Durrat Andalus Hotel

The room was a suite, but only one of its three phones worked, and only two kettles worked. They didn’t provide coffee, although even 2 star hotels do. They call themselves a 4 star hotel, but customer care, staff, services, and housekeeping were all poor. The rooms were very small, and the washroom smelled awful. Even after we complained, they didn’t provide air freshener. There was no daily housekeeping. When we asked for the room to be cleaned, the housekeeper said it could only be done at 8 am, otherwise he wouldn’t do it. The housekeeping staff were ill-mannered, and staff shouldn’t speak to customers that way. The management needs to take responsibility. They act as if theirs is the only hotel in madinah, and as if guests are visiting their country and staying in a hotel for the first time. They do what they like, not what customers ask for. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. Very poor, do not stay.

No wifi in the room, and there were lots of cockroaches in both the bedroom and bathroom. Food was good some days and not so good on others. They cleaned the restaurant quickly, so we had to eat at the right time if we wanted to pray at the mosque and still have food available. The nice thing was a friendly waiter from indo.

The location is great, with a direct path from the window to masjid al nabawi, and the restaurant floor staff were friendly. Some receptionists were helpful, and the managers were kind. Once we raised our concerns, the managers sent better staff and cleaners. They even brought food to our floor for us to taste, and gave us a much more spacious room than the cramped one we had before. There were some real problems at first. Reception was sometimes unattended, and some rooms were poor quality. Some staff were stuck-up and reluctant to help. When we asked for directions and baggage help, a bell boy handed us all our bags, put us in the elevator, pressed our floor button, and told us to go to our rooms. There was no guidance or help. When I asked staff on the M floor how to get food, they immediately said, “no, food.” That was irritating. Some key things, like shower curtains, were missing, and the place didn’t look presentable. Half the staff were hard to communicate with and explained things badly, though the other half were amazing.

The eating hall felt a bit disorganized, with limited seating. I also wasn’t sure how room service worked, whether we were meant to call or if they had a set schedule. Having the toilet seat so close to the door made opening and closing it inconvenient.