Visitors to Mecca will soon be able to stay in one of the world's tallest hotels as Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is set to open a 577-metre tower overlooking the holy city. The 858-room Mecca Clock Royal Tower, which is scheduled to open in the third quarter, is a significant development for the Saudi hospitality sector: there is a severe shortage of high-quality accommodation in the city.
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts will manage the hotel. Fairmont Hotels is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud through his company Kingdom Holding. The hotel is part of the seven-tower Abraj Al Bait complex, located next to the Masjid al Haram - Mecca's Grand Mosque - at the centre of which stands the Kaaba. The 76-storey hotel will feature a 40-metre clock, five times larger than Big Ben in London.
Mecca has a severe shortage of rooms to accommodate the vast numbers of pilgrims who visit the city during the Haj. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia authorities are behind the strategy of upgrading the Holy City's hospitality offering," said Chiheb ben Mahmoud, the senior vice-president at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel Middle East and North Africa. "Although luxury hotels are not strictly necessary for the Haj season, they are however important in making the holy city a more year-round destination."
Luxury hotels in Mecca were likely to open up a relatively untapped market in Islamic meetings and conferences. Another Fairmont luxury hotel, the Raffles Mecca, will open next to the holy site in April. A number of major hospitality companies, including Hilton, are planning to manage hotels that are part of a 30 billion riyal (Dh29.38bn) project by Jabal Omar Development in Mecca. @Email:rbundhun@thenational.ae