Stay Report: Hilton Makkah Towers (Makkah, Saudi Arabia - March 2014)

Stay Report: Hilton Makkah/Makkah Millennium Towers
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I was coming back to Makkah for Umrah and had previously enjoyed my stay at the Hilton Makkah so decided to stay there again.  The Hilton has two properties in the area, the Hilton Makkah and the Hilton Makkah Towers.  The Hilton Makkah limits the number of guest per room to 2, and I was traveling in a group and we wanted to stay in the same room so we booked the Hilton Makkah Towers which is geared more towards groups and families.  Overall, in this hotel neither the rooms nor the service are good.  The only thing saving this hotel, in my opinion, is the location as the hotel is located right in front of the Masjid al Haram so provides easy access. 

The first negative of the hotel is the lobby.  The ‘lobby’ and check-in desks of the hotel are located in the parking garage – yes the parking garage.  In the same area where you you’re your car, that is where the lobby is located.  The lobby is extremely small and contains the check-in desks, a small waiting area, and elevators to the first tower.  The hotel has two towers and the lobby is located in the first tower.  The lobby is not well designed, and given the hotel caters to groups and families and there is poor and slow service, this led to a lot of commotion in the lobby.  I finally made it to the front to check-in, which definitely was not efficient, but I finally received my key and given directions to the room – I was in the second tower so to access that tower I had to exit the lobby, walk across the active garage and parking lot, and access the elevators to the second tower; it’s an inefficient way to walk and extremely dangerous.  

photo courtesy of Hilton

The room we had was part of a 3-room mini-apartment.  Each room could be booked and access individually, or if you were a larger group, you could book all three rooms and there was a main door you could close so it would be a mini-apartment.  While the setup was good for the group setting, it was a little close for the individual setting. 

The rooms themselves were large and contained a two double beds, a sofa-bed, a small bathroom, and a sink and stove; however, the rooms’ look and feel outdated.  The first room I was given was in Tower 2 and it smelled as if it had not been cleaned in 2 weeks. The beds were uncomfortable and looked worn out.  I immediately asked to be changed to another room and we got to Tower 5.  In this room, there was no smell but the room was still outdated and the beds were not comfortable. 

As you open the door, on the left hand side is the entrance to the bathroom.  Beyond that is the mini-kitchen - which is a cutout in the wall that houses a sink, a warmer (to warm up dishes), a microwave, and a fridge.  We had gotten a room with 2 beds so this room had 2 beds with a nightstand in between and then a sofa-bed couch between the bed and the windows.  While the rooms are somewhat big, the bathrooms are small.  There is a toilet, a standing shower, and a sink in the bathroom (along with PeterThomasRoth products available) but it looks like they diminished the bathroom size to increase the room size.  NOTE: We were three people so I slept on the sofa bed, which was extremely uncomfortable and the springs were poking me in the back (Hilton either has a roll-away with a decent mattress or sofabeds; the rollaways are way more comfortable).  Across the beds, against the other wall, was a chest with drawers beneath and a TV on top.  Next to that was a desk and next to that was a round table (small to medium size) with 3 chairs.  There was also a coffee table in front of the sofa bed.  All of the furniture looked really outdated and worn out.  Note: There is a lot of construction going on in Makkah.  You can hear the Azaan (call to prayer) and other items either through the TV or through your window and the construction noise is minimal, but it is there so be aware!

photo courtesy of Hilton

Breakfast was included as part of our room but to access the breakfast area was a little odd.  You took the elevator to the 3rd floor, and then followed the signs which pointed you through a maze to access the breakfast place.  It seemed the breakfast area was in a different tower, but to access it was very long and complicated.  Once you reached the breakfast area, there were two seating areas – in the main area and another overflow area.  Both provide the same breakfast and service, but it did seem odd that people were being sent to the overflow before the main seating was filled up.  We sat in the overflow which was big and spacious and could handle many guests, which was good since there were many guests.  Breakfast was standard with eggs, omelet, cheese, olives, and bread and the service for tea and coffee was efficient.  This was a plus point for the hotel.

A negative point of the hotel was the service, as the service inside the hotel and inside the room were slow and unresponsive.  When we entered the room, housekeeping had only put 1 towel in the room so I called down to request additional towels, and only after 8 hours and three calls later did we finally get the towels!  After our stay we needed to check out, but this process was a NIGHTMARE!!!  There were two lines to check people in an out and in each line there were at least 7 people, but people were cutting in line and the representatives were helping them instead of those in line.  It was utter chaos, and again it seemed as if the hotel had no idea there would be a crowd!  Furthermore, the hotel representatives could not control the line and were helping the people who were cutting the line first instead of those who were waiting.  Utter chaos! 

Overall, the hotel needs major refurbishment of their rooms and their service.  The only saving grace of this hotel is the location - the hotel is located in front of the Masjid.  On the bottom level of the hotel is a shopping plaza with many food and shopping options so that is also a plus point; however, these plus points do not outweigh the negative look to the hotel, the outdated furniture, the uncomfortable beds, and the bad customer service (also --- you cannot earn HHonors points as your stay; another ridiculous point).  There are many newer hotels being constructed in the same location and that provide the same ease of access so if I went back, I am staying at those hotels and not this one!