- Room
Depending on the location, the rooms were very small. Depending on the location, they had no sunlight. The furniture was worn out, scratched and didn't make an inviting impression. The air conditioner was noisy and didn't seem to have been serviced for a long time. They didn't offer a minibar anymore, instead, there was a store in the area of the reception.
The bed and the mattress were - at least in my opinion - good. I didn't look under the bed... I spared myself that.
Unlike the quite well-kept lobby, the rooms made a dark, rather dull and neglected impression.
- Gastronomy
As already mentioned, I didn't use the breakfast which was offered in the restaurant in the ground floor like all other meals. But I once ate dinner in the restauarant. The "oriental mixed grill" was the worst I ever ate in Riyadh. But it was also the most expensive one with 125 Saudi riyal! The kitchen style was kept in a style rather typical of the country with a few international approaches. In addition, the food was not served but "brought". I had to ask for drinks several times, just like for the menu. If you sat yourself at a table, the staff unfortunately didn't react to that.
The hygiene seemed good - I at least didn't have disadvantages after eating.
Otherwise, you can't say much about the food. For me, it was a failure.
- Service
The service was the weak point of the hotel. Nothing worked automatically, you had to ask for everything several times. You got the impression of being only a tolerated guest. Every effort seemed to be too much. The room reservation was complicated. You had to ask several times, you didn't get confirmations and you were put through from one place to another. The staff at the reception was just as unfriendly as the not motivated staff in the restaurant.
The cleanliness in the room was rather average to poor. I already get disgusted when hairs lie around in the bathroom or the silicon joints of the bathtub are insulated with adhesive tape.
I don't know how they dealt with complaints. I preferred to move into another hotel.
- Sport & Entertainment
- Hotel
The hotel was fairly new (unfortunately I don't know how old it is) and the rooms spread over 6 floors. The size of the room varied very much depending on the location. In addition, there were rooms (near the elevator) which had no daylight. There, the window panes were blackened with film! I was put up in such a room but I directly moved into another one.
The lobby made a fairly well-kept and new impression. The room furnishing was worn at times. Here, the motto was: "More illusion than reality". The breakfast was included in the price.
With 650 Saudy riyal + taxes per room and day, it was quite a good price for a hotel of this standard in Riyadh.
The guests were international, there were many American, a few German, Dutch, Japanese guests.
- Location
Compared to other hotels in the Olaya street, such as the Al Khozama or the Al Faisaliah or also the Holiday Inns, the Hilton was too far away from city center and offered no shopping possibilities within walking distance. There were neither any restaurants in the direct surrounding area. Therefore, you - provided that you didn't want to drive with the taxi - relied on the hotel as a service company. But exactly this was the week point of the hotel. Because of this, I cannot recommend this hotel.
People who travel to Saudi Arabia are generally people on a business trip and therefore know that Saudi Arabia is no touristically developped country. Therefore, you can answer the question about excursion possibilities quickly: there were none.
The airport was about 35-40 minutes away depending on the traffic and route which was chosen by the driver.
