Each year, more than 15 million Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. It makes sense that the city will be home to what is planned to be the largest hotel in the world.
According to Architectural Digest, the Abraj Kudai hotel is designed by consulting firm Dar Al-Handasah. With 10,000 rooms, the hotel will far surpass the current title of world’s largest hotel by room count—the 6,198-room MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
A budget of $3.5 billion is expected to complete the hotel in the Manafia area of Mecca’s central zone, less than two miles from the Masjid al-Haram, Mecca’s holy mosque.
In addition to guest rooms, the 645,830-sf, 12-tower complex will include a shopping center, restaurants, helipads, and a convention center.
Rapid development in Mecca has raised concerns about historical preservation. For example, an Ottoman citadel from the 18th century was demolished to make room for the behemoth Abraj Al Bait Towers, a government-owned megatall building complex.
The Abraj Kudai is scheduled to open in 2017.
Related Stories
Hotel Facilities | Jun 20, 2018
Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Morpheus Hotel includes world’s first free-form high-rise exoskeleton
The hotel provides 147, 860 sm of space across 42 floors.
Hotel Facilities | May 4, 2018
Retro hotel is inspired by Spaghetti Westerns
There’s two types of people in this world: those who like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and those who are wrong.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 27, 2018
Hotel Zachary opens next to Chicago’s Wrigley Field
Stantec Architecture and Studio K Creative designed the project.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 25, 2018
15-story Cambria Hotel opens in Philadelphia
DAS Architects designed the project.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 13, 2018
BIG’s Audemars Piguet hotel des Horlogers allows guests to ski down the roof
The 75,000-sf hotel is currently under construction.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 3, 2018
Downtown Seattle receives new flagship Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square
The hotel brings 282 suites to Seattle’s oldest neighborhood.
Hotel Facilities | Jan 24, 2018
U.S. hotel markets with the largest construction pipelines
Dallas, Houston, and New York lead the way, with more than 460 hotel projects in the works.
Market Data | Dec 13, 2017
Top world regions and markets in the global hotel construction pipeline
The top world region by project count is North America.
Hotel Facilities | Nov 10, 2017
The hotel of the future has just the right amount of tech
CallisonRTKL’s recent survey helps shed some light on how the hotel of the future might strike a balance between tech and the human touch.
