Balensia Hotel

I’ve stayed here twice and enjoyed both visits. The rooms are spacious and clean, the hotel has a nice vibe, and the furniture is new and comfortable. Basement parking is available, along with open parking behind the hotel. The main downside is the distance from Haram. You’ll need a taxi or your own car to get to Masjid. There isn’t a Pakistani restaurant within walking distance either, so you have to take a short ride to find one. I’d love to come back.

I’d read the Google reviews criticizing breakfast, so I was worried before trying it. I ended up finding it excellent. The steamed egg omelette was my favorite, with lots of vegetables and eggs. They also served vegetables such as olives and lettuce, plus hot milk, green tea, and black tea. I found it satisfying.

As salam alaikum, We booked through booking.com during the first week of December and reserved the night of our arrival too, because our flight brought us to the hotel at 4 am. A week beforehand, I messaged through Booking.com to say clearly that we’d arrive at 4 am and asked them to keep the room. I thought everything was arranged correctly. When we got there, the man at reception said our room had been given away and there were no others available. He couldn’t speak English, so we had to use a translator, which made it hard to communicate. He offered no alternatives and acted as if it wasn’t his problem. We’d just traveled for 10 hours, and finding another hotel took time and cost us an extra 1,000 US-Dollar because everything else was booked. Booking.com didn’t reimburse us. We then spent 30 minutes getting to the new hotel and waited seven hours in its lobby before we could check in, all with my pregnant wife. I came to Medina al-Munawwarah for a blessed trip, and because of this situation it began terribly. Shame on you. I can’t forgive this for now. People traveling from around the world to Allah SWT's house and his beloved prophet should be treated differently. You need to be much more professional: answer Booking.com messages, teach your staff English, and show them how to treat tourists and pilgrims respectfully, as our religion teaches. May Allah swt guide you and all of us.

I had a great stay in Room #111 from 23'Nov to 30'Nov. The staff were wonderful, and the room’s front side looked out toward the Seven mosques, which really impressed me. Check-in through check-out went smoothly. One issue was a broken, uneven spot in the floor near the wardrobe. It made noise when I walked over it, though I couldn’t see the damage under the carpet. I hope management fixes it soon, since a child assigned to that room could trip and get hurt or cause more damage. It would also be nice if breakfast included fruit. I, like many guests, don’t want falafel's and chips first thing in the morning. For my first stay in Medina(Yathrib), it was a very good experience. I’d recommend the hotel for a longer visit if you don’t want to spend a fortune.