During my repeated business trips to Saudi Arabia, I stayed at the ALoft hotel in Riyadh. A young and modern chainof the Starwood group, it is the little sister of W for smaller budgets.

And trendy above all! Proof is this hotel that breaks all the codes in Riyadh: serious but not pompous service, well designed and not cheapand especially a restaurant that is not a buffet! Everything to please me, then!

A look back at thisexcellent stayin a hotel which is now my base in Riyadh.

As usual, I booked on the SPG website. The proposed rate, aroundSAR 400, is very reasonable for the city of Riyadh. Before my arrival, I ask my SPG ambassador to book a car from the airport. The latter replies that the service is not offered by the hotel. I will contact them directly to see if this is possible. I was given a positive answer and I booked a car for SAR 125 from the airport to the property.

I arrive shortly after 8pm at the hotel. When I arrived, the receptionist called the hotel manager who came to welcome me. Contrary to what was indicated in the app, the hotel immediately finds me an upgrade to a suite. The check-in process was quite quick and I wasn’t even asked for my credit card.

The hotel manager accompanies me to the elevator and then to my suite and shows me the different features.

For the moment, the stay starts very well.

The suite is located on the third floor of the hotel. Of course the view is not great, but I’m not here for that. I will spend only a very small part of my evenings in this suite.

The entrance leads directly to the lounge area. Equipped with a dining table and a sofa,this space is also very pleasant for working. It leads to the bedroom with a king size bed and a desk.

From this room is accessiblethe small but functional bathroom.

The whole place isreally nice and really contrasts with the other hotels in the city.

However, temperature control is a problem. It is either too cold or too hot.

To finish, a visit in video:

The facilities of the hotel are really of very good quality.

In the style of the chain, the lobby is very well decorated with an exotic touch that is not unpleasant. The colors are very modern and the combination of light green day gives a lot of modernity.

As always in the Middle East, the space is always sparse.

A bar offers non-alcoholic drinks and snacks of good quality, and has a pool table to develop conviviality.

Some computers that allow you to work or print your boarding pass for example.

The hotel also has a spa and pool located on the top floor of the property.

The spa is very pleasant and includes a sauna and a hammam.

The pool allows you to swim laps outside on the property’s roof.

The gym, located on the same floor, offers a view of the city that is not unpleasant while performing these few exercises. The machines are of the latest generation.

The restaurant is one of thestrong points of the hotel.

If the breakfast service offers a buffet of excellent quality, the lunch and dinner services offer anà la carte service very satisfactory quality, far superior to other properties in the city. The service is very polite and I must admit that I was often the only customer in this restaurant.

The cuisine is of very good quality, but it is a bit easy when you have the chef all to yourself, and the quantities are astronomical. To tell you the truth, I’m eat rather a lot, and I’ve never managed to finish my plate.

The departure formalities werefairly quick, and the slight problem related to the points credit was resolved fairly quickly.

I booked an Uber directly to the airport and it was waiting for me at the entrance when I checked out.

This hotel is for the moment my most beautiful discovery in Riyadh. It has become my home base and I must say that this choice is largely justified on the one hand by the quality of the services offered by the property and on the other hand by the level of the service.