Al Janadriyah Suites 7

I booked online for a discount, and the en-suite apartment itself was a good place to stay. Having two bathrooms was handy when visitors came by, and this is still better than other service apartments in Riyadh. But the housekeeping and service were disappointing. The room wasn't tidy, I found a mosquito, and there was no room upgrade or even a smile. A smoker at the front gate was annoying too. They don't provide washing powder, and housekeeping doesn't come unless you notify them. That felt very different from Element by Westin in Doha Qatar, where the whole housekeeping team came to clean my room, and even Aloft actively offers housekeeping. I don't understand why this is a Hyatt branded residence.

The rooms were spacious and okay, but the breakfast was awful and seemed unfit to eat. The staff meant well, though they weren't professional.

The breakfast was below standard, and seeing bell boys dip into it with bare hands was unbelievably unpleasant and unprofessional. That was when I decided to check out early. I couldn't get my complaint addressed either. They gave me an email address but wouldn't handle it themselves. Eventually khaani, the manager, came down smiling, but didn't deal with any of the issues. He said he'd arrange a refund through Expedia and told me to leave if I didn't like it. Getting to the point where I left was miserable. The hotel was overbooked when we arrived, so check-in took ages while they said the rooms were being cleaned. The concierge were rude and unhelpful. In the first room there was no milk for tea, and they said they don't provide powdered milk. There were no towels either. When we asked, they said they had run out and it would only be a short while. We waited from 2pm until 7pm with no towels. When we raised it again before going to dinner, the staff just looked at each other as if waiting for someone else to sort it out. I eventually got a second room and tried to rest, but they started drilling and shouting outside while doing repair work. When we left, nobody helped me take my luggage down from the 11th floor to the taxi. A very poor hotel with no idea about customer service. I would never recommend it.

At 100 CAD a night, this felt like a complete rip-off. A budget motel would have given better service. For a 4-star hotel, Hayat Buyutat failed to provide basic hospitality. The check-in felt like an interrogation. The receptionist claimed I had booked a studio instead of the standard double room I paid for, and the bed was queen-sized rather than double. I also found the gym didn't open until 9 AM, which was useless for early risers, and nobody was available to help with simple requests. There was no greeting or assistance during my stay. When I asked for another bottle of water at 4:30 AM, they reluctantly gave me one, after only two had been supplied at first. My stay at Hayat Buyutat, Riyadh was one of the worst hotel experiences of my life, with disrespectful treatment and misleading room conditions.