience at Hawar skews towards immersion rather than convenience. You’re not popping out to a café down the road or heading to the mall between spa treatments. Everything happens on-site or through organised excursions, which, for some visitors, is precisely the appeal.
The resort has leaned into this with its Bear Grylls Adventure Zone, offering guided activities like kayaking, archery, and survival skills sessions that make use of the island’s natural terrain. There are also boat trips to nearby Rubud Island, where you can explore mangroves and spot wildlife in their natural habitat. These aren’t add-on experiences tacked onto a typical beach resort; they’re central to what Hawar offers.
The beaches here are noticeably different, too. They’re not manicured stretches of imported sand with regimented sunbeds. They’re raw, quiet, and largely left as they are, which suits the resort’s approach to sustainability and its partnership with the Mantis Collection’s conservation ethos.
If you’re looking for easy access to restaurants, nightlife, or spontaneous plans, the mainland resorts make more sense. But if the goal is to step away from routine entirely, to wake up to birdsong rather than traffic, and to spend a few days where the biggest decision is whether to swim before or after lunch, Hawar delivers on that front.
To celebrate the first anniversary of Hawar Resort by Mantis and building on the partnership between ALL Accor and Gulf Air’s Falconflyer, members are invited to escape to one of the region’s most unspoilt island destinations. Running until 14 February, the special reward campaign offers the chance to win an exclusive island getaway.
Members who convert their ALL Accor Reward points into Falconflyer miles, or vice versa, during the campaign period will get a chance to win a two-night stay for two in a Beach Villa at Hawar Resort by Mantis. The prize includes full-board dining, a one-hour spa treatment, an introductory Bear Grylls Adventure Zone experience, and a guided excursion to Rubud Island, offering a balanced mix of comfort, adventure, and discovery in a distinctive island setting.
For reservations, call or WhatsApp +973 3218 3610, or email reservations@hawarresort.com.
For more information, visit www.hawarresort.com, and follow the resort on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn: @HawarResortByMantis
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