Holiday Inn Jeddah Gateway by IHG — Hotel in Makkah Region

Unacceptable Experience – Not Aligned with Crew Standards

As a commercial pilot who frequently stays in hotels during layovers, I rely on consistency, professionalism, and comfort to ensure proper rest before duty. Unfortunately, my recent stay at Holiday Inn Jeddah was far from satisfactory.

Upon check-in, I was not asked whether I preferred a smoking or non-smoking room—something that is typically confirmed without fail. I was assigned a smoking room without any consultation. The odor in the room was extremely unpleasant and not conducive to rest. I contacted the front desk via the room phone, and was told they would return my call. That never happened. Given I was traveling with seven other crew members, I couldn’t afford to wait and returned to reception myself. I was told, rather casually, that they “usually assign one smoking and one non-smoking room.” Such a policy, if true, is highly unprofessional and disregards individual preferences and comfort.

Eventually, I was moved to another room. While it was cleaner, it was noticeably warm—around twenty-four to twenty-five degrees Celsius—and considerably smaller than what I’ve received during previous stays at this hotel. The bed was a queen size, which felt quite cramped for a single-occupancy crew room. The bathroom was also understocked, with only one bath towel and one hand towel provided. These are basic amenities that should not require follow-up.

To make matters worse, the room phone’s handset was not functioning—only the handsfree mode worked. I reported this to reception and was told someone would replace the phone immediately. However, the technician who arrived did not bring a replacement and instead advised me to continue using the speakerphone, stating the handset was indeed faulty. When I contacted the front desk again, their response changed—they said the technician would attempt to repair the phone first, and only replace it if necessary.

By this time, it was well past midnight in Jeddah, and two-thirty a.m. by my home time in India. With only twenty-two hours of layover, this series of issues severely impacted the rest I was able to get.

This experience does not meet the standards expected for airline crew accommodation. I have stayed at this hotel previously without incident, but this visit reflected a clear drop in service quality, communication, and staff accountability. I hope hotel management seriously reconsiders how they handle crew stays going forward.

As of now, I would not recommend this property for...

My recent stay at the Holiday Inn Gateway of Jeddah was extremely disappointing. From the moment I arrived, it was clear that the hotel was not living up to its reputation by US standards.

Room Service and Maintenance: Upon arrival, I found the locker in my room broken. Despite reporting this issue within the first hour and reminding the staff three times, no one came to fix it. The next day, I requested room service, but again, no one showed up. It was frustrating to see such a lack of responsiveness from the staff.

Reception and Room Condition: The receptionists appeared polite and assured me of an upgrade due to my Silver tier membership. However, my experience was far from satisfactory. The room was dark, the carpet was old and rotten with a bad smell, and the only window was filthy. It was evident that the room had not been cleaned properly, and the promised upgrade was a lie.

Departure Experience: When I was leaving, the staff handed me a card asking for a positive review. When I mentioned I would write my review online, the receptionist became very rude. Additionally, the driveway was being cleaned during peak departure time, causing inconvenience. When I asked to let my cab come through, I was told by the staff that their service manager would not allow it, forcing my driver to reverse the wrong way.

Lack of Transportation Services: Despite being named “Gateway of Jeddah,” the hotel does not offer any services for drop-off or pickup from the International Airport or major train stations. This was a significant inconvenience for an international traveler like myself.

Dining Service: The only positive aspect of my stay was the dining service. As a Silver tier member, I received a 25% discount, and the food was excellent. This is the sole reason I am generously giving them one star.

Overall, it is sad to see how a prominent hotel chain like Holiday Inn is mismanaging and destroying its reputation in the East. I hope they take these issues seriously and make the necessary...

I am a “Diamond Elite - Ambassador” category holder in this group of hotels and I chose to stay here to have a safe environment for my health and security. However, my experience this time is horrible and unsafe; during the check-in process, I found smell of smoke in the corridor and inside the room. Reception was informed immediately and ask them if it is a smoking floor/room and they respond that it is not. A request to take an action to eliminate the smell was made but it was ignored.

After the check-in process, I went to the room and leave my personal stuff and went outside to fetch my family. As we are having our rest, I was woken up by the smell of heavy smoke from the adjoining room, as if 3 persons were smoking. I communicated with the reception to raise the issue and they responded that they have spoken to the person on the adjacent room and the issue has been resolved. However, after half an hour, the smell of the smoke came again and makes the room as if there was fog inside. the issue has been raised several times, but no action has been taken. Since the reception personnel were not taking the issue professionally, I decided to check out and find another hotel to stay as the smoke is affecting me and my kids’ health.

I was surprised that everybody in the reception is claiming to be the Manager, yet they did not do anything to address the issue. It was also noticed that a “NO SMOKING” sign was posted everywhere in the corridors and rooms but was neglected intentionally. Additionally, the room’s smoke detector is not working since it was not triggered by the heavy smoke from the adjacent room which is unsafe for the clients and hotel’s personnel. As an advice, a preventive maintenance should be performed to avoid further complications and accident.

Moreover, for my friends and relatives, this hotel is not recommended for your stay. They have very bad customer service and treats guest unprofessionally. It is better to stay in a serviced apartment rather...