Lobby Cafe - Al Shohada Hotel - Makkah Unclaimed

Most of the bad experience I had was at the breakfast area. The manager was rude and there was no toaster and the staff their ignored you when asked for butter and every morning you went for breakfast you would need to register at the entry before they let you in. Breakfast not much variety either. Overall I give it 2 stars. The staff upstairs were all brilliant though

Not 5 star, more close to a 3 star. My star rating is based on internationally accepted hotel star rating standards. The hotels decor and furniture is dated but functional. Rooms include en suite shower and toilet but again, expect it to be dated and sometimes with leaks (our bidet leaked). Beds are clean but duvet and pillow were not as comfortable as other similarity rated hotels. Carpets very dated and looks somewhat unclean. Lobby area is massive but unless you’re using it for a meeting or something, it will not be relevant to you. They have 6-8 lifts which are vey good but get busy at prayer times. Breakfast is ok, not continental and unfortunately the options do not change much however, there are plenty of options. They try and cater for people from all parts of the world (Western, North Africal, Middle Eastern and Far East). Distance to Al Haram is about 15 min walk taking in to account the crowds. Otherwise, with a brisk walk through clear streets you can get there in about 6-8 mins. Staff are generally friendly but very busy and on multiple occasions, my requests were either forgotten or ignored. The hotel smells good as they use air fresheners. All in all, worth the stay but don’t expect a 5 star experience similar to some of the other leading local hotels such as Swissotel, Swissotel Makkah, Hilton, Zamzam Pullman, Clock tower hotels etc.

Lovely hotel with excellent staff who were always happy to help. The rooms were very clean with clean. Bedding and rooms made daily. Breakfast was also a plus point with a wide variety of food. The location for us was good as it's only a 10 minute walk to get inside the Haram. The only negative would be that there is a busy road in front but that could be seen as a positive aswell since you don't have to look for a cab just ask the boys in the hotel and they'll flag one down and sort the price out aswell. Plus you have the free bus service across the road so you can use that to get around aswell. Would I recommend the hotel, yes Would I use them again , InshaAllah yes.

It must be a self proclaimed 5 star hotel because I can’t imagine any person in their right mind claiming this to be a legit 5 star hotel. Absolutely hilarious! The only positives I can say is the rooms were spacious and so was the bathroom. Beds are dead comfy as I like hard beds and bouncy pillows. My list of negatives are endless - couple of power cuts that lasted for ages. Kept happening at the worst times and staff were rude when we rang for updates. They can’t even provide a candle or a light or even an estimate time of when it will come back again. - laundry service didn’t tell us a prices and charged us £60 yes 60 British pounds to wash and dry one small bag of clothes. Absolute joke!!!! - the biggest let down is the staff. So so rude, cold faced, no smiles no nothing. They act like they’re doing a favour giving us a roof over our head when infact we are paying for a service. The only staff I can say were nice were the 2 middle aged Bengali gentleman at the front desk when you enter. The front desk Arab men who look like brothers look so angry all the time I’m scared to even ask for a key for my door. - moving onto the stupid door keys. Sometimes they don’t work so you have to go up and down to get new ones as they won’t even send a staff member upstairs. - we were greeted with 2 tea bags and 2 coffee sachets for a 1 week stay. Are you kidding me? - breakfast is mediocre. You have lots of salad and cheese, then some hot food in the middle, omelettes and a whole section of puff pastry and bread which is so bizarre. They all taste the same just been baked in different designs. - as you come upstairs the deco is so old fashioned. The carpets smell stale and they’re fading away. Room designs are very old fashioned. I can write more but il stop. Nowhere near 5 star hotel that is just laughable. Might just about scrape 2.5 out of 5. Sort your staff out and if you claim to be a 5 star hotel then up your game and do more for your guests.

The service was great. Very helpful staff and the breakfast buffet was excellent with great variety. But the rooms were not good. Very hard beds. The shower was terrible, when you have a shower all the shower water would leak; wetting all the bathroom floor. I asked them to fix it their plumber came and said there's nothing he can do and just told me to call room service every time I take a shower to clean the bathroom... Furthermore the distance from the Masjid Al Haraam was a lot a good 20 minute walk. Not very close at all.