Al Faisaliah hotel – Riyadh – Saudi Arabia

Traveling to Saudi Arabia was one of the most incredible trips I have recently done…

As I mentioned in my post 7 days in a Abaya… I still don’t know what I expected but I know it was not what I found.

The Al Faisaliah hotel is situated in the heart of the business district of Riyadh… a hotel which is considered the finest 5 star hotel in town.

The hotel rooms are situated in two long annex buildings where in the middle there is a business tower called the Globe. The tower is not exclusive to the hotel where several businesses occupy the various floors but at the very top, there is the glass Globe where it is situated a restaurant with 360 degrees view of the city.

The whole set up is quite spectacular and I was impressed with the architecture of the whole place.

As I had mentioned, it was my first trip to Saudi Arabia and we had to take recommendations as to where to stay. I confess we did not regret! The hotel was also quite generous to upgrade us to an absolutely stunning suite, where I had a massive sitting room, with an adjourned bedroom and an incredible bathroom.

The decoration of the whole hotel was quite beautiful and elegant, but it was still quite evident that it was a business hotel. The local culture was present in the finishings and paintings but I had expected a lot more of the Saudi presence in it than actually there is.

The hotel, as you would expect for a 5 stars has a large spa and a couple of restaurants.

Visiting the spa was an interesting experience, first because I was in Saudi Arabia, which means that the male and female spas were completely segregated… actually they are in opposite buildings, where the female spa is behind a completely locked gate which is open from the inside against visual identification.

The spa was very luxurious… 2 floors with several treatment rooms, hammam, gym and swimming pool… speaking of swimming pools, I was impressed to see that even amongst women, the local women would not dress bikinis… but actually all of them were wearing burkinis… I was the only one in bikinis and it was my first time seeing the burkinis.

The hotel highlight was its restaurants! Both the Globe and the Brasserie were just excellent.

I went for a business lunch at the top glass globe and the view was just incredible! The restaurant has 360 degrees overview of the city and as the city in itself is quite flat… you can see up to where your eyes can reach!

The business lunch was a delight… well served with a salad buffet and a sushi bar, followed by a main course of choice of 3 dishes and desert! All also very reasonably priced considering it is a 5 stars hotel!

However my super top remark goes to The Brasserie restaurant. This is where breakfast is also served. A buffet style type restaurant…  I got confused with sooooo much option and food… Several corners and several cuisines… I did not know what to choose! Arab, Japanese, Lebanese, Indian, French, Italian, Chinese… you name it… most of the well know cuisines where therein present…

I ate so much… I was seriously embarrassing myself… but I like eating and everything looked so delicious that I just kept going on and on…

I have not even mentioned the desert corner… first I ate with my eyes… all looked absolutely stunning… the perfection of each piece made me sorry to eat them… but they did not only look good but tasted also superb! Great place, great meal, great value for money!

Saudi Arabia is opening up for tourism… From beginning of October 2019, one can fly directly to the country and obtain a visa on arrival! There is a huge investment in making the country attractive. The current infrastructure already impresses but a lot more is being built to welcome people like you and me…

So, don’t be afraid to add to your wish list! There is a lot to discover and the Al Faisaliah should be your port of call!

xx Valentina