Makkah Clock Royal Tower - A Fairmont Hotel 5 stars

My recent stay at the hotel had many positive aspects. The location is excellent, especially for those visiting the Haram, and the rooms were spacious, comfortable, and well maintained. I would also like to commend the housekeeping staff, who were consistently friendly, professional, and did an excellent job throughout our stay. Unfortunately, there were also some disappointing experiences that affected our overall impression. I felt that the attitude of some of the Arab staff towards non-Arab guests could be significantly improved. Every guest deserves to be treated with the same level of respect and courtesy, regardless of their nationality or language. At times, it felt as though non-Arab guests were looked down upon or treated as inferior, which was disheartening and not what one expects from a hotel serving visitors from around the world. Another disappointment was the handling of a pricing enquiry before our stay. I found the same accommodation with identical inclusions at a lower price on a third-party booking site. I was advised by the hotel that if I provided proof, they would see whether they could match or even beat the rate. I promptly sent the requested evidence, but I never received any response or acknowledgement. As a result, I also missed the opportunity to secure the lower-priced third-party booking. Even if the hotel could not match the rate, a simple reply would have been appreciated. Overall, the hotel's location, rooms, and housekeeping were outstanding. However, improvements in customer service, communication, and ensuring all guests are treated with equal respect would greatly enhance the guest experience.

I really wanted to love this hotel because genuinely the rooms and bathrooms are very nice however this is my 3rd time staying here hoping it would be a better experience and unfortunately every time I’m left more disappointment than the last. To start off, as a platinum member the check in process was off putting, no one at the check in counter, long process to get room keys even though we did online check in. The “upgraded room” was supposed to be on a non smoking floor however our room wreaked of smoke and I requested to change rooms more than 4 times until they finally agreed. The next room was decent however the housekeeping and reception response times were outrageous I’d have to call 4-5 times for the same request. I had a second booking for the same timeframe that I had initially told them at check in and at reception and they promised me they’d keep me in the same room and make it seamless however that day was ridiculous. I had informed the front desk that we have a second reservation and to continue the room and to get new cards but they said their system was down and to come back later. We had 4 different people banging on our room door for “check out” despite having the “do not disturb” sign. Then when I finally got ahold of the duty manager he said we need to change rooms since it was a different category and I explained that I had initially told both the reception and the priority check in person about it and they said I’d have no issue. This brings me to the next disappointment. We had booked the room for an additional night intentionally so we could have a room until our very early flight the next morning. We had sent some luggage’s down to avoid any delays we informed the bellman that we are just sending some luggage’s down but we will not be leaving until later. As we were resting the housekeeping staff was banging on the door and ringing the doorbell obnoxiously despite the “do not disturb” sign. When I asked what the commotion was about he said “you sent luggage’s down it’s checkout” I said we have the room until the next day and to recheck his logs. He left however it was incredible rude, unprofessional and overall such a disappointing experience. Lastly, the breakfast area, in the past the “members” would have a separate area however this time everyone was together so it was incredibly busy and the waitstaff weren’t proactive at all. They would avoid eye contact and you’d need to be making a scene to get any service. This will most definitely be my last time at this hotel and I will not recommend this overpriced mediocre hotel to any of my family or friends who request recommendations since I have stayed at numerous hotels in the area. I would highly highly recommend Movenpick or Swisshotel rather than this place. I regret spending more to stay at this “higher end” hotel when I could have received much better service and amenities at the other hotels.