Saudi Arabia is building world’s largest hotel in Mecca

Rendering of Abraj Kudai in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Rendering of Abraj Kudai in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The world’s largest hotel is under construction in Mecca, and when the Saudi Arabian resort opens, it will have more rooms and restaurants than some entire towns.

The finance ministry of Saudi Arabia owns the 12-tower hotel complex development, called Abraj Kudai, which