Riyadh: Ritz Carlton

ancient, transplanted olive trees!

Latte with cardamom. March 2017

you say prison, I say five-star hotel

On one of my trips to Riyadh, AQ and I decided to explore the Riyadh Ritz Carlton which was legendary for its over-the-top luxury. Driving up in his "normal" car we immediately understood we were in a different league. We found non-valet parking amidst a sea of expensive cars and crept like mere ants to the main entrance. The lobby was over the top, built to impress - awash in marble, crystal, fresh cut flowers - it was dripping in luxury. We both felt tentative just walking inside and wondered if we might get shooed out for not being guests. That not being the case, we asked for the coffee shop and were shown a seat.

The lobby coffee shop was at the bottom of a large air well that actually opened up onto the sky many stories above us - in rarely rainy Riyadh, not much of a problem. We ordered our coffees (I had mine with cardamom, the spice for Arabic coffee, but put into a latte - it was heavenly) and AQ also had a delicious coffee creation (although I forget what). We took a lot of photos to memorialize the event. AQ and I laughed that our two coffees cost about $50, but we didn't care since the whole adventure was experiential, just to say we were there.

Fast forward a bit and Mohammed bin Salman, the new crown prince, had invited all his cousins to the Ritz in Riyadh for a party only to have it turn into a "royal shakedown". There are differing points of view, of course, on what ACTUALLY happened. Some saw it as a power grab by MBS to consolidate his hold on the country both economically and politically. Others saw it as an almost anti-corruption pogrom "forcing" the richest royals to cough up money and give it back to the State. More than likely, it was a bit of both. MBS told his royal family kin they were his guests at the Ritz until they returned an appropriate portion of their wealth to the crown. The last guest to leave after several months was Al Waleed bin Talal, the richest of them all. He played the long game, but in the end, he also blinked and forked over some of his holdings, so he could leave that luxury prison.

Apparently Al Waleed held a grudge, too. Once he was sprung he stopped all work on Saudi vanity project, Jeddah Tower, which was to leave Dubai's Burj Khalifa in the dust for height. After "escaping" the Ritz, Al Waleed made sure Jeddah Tower remained an incomplete skyscraper "stub" -perhaps as a reminder that for every action there is a reaction.

Ritz Carlton Riyadh, been there, done that - even before the Saudi royals! I could have tolerated imprisonment there for a month I think. I am sure the room service is better than most places! At least I liked the coffee.