Shada Hotel Shati

Beware of the hotel's valet service: literally a scam and outright theft The valet service was the main reason for my disappointing rating. When I arrived in my rental car, there was a kiosk outside the entrance with Atrass and the hotel’s name. I asked the man there to open the gate since I was staying at the hotel, but he said residents had to pay for valet: 35 riyals for one service or 50 riyals per day if I needed to come and go. I paid 50 riyals. At reception, a woman told me parking was free for residents. I said the hotel should take responsibility because the kiosk displayed its name and operated right outside the entrance. She said she would talk to management, but I received no compensation. When I came back that evening, no one was at the kiosk to park my car, even though I’d paid for the service. I opened the gate with my hotel access card and found plenty of parking less than 10 meters away. The valet felt completely useless, like a way to fleece residents. I can’t forgive the hotel for letting this happen without compensating me. There were other issues too. The sliding glass door in my booked room wouldn’t close because of poor design. I told reception, and they moved me to a room where that wasn’t a problem. On the second day, we weren’t given enough towels, just one body towel and one small-sized robe, with no floor towel. Before check-in, the receptionist said guests were expected to leave by 12am/1pm at the latest. My booking allowed checkout at 2pm, and she didn’t make me leave early, but I still felt rushed. Breakfast really wasn’t worth the money. The hotel has many nice design features and a lot of potential, and I want to support local Saudi hotels. Still, for the price, there were major shortcomings in the service. I had a similar cost quote at the 5 star narcissus hotel for the same period, but chose this one because I knew it was a local Saudi brand.