Hilton Garden Inn, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ****
06-11-09 Country: Saudi Arabia | Hotel
The hotel is located at the southern end of Olaya Street, conveniently within walking distance to our partner in Riyadh. Walking to the Olaya Computer Market or even Faisaliah Mall, for example, is no problem if it isn’t too hot out and you can deal with the kamikaze driving style popular in the city. There is a large supermarket one block down Olaya, as well as a few stores (luggage, home electronics) and several restaurants, other than that there isn’t much of interest around the hotel.
After staying at the Al Khozama Hotel in Riyadh for the last few visits to Saudi Arabia, I decided to try out the Hilton Garden Inn, as it came recommended by our partner here. The room rate is 500 Rial (plus tax) compared to the 700 Rial I’ve always paid at the Al Khozama, however the latter includes breakfast which costs 98 Rial at the Hilton (including tax), so it is not that much less expensive in total.
The rooms at the Hilton are larger and more comfortable than at the Al Khozama, as well as newer - no doubt. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to test the gym, but as it is in the hotel (at the Al Khozama it is in a different building that is part of the Khozama complex), it is much more conveniently located.
I only had breakfast at the hotel, so I can’t say anything about the quality of the food they serve for lunch or dinner, but breakfast was very good. Excellent mixture of Arabic and Western foods with eggs made to order, as well as a waffle iron with portioned dough for guest use. Superb collection of fruit juices and fresh fruit of different types. It certainly isn’t a “steal” at 98 Rial, but - compared to some of the breakfasts I’ve had in hotels - certainly worth the money.
The rooms are comfortable, two floors of non-smoking rooms are available. Even though I had explicitly requested confirmation of a non-smoking room reservation, I was at first given a smoking room. Luckily, the hotel wasn’t full so that I was able to change it without problems.
One negative experience was the airport pickup: I had ordered a car, which, at 120 Rial, is much more expensive even than at the Al Khozama (they charge 80 Rial). The driver was there with a sign, waiting for me. However, I wasn’t the only one he was waiting for - he asked me to wait and then got back in front of the arrivals exit to wait for another person from my flight. After about 25 minutes, two other gentlemen that had seen the sign and were also staying at the Hilton asked him if he could take them with him to the hotel. The end of the story was that there were three of us in a minibus, with my account being charged for the ride.
I mentioned the affair to our partner who immediately had the office manager file a complaint. In the end, my account was credited for the pickup.
Internet access is free in the room.
After staying at the Al Khozama Hotel in Riyadh for the last few visits to Saudi Arabia, I decided to try out the Hilton Garden Inn, as it came recommended by our partner here. The room rate is 500 Rial (plus tax) compared to the 700 Rial I’ve always paid at the Al Khozama, however the latter includes breakfast which costs 98 Rial at the Hilton (including tax), so it is not that much less expensive in total.
The rooms at the Hilton are larger and more comfortable than at the Al Khozama, as well as newer - no doubt. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to test the gym, but as it is in the hotel (at the Al Khozama it is in a different building that is part of the Khozama complex), it is much more conveniently located.
I only had breakfast at the hotel, so I can’t say anything about the quality of the food they serve for lunch or dinner, but breakfast was very good. Excellent mixture of Arabic and Western foods with eggs made to order, as well as a waffle iron with portioned dough for guest use. Superb collection of fruit juices and fresh fruit of different types. It certainly isn’t a “steal” at 98 Rial, but - compared to some of the breakfasts I’ve had in hotels - certainly worth the money.
The rooms are comfortable, two floors of non-smoking rooms are available. Even though I had explicitly requested confirmation of a non-smoking room reservation, I was at first given a smoking room. Luckily, the hotel wasn’t full so that I was able to change it without problems.
One negative experience was the airport pickup: I had ordered a car, which, at 120 Rial, is much more expensive even than at the Al Khozama (they charge 80 Rial). The driver was there with a sign, waiting for me. However, I wasn’t the only one he was waiting for - he asked me to wait and then got back in front of the arrivals exit to wait for another person from my flight. After about 25 minutes, two other gentlemen that had seen the sign and were also staying at the Hilton asked him if he could take them with him to the hotel. The end of the story was that there were three of us in a minibus, with my account being charged for the ride.
I mentioned the affair to our partner who immediately had the office manager file a complaint. In the end, my account was credited for the pickup.
Internet access is free in the room.
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