Al Jaad Mahbas Hotel

On regular days, the shuttle drops you near Marwah, which makes getting around pretty easy. During Ramadan it takes a bit more effort to use it. For a budget stay with less walking to Haram, the location works well, and the price is great for what you get.

The free bus to Harem drops passengers at Marwa near Darul Salam gate, which is the main plus. The staff are generally polite, and the rooms are a reasonable size. Our toilet, though, was extremely small and had very few facilities.

It’s easy to get to Haram from here, and parking is relatively easy to find compared with the Ajiad Street and Ibrahim Khalil Road areas. The price-to-quality balance makes the current shortcomings bearable. Since this area has only recently started opening, there are few nearby facilities: no food close by and no barbers yet. Service inside the hotel is very limited and there aren’t enough staff.

I called reception for a tea bag and sugar, and they told me to ask the restaurant. The restaurant sent me back to reception. Eventually I was told a cup of tea would cost ten riyals. Why not tell me the price at the start? The way this was handled felt disrespectful, and the workers and hotel were awful.