morpheus

Anyone been there and have a few minutes to comment on what it was like? Nothing much shows up in a search and I'm not sure I want to go to Saudi, but at least there is an SPG property...

shinnene

I stay Sheraton Riyadh at least 3 times per 1 year, and will be staying there again at the beginning of next month.
As an SPG Platinum, you can get only SPG floor room (They will not upgrade you to a Tower floor room) with access to tower lounge located in the front of an elevator at 6th floor if you book a classic room. The Tower floor desk is located at the 5th floor. So, Tower floors are 5 & 6th floors, and SPG floors are 3 & 4th floors.
They have only 7 floors and very limited number of Suite rooms.
I have never ever received an upgrade to a suite room in this hotel since 2000. So, I used to book a Tower floor room always because the room rate is not so expensive for me. In the Tower room, there is enough space and big business desk. Welcome amenity (usually fruite plate) are waiting in the room with a nice word card from the hotel GM.
You can have a complimentary continental breakfast at the Tower lounge or a complimentary buffe breakfast at restaurant located in ground floor if you are a guest of Tower floor room, and if you are an SPG Platinum who is not staying at Tower floor room, you can have a free continental breakfast at tower lounge only if they still keep this over-service. Because, as my understanding, hotels do not need to give SPG Platinum members an access to Tower lounge in Sheraton Hotels.
As country regulation, there is no alcoholic drinks.
Internet connection by wired LAN with LAN cable is available in the room at cost. Also, wireless LAN was available at lobby area at cost.
At hotel gate, there is tough secutiry guard. All cars can't access to the front of hotel entrance. You should always get off the car at outside of hotel gate, and should walk to the hotel entrance.
All staff are kind and useful always. I guess this hotel service is the best one among all SPG properties in Saudi. At least, it's better than Westin Jeddah or Sheraton Jeddah.
Sorry in advance, if my informatin is old because my last staying in there was Feb. 2005.

PS. When I stayed there at my birthday, a PC at Tower desk sounded "Happy Birthday melody" at time of my check-in.

morpheus

Thank you shinnene, that pretty much covers what I was hoping to learn, especially the information about security, thank you for covering that.

I must admit, being from the US, I'm a bit worried about wandering around the local area, how is the restaurant for dinner? If the trip actually happens (50% chance), it will only be for 2-3 days, so I don't mind eating at the restaurant each night if it is decent.

Thank you for responding, it is appreciated.

shinnene

Hi morpheus,

I'm happy to know that my post was good to you.

Unfortunately, there is no restaurants around the hotel within walkable distance. There are 2 restaurants in the hotel, 24 hours room service and lobby lounge. One of the restaurants in Sheraton Riyadh is Italian which was nice to me. To visit Saudi means you should have a sponsor in there.
So, you can ask your sponsor to take you to a nice restaurant in Riyadh.
Actually, Sheraton Riyadh is located bit far from central of Riyadh.
There is nothing around the Hotel. And it is quite far from the building of Ministry of Interior of Saudi where had ever an attack accident. Therefore, I guess Sheraton Riyadh may be located at one of safe area in Riyadh.
From my experience, I have never ever felt something danger in Riyadh luckily.

For your information, Saudi peoples dinner time is quite late. It starts from 9pm-10pm and ends at 11pm-0am usually. So, if you should take a dinner with your local partners, you should have heavier lunch to avoid being hungry.
Normally, lunch is heaviest meals for Saudi peoples, although.

If you have anything to know more, please feel free to ask me.

stimpy

You should really find out where you need to be in the city. It can talk a long time to get from one end of town to the other. My favorite hotel is the Al Khozama which is a Rosewood managed property. http://www.al-khozama.com/
This place is central to where I need to be and it has lots to do within walking distance. Great service.

SkyTeam777

Are Towers room upgrades still not provided to Plats? What benefits (if any) are offered these days?

SkyTeam777

Does anyone have a contact email for this hotel? or the name of the GM or sales manager?

YYZzzz

SkyTeam, I've been 'living' at the Sheraton Riyadh for quite a while. Upgrades are hit-or-miss, but the only distinction between an upgraded and a normal room is separate shampoo & conditioner, and a larger TV with a DVD player.

I'll send you a PM with the GM's contact info. Never spoken with him, but he leaves charming cards in my room every week.

SanDiego1K

Welcome to FlyerTalk and the Starwood forum, YYZzzz. It's nice to have you sharing information with us.

cbellero

I stayed there a lot in 2006-7. I found that I could get upgraded as a plat to a suite. But this was after having a couple of discussions with the GM. However, the suite was a dated room on a standard floor. However, it did have two separate rooms.

However, I did always get upgraded to Tower rooms, if they were available. I believe they reported their availability on these rooms to me accurately and honestly.

I thought the tower rooms were noticeably nicer than the non-tower rooms.

As far as security is concerned - I walked around the area often in the evenings. City blocks in Riyadh are really big and it is a couple of blocks to get anywhere of any interest for the business traveller. The area is safe if you stick to the sidewalks. Crossing roads is a bit more of a challenge than in other cities, as driving is pretty much a free-for-all.

One advantage of eating in the hotels is the fact that the restaurants often do not close during prayer time. Other restaurants do close, which can be a major hassle to any non-Muslim searching for food in the evening.

UA-NYC

Any more recent updates on this property?

LovetoTravel83

Stayed here late last year, one advice, this is a horrible hotel. No chance it is a 5-Star hotel. It's definitely a 4 Star hotel. The club floor rooms are the lowest paid category rooms, the standard rooms are only available for points. The Italian restaurant is nice but that's all, the breakfast buffet is very mediocre. I was upgraded to a Junior Suite but didn't seem like one, the room reeked of smoke.

I would suggest looking at the Four Seasons ,Ritz Carlton or AlFaisaliya (a Rosewood Hotel). There is also the Four Points which is located in the business area of Riyadh (not that good of a location though).

blue2002

Wow, not much good said about this property in the past few years... and yet over on TripAdvisor there are some encouraging reports, some even suggesting a recent reno... Any updates from FTers?

LovetoTravel83

Not talking about platinum treatment. But the hotel does not feel like a 5 star hotel at all. Where the other top hotels in the area do feel like it. If you find a good rate, I say go ahead. However, if the rate is similar to other top hotels in the area, I'd go with the other hotels.

Kim of Finland

Agreed. I'm staying here right now and it really is not all that special. As a Platinum this is the second time that I've been here and both times I've got a perfectly normal room. Club lounge access yes, but the room is tiny compared to the suites I've gotten at other SPG hotels in the region.

The InterContinental is often cheaper than the Sheraton and much better. The only other SPG propert is the Four Points which is a bit dated, but ok value for money. And they give huge rooms to Platinums.

So yeah, if you can get a good rate (below 800 SAR) I would go for, otherwise skip