With a wealth of luxury hotels going up and attitudes starting to relax, the future of Saudi is looking bright. Mark Caswell reports.

Think business travel in the Middle East, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is probably not the first country which springs to mind. Dubai constantly grabs the headlines with its towering skyscrapers and the forthcoming six-runway airport, while Bahrain continues to be a hub for finance and relative liberalism. Saudi’s reputation has also suffered in the past, with a spate of terrorist attacks in 2003/4, and a philosophy towards women which remains questionable to many in Western societies.

But things are changing in what is one of the world’s richest nations, a country sitting on nearly a quarter of the world’s known oil reserves. The government has made steps to attract greater foreign investment, as well as easing the visa requirements for visitors in recent years, and this in turn has made international airlines and hotel chains wake up to the Kingdom’s enormous potential.

Brands are now falling over themselves to announce new Saudi projects, not least Rotana, which plans to open 17 new four and five-star properties in the kingdom, totalling some 5,000 rooms. It has also launched the Rayhaan Hotels and Resorts by Rotana brand, an alcohol-free concept which will appeal to the Saudi market.

Accor also has big plans for Saudi Arabia, having recently opened its first Novotel on Riyadh’s main artery, the King Fahd Road. The group has a raft of properties either recently opened or under construction, including five Mercures and a Sofitel.

Meanwhile, Intercontinental Hotels Group has signed an agreement to open 12 Express by Holiday Inn properties in the Kingdom over the next five years, a sign that it is not just the luxury market that will benefit from Saudi’s increased liberalisation. The group will also open a 300-room Crowne Plaza in Riyadh in 2010.

It’s here and in the western coastal city of Jeddah where brands are concentrating their efforts, unsurprisingly, as over a quarter of the Kingdom’s 27 million population is spread across these two cities. With its location on the Red Sea, Jeddah remains an untapped tourist goldmine, and early next year Park Hyatt will, literally, test the water with a waterfront resort complete with marina and separate male and female spa facilities.

There’s no doubt that hotel development in the Kingdom is not going to happen at the break-neck speed of neighbouring Dubai. On a tour of Jeddah (a city which recently unveiled plans for the first mile-high building) my guide points out a billboard for a futuristic skyscraper, and says: “Things happen more slowly here. The sign went up four years ago – there’s no sign of the tower yet.”

Riyadh still has only two skyscrapers of any note, the Kingdom Centre (housing the Four Seasons Riyadh), and the Al Faisaliah Hotel. The latter features the iconic Globe restaurant at the tower’s summit, providing spectacular and unencumbered views of the city (given the lack of high-rise buildings). The restaurant is managed by Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, which has two hotels located adjacent to the tower, the Al Faisaliah Hotel which opened in 2000, and the smaller Hotel Al Khozama, which was one of the city’s first international properties to open back in the 1970s. Al Khozama remains a popular choice for travellers, although there are plans for this hotel to eventually be demolished and replaced by a modern Rosewood property.

Business travel remains a largely male-dominated affair in Saudi, although there are signs that this could change. Earlier this year, the government relaxed the law which had previously stopped women from checking into hotels without being accompanied by their husband or male family member, and Rosewood is certainly banking on this increased liberalism, with the announcement that it is to add a 900 sqm ladies’ spa to its Al Faisaliah property.

The facility will include 12 treatment rooms to complement its men-only spa, and will be housed within a new all-suite wing of the hotel, replacing the former residences. The wing will feature 107 suites starting from 65 sqm, and a Mediterranean-style restaurant, all connected to the main Al Faisaliah property through the tower.

The new suites, due to open in late 2009, will increase the total number of rooms at the hotel by nearly 50 per cent, demonstrating Rosewood’s view of the potential market in the city. Wolfgang O Pachler, managing director of Rosewood’s two properties in Riyadh, says: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is becoming more dynamic with the ongoing economic reforms, and the government has initiated multi-billion dollar projects in various parts of the country for developing its infrastructure. This has enabled the country to attract foreign direct investment. As a result, the international traffic to the country has increased and the country is currently experiencing consistent demand for accommodation in the major cities, particularly in Riyadh.”

Rosewood opened a property on Jeddah’s North Corniche in 2007 (see box on page 67 for a full review), and Pachler adds that the group may look to increase its portfolio of “ultra-luxury” properties within the Kingdom “in the near future”. He also points to the brand’s 24-hour butler service for all guests, an example of the sort of expectations which are driving Saudi’s luxury hotel market, where service is everything.

Indeed, one of Rosewood’s problems (and that of Saudi’s hotel industry in general) is the inability to adjust its own room rates according to the market. Maximum rates are set by the government, with hotels having to apply for an inspection if they wish to increase them – Pachler says that Al Faisaliah’s current rates are “very low for what we offer”.

An increase in flights to the region is also a sign that business is booming in Saudi Arabia. From January, Bmi will fly direct to Riyadh from Heathrow six times a week, although its current non-stop flights to Jeddah will be downgraded to a one-stop service via the capital, in order to “meet market demands”. The carrier serves these routes with two-class A330 aircraft configured with an extended business class cabin (rather than the three-class economy, premium economy and business product offered on other routes), illustrating the demand for business traffic on the route.

