The biggest hotel in the world is being built in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, offering 10,000 rooms, helicopter pads and convenience for the Masjid al-Haram.
The world’s largest hotel is being planned for Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a remarkable structure that will rise out of the desert and apparently contain 10,000 rooms for worshippers.
The hotel will be part of a mixed-use development at Abraj Kudai, a $3.5bn project intended to look like a desert fortress, that encompasses a ring of towers standing on top of a podium.
It is due to be completed in 2017 and is being situated in the Manafia area of Mecca’s central zone, just 2.2km south of the Masjid al-Haram (holy mosque).
DesignMENA reported that the hotel will have 10,000 rooms in 12 separate towers, which are 44 storeys high, that will also include 70 restaurants, rooftop helipads, royal floors and a full size convention centre.
Two of the towers will offer five-star facilities, according to the hotel’s architects Dar Al-Handasah. The other ten will provide four-star accommodation.
The interiors will be designed by the London-based studio Areen Hospitality and are expected to be in keeping with the opulent style found elsewhere in the region.
"Due to its unparalleled size, height as well as distinguished location, exposure and architectural style, the building appears as a striking landmark with a profoundly modern multifunctional identity relating to both the Saudi locality and the Islamic universality of its expected users, “said architects Dar Al-Handasah on its website.
The site, which will also include residential facilities, a shopping mall and plenty of car parking for those visiting the mosque and black kaaba, has an approximate total site area of 60,000msq and a total built-up area of 1.4million msq.
The hotel at Abraj Kudai is not the only one planned at Mecca. Hilton, the worldwide brand, is developing the Conrad Makkah, due to open in 2016, which, once built, will "help to meet the demands for a wider variety of accommodation from the rising number of pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia every year."
It will be the first Conrad in the country. The Hilton Makkah Convention Hotel also opened recently, while the new Hyatt Regency Makkah is accepting reservations from July.
The world's largest hotels up until now have been in Las Vegas. The Venetian and The Palazzo, which operate as a single hotel, offers 7,117 rooms. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is close behind in terms of number of room keys, with 6,852 rooms available.
The Telegraph
21 May
