City overview: Riyadh’s key count to grow by 10,000 rooms [Infographic]
In the coming years, Saudi Arabia’s capital will add more than 40 new hotels to cater to the growing number of domestic and international guests, according to our exclusive analysis of the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database.
Our research suggests that 44 new hotels with a total of 10,496 rooms are currently under development in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. We take a closer look at the key characteristics of these forthcoming properties.
Strong growth in 2020
While 2020 has been a difficult year for the international hospitality industry, many hotel projects in Riyadh are still on track to open in Q3 and Q4. 14 properties with 3,441 rooms are slated to open by the end of the year, and six are already in the pre-opening phase.
Seven more hotels with 1,313 rooms will be completed in 2021, eight projects with 1,724 keys are underway for 2022, and 15 properties are on the books for 2023 and beyond – although more will likely be added to the pipeline as time goes on.
Of the 44 planned openings in Riyadh, 24 will be in the four-star segment while the remaining 20 will fall into the five-star category.
Top three brands expanding in Riyadh
Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts leads the list of Riyadh’s fastest growing brands with three projects and 484 rooms in total.
Interestingly, Hilton Worldwide has two separate brands on the list, namely Hilton Garden Inn and Hilton Hotels & Resorts. Both brands will open two properties each, with Garden Inn getting 760 new keys and the company’s flagship growing its portfolio by 458 rooms.
Exciting new hotels in Riyadh
The largest project in our database for Riyadh is the 500-key Hilton Garden Inn The Avenues – Riyadh, which will open in early 2023 as part of The Avenues – Riyadh, a 400,000 sq m mixed-use development. It will be one of the world’s largest shopping and leisure destinations, containing several malls and four hotels, all operated by Hilton. The Garden Inn property will be joined by Waldorf Astoria The Avenues, Conrad The Avenues and Canopy by Hilton The Avenues.
Novotel Riyadh Olaya, meanwhile, will feature 232 inviting guest rooms as well as meeting spaces, a fitness centre, wellness facilities and a swimming pool with a sun deck when it launches in Q1 2022. Guests will doubtless enjoy the all-day dining restaurant and cosy lobby lounge with cafe corner in addition to the 24/7 room service. The hotel will be on Olaya Street in the northern part of the city, only one kilometre from the lively Tahlya Street and 35 kilometres from King Khaled International Airport.
At the 218-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, guests will be able to avail themselves of a 200 sq m all-day dining restaurant, specialty restaurant, lobby, lounge and café. The hotel will also offer an indoor swimming pool and a fitness space. With 1,075 sq m of meeting and event space and a 5,600 sq m parking lot, the property promises to quickly establish itself as the ideal destination for business travellers after it opens in Q2 2021.
Concluding our rundown, Hilton Garden Inn and DoubleTree Suites by Hilton will form a dual-brand property, and share a host of business facilities including a large, multi-purpose function room, eight meeting rooms and four boardrooms. Individually, the 260-room Garden Inn will feature a business centre, swimming pool and health club, as well as a restaurant and lobby lounge. The DoubleTree Suites’ serviced apartments will include options from studios to one- and two-bedroom flats. The property will also offer a business centre, health club, swimming pool, lobby lounge and two restaurants.
According to the TOPHOTELCONSTRUCTION online database, 44 hotel projects are currently in the pipeline in Riyadh:
