Al Ahsa InterContinental

An impressive hotel at first…but a house of cards. Check in took 40 minutes which is the first point of contact with the hotel and what should be a seamless experience. This not only took too long but it’s also Very late at night, but was an unnecessarily trying experience with inadequately trainees staff and difficult internal interface system. 0 customer service for the first time ever. When booing via telephone we were informed that new rooms and old rooms were the same price which is different to what the reception staff then informed us. To top it off we were only informed at check in that maintenance works are being carried out between the hours of 8am to 6pm. When queried why were we were not told this at the time of booking they told us this information is available on the app. But we don’t have/use the app and they did not care in the slightest. We were then informed that the rooms were not ready at 22:00 and would take 1/1.5 hours to get ready. Is this a la carte room service? When you arrive at the hotel, they start preparing your room? On top of this the room key system is not working. When asked if there were other rooms available just to be told they all had the same issue. Unprofessional, definitely not InterContinental standard, and definitely disappointing. To top it off no management staff available because their shift is over but problems don’t have shifts and there was no senior personnel available when needed…at a 5 star InterContinental hotel. What is supposed to be a seamless, easy and relaxing experience has been anything but. It’s only a stay at the hotel and it’s been exhausting when jt should be the opposite. Train wreck service. Avoid.

When you book a 5 stars hotel, you ultimately expect a 5 stars experience... + The lobby, restaurants and wellness spa areas are very enjoyable, nice and well maintained. - Diner / breakfast open buffets were very basics. - No small towels in the room and only one set of bathrobe/slipper available. - The room service experience was really bad, called 3x times for a small towel which never came. - Matress is very old, so old they put a sort of comforter on top of it. - A/C is really really noisy. --- First time in my life that I have a sleepless night in a hotel room, and I have not only been in 5*. "The WHO guidelines for community noise recommend less than 30 A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) in bedrooms during the night for a sleep of good quality." Average of room 513 is 46dB with peak at 52.

We tried the open buffet in lunch time ( flavors restaurant ), i really was disappointed with menu ... flavored egg , bad kabssa saffron Chicken , smily fish , to be fair I only enjoyed pizza and desserts what we want is a decent menu is that too much to ask since you are a 5 star hotel ( today is 27/6/2023 about 2 PM )

I was disappointed with the receptionist's behavior toward myself and my colleagues when we first arrived. I inquired politely if she could do her best to accommodate an early check-in at 12 o'clock and was astonished by her response: "Do you want me to phone the residents and request them to leave so you can check in early." This is poor customer service from a hotel with five star ratings. I'm in Al Hsa for the first time for a conference, and I don't think I'll ever stay here again?