The experience was fantastic! The staff were friendly and approachable. My only issues were that we were not told about the prayer room, for example. Or, how to access the mall or how to get a taxi. I feel that if this was communicated to us proactively, we could have made the most of our stay! We also had an issue with them not sending someone to collect our luggage, meaning we missed our train and had to find an alternative way to get to our destination on time.
Extremely Disappointing Stay at Swissôtel Al Maqam Makkah (Oct 27–30, 2025)
We had our reservation at Swissôtel Al Maqam Makkah through Trip.com, and our overall experience was very disappointing and far below the standards expected from a five-star hotel.
At check-in, the front desk took more than 30 minutes to provide our room keys. Staff kept going back and forth to the back office without explanation. When we finally received our keys and went to the room, the keys did not work.
A cleaning staff member nearby tried to help but informed us he was not authorized to open guest rooms. He attempted to use his master key, but it also didn’t work. We had specifically booked a Kaaba-view room so we could pray from our room, but because of this delay, we missed our Asar prayer .
A few minutes later, a female management staff member came out of the same room while it was locked from the inside. She explained that she was inspecting the room and that it was not supposed to be assigned to guests due to a broken fridge cabinet door.
I asked why the front desk had given us keys to a room that was not ready or suitable for guests. We were then told that no other Kaaba-view rooms were available at that time. This conversation took so long that I also missed my Maghrib prayer.
To compensate, the management offered us three nights of complimentary dinner; however, we do not eat dinner, and our breakfasts were already included in the room rate that we paid for. I specifically requested a refund or adjustment to the room rate instead of meals, but they refused, which was completely unreasonable given the circumstances.
On our last day, the management spent a considerable amount of time trying to persuade me not to leave a review, which delayed our checkout. Because of this, we missed our flight and had to purchase another ticket.
I have photos taken at the time, with GPS date and time stamps, showing the staff involved. Management threatened me to delete the photos, claiming it was against regulations, so I have blurred faces for privacy.
This experience was unacceptable for a hotel of this category. Rather than offering dinners we couldn’t use, the hotel should have provided a partial refund or proper compensation for the inconvenience, sleepless nights, and spiritual disturbance we experienced.
Based on this, I do not recommend Swissôtel Al Maqam Makkah, especially for those looking for comfort, honesty, and peace of mind during their stay in Makkah.