Saudi Arabian Airlines flies daily from Heathrow to both Jeddah and Riyadh and, at the time of writing, there were also strong rumours that a recent Opens Skies agreement between the UK and Saudi Arabia would lead to BA restarting its flights to the country, a service which it suspended back in 2005. Meanwhile, newcomer Air Sylhet, led by Bangladeshi businessman Kabir Khan, has announced it will start flights from Birmingham to Jeddah next year (via its base in Vienna), although, as yet, there is no launch date. And, of course, Gulf Air has long since offered a direct route of sorts to the east of the Kingdom, with free limosine transfers across the causeway for premium passengers.

But it’s over on the west coast that Saudi Arabia is plotting an entirely new city to rival anything Dubai has planned. The King Abdullah Economic City (abbreviated to KAEC and pronounced “cake”) development is located around 100km up the coast from Jeddah, measures a mind-boggling 170 sq km, will cost around US$80 billion to build, and will house two million people once completed.

Unveiled in 2005, KAEC is already well underway, with the project being split into six distinct zones. The 14 sq km Sea Port will include a Hajj terminal capable of handling 300,000 pilgrims during the religious season, while the Industrial Zone will take up nearly a third of the city’s footprint, and the Central Business District will include a self-contained Financial Island with the aim of becoming “a new financial capital for the world”. There will be a total of 51 million sqm of housing within the Residential Area, and the Educational Zone will include an 18,000-student university, due to open in 2009.

Finally, KAEC’s Sea Resort signals a concerted effort to attract tourists. Boasting an enviable location along the country’s Red Sea coastline, this zone will add 22,500 rooms, suites and serviced apartments to Saudi Arabia’s tourism infrastructure.

Of course, travel to the hubs of Riyadh, Jeddah (and, in the future, KAEC) belies the fact that travel for religious reasons remains the largest draw to the Kingdom.

An estimated three million Muslims travel to the holy city of Mecca (Makkah) every year for the five-day Hajj pilgrimage, and this doesn’t take into account the thousands of others who make the journey during Ramadan and at other times of the year. So it’s no surprise that some of the biggest hotel names are developing huge hotels to cope with the demand.

One such example is Fairmont, which is opening the 1,005 room Makkah Clock Royal Tower in spring 2009. The 76-storey hotel will be among the highest in the world at 577 metres, and will feature a 40-metre clock tower. Ramada has also recently opened its largest ever hotel in the city, the 998-room Ramada Makkah, while Starwood has unveiled the first three towers of its Le Méridien Towers Makkah hotel, which will expand to eight towers by the end of 2009. The Radisson SAS brand will debut in the city in 2012, with the 256-room Al Diyafa Hotel.

By the time KAEC is completed in 2020, there’s unlikely to be a major brand which hasn’t invested in the Kingdom, which can only spell good things for Saudi Arabia’s future in the international arena.

Hotel check: Jeddah Rosewood Corniche

WHAT’S IT LIKE? Opened in September 2007, the Rosewood Corniche is a modern-looking hotel comprising of the main 17-floor cylindrical-shaped building, attached to a slim, glass-fronted rectangular annexe. All guests benefit from 24-hour butler service.

WHERE IS IT? On Jeddah’s North Corniche, around 20 minutes’ drive from King Abdul Aziz International airport.

HOW MANY ROOMS? There are 127, with 37 Deluxe rooms, 12 Executive rooms, 52 Danah rooms and 26 suites.

ROOM FACILITIES There’s no doubting the hotel’s room facilities are top notch. Classical in design (except the Danah rooms which have an Arabic influence), all feature large flatscreen TVs, DVD players, fax machines, wired internet access, espresso makers, fresh fruit bowls, CCTV cameras at the entrance, and touchscreen controls for the lighting, air conditioning, curtains and butler service. The modern marble bathrooms are particularly impressive, with separate bathtubs and walk-in showers, as well as a further flatscreen television. Most rooms have sweeping views of the Corniche from floor-to-ceiling windows.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS There are three restaurants, plus the ground-floor Soleil for pastries and coffees. The largest is the all-day dining Habsburg, with specialities including a carving trolley and “portionised” buffet. Noodles is family orientated, with a games area and show kitchen, while Ginza I Chome is the hotel’s Japanese eatery, complete with a hand-carved stone bar behind which the chefs prepare dishes with ingredients including Styrian beef. Here, the concept is “omakase”, which means leaving it to the chef to suggest dishes rather than selecting from a menu. Given Saudi’s alcohol-free status, it’s not surprising that restaurants have adapted to offer guests myriad soft alternatives. The hotel has no less than 35 different varieties of iced tea, as well as red espresso, apparently the only espresso in the world made from tea.

BUSINESS AND MEETING FACILITIES There are five meeting rooms on the third floor of the hotel, all looking out onto the Corniche and holding up to ten delegates boardroom-style. One in particular stands out – it has a Bedouin theme and is decorated in vibrant reds. Facilities include video-conferencing, internet access and the use of a meetings butler. There are also three private-dining suites and a business centre with free internet access.

LEISURE FACILITIES The leisure facilities are located on the 17th floor and have superb views of the Corniche. The rooftop pool echoes the shape of the circular building, and has several glass plates in its base allowing shafts of light to penetrate down to the atrium lobby below. There is also a fitness centre, treatment rooms, and a steam room and sauna.

VERDICT Luxurious in every aspect, from the butler service to the extensive in-room facilities, and with great views from the rooms and pool.

PRICE Internet rates for a midweek stay in January started from SR1,150 (£203) for a Deluxe room.

CONTACT Rosewood Corniche, Jeddah 21572; tel +966 2257 8888; hotelcorniche.com.