Retaj Albayt Suites Hotel — Hotel in Makkah Al Mukarramah

We stayed in a family suite (6 people) during December on the 10th floor.

The hotel is located minutes from gate 89/90 of the haram, and this why primarily why we chose this hotel. It's located in a tower with shopping facilities and food courts below.

Our room had 6 single beds, three downstairs and another 3 in the mezzanine floor. Our view was horrible as it was looking to the adjacent building, and consequently there was no natural light in our room which was annoying.

There's a small kitchenette provided but with no pans or pots, you get a fridge and a kettle.

Our room had two bathrooms, the upstairs bathroom due to the way it was designed (had a floor shower) was useless as it flooded due to the flat profile of the floor. Furnishings were of a good quality.

My complaints are :

1. due to the size of the room the cleaning staff often tried to get away by not cleaning the room. You had to literally stand there and make sure they did what you asked. Then after they finished they would just stand there looking at you awkwardly in what I assume was them waiting for a tip (mafi fulus cuz).
2. The front of house staff, although decent and better than others I have experienced in KSA in terms of professionalism and grasp of the English language, messed up during an emergency. My father had collapsed after coming out of the toilet and I called the reception and asked for them to call for help and send a Dr. An hour or two passed and no one came. When I went down to see the receptionist they said that the callout charge was 900 SR, or that we should put my father in a trolley and take him to a hospital in the floors above. I don't expect them to me medics, and alhamdullilah myself being one I was able to rule out any serious causes however if my father had a stroke things would have been so different today. In a collapsed patient, you do not wheel them up (what's the Arabic for syncope). As I said, don't expect them to be medics but they need at least some basic life support training.

Apart from this, it's a good hotel albeit slightly expensive (I guess you pay for the...

If you are considering staying in this hotel, here are some things to consider:|||| The "suites" consist of a small room downstairs with stairs in the corner that lead upstairs. You might even have the bad luck of having another family using upstairs while you and you're family are downstairs! This means sharing the same door in/out and having little or no privacy.|||| Escalators are a real issue. For example, if you're staying on the 10th floor (as we were) you'll be taking the same lifts that service 2 larger hotels which begin on the 11th floor. This means the lifts are almost always full. Which means you'll end up taking escalators up 10 floors!|||| The rooms themselves are awful. Dirty, poorly equipped and rather smelly. To say this is a 4* hotel has to be a joke. I'd say 2* is more realistic. We found hair in the room, phlegm on the walls (!!!!!) and honestly the general level of hygiene was shocking. I'd compare it to a hostel in the UK. |||| The staff were rude and unaccomodating. If you don't speak arabic good luck!||||This might seem like a damming review but if you are paying a lot of money for a trip like this, you don't want it to be ruined because of poor accommodation. You'll find much much better hotels, for your reference here are some that I've stayed in, in Makkah and i would rate them much much better than this:||||1) Dar al tawheed - still the best hotel in Makkah. Unbeatable location. If you can afford it, stay here. 9/10||||2) Fairmont Clock Tower - nice rooms, walking through the shopping center isn't ideal but a decent hotel nonetheless. 7/10||||3) Swissotel - a little cheaper but still does what you need. Again, in the clock tower so be prepared for lots of walking through the shopping center and at busy times, waiting for...

I am from Malaysia. I traveled with my family, 2 of whom are using wheelchairs. I booked this accommodation via email about a month before my arrival. Until the very last minute, they keep on changing the price even though they have already charged my VISA card for Deposit. ||Amira promised me for SR7400 for 6 nights stay, for 2Bedrooms Suites Executive Haram View. But to my surprise, on the day I checked in, they said Amira made a mistake, the actual price is SR12900. This is a huge difference. Since we know this during our arrival, it left us with no choice but to just pay. Hotel management did not take any responsibility upon their staff’s mistake. We, customer paid MORE than what has been promised due to their staff’s mistake. ||(Hotel management, if you don’t believe my conversation with Amira, go ahead and listen to your recording.)||Breakfast- Everyday same menu. If you are staying for 2 days, it’s okay. But I stayed here for 6 nights, imagine how disgusted I am having to pay the expensive price, with same menu everyday.||During my booking, in the email, I specifically mentioned that I required late checkout as my flight is at 11pm. I agreed to pay SR500 more. The person in charge on my check in day has already been informed. Unfortunately, the manager on duty, Abdullah, on the day of my check out deny my request last minute. This is inhuman and I am very disappointed because I have mentioned this in the email, and upon check in.||Overall- location is superb. Hotel staff are rude. Breakfast is boring.||Please please please reconsider before you book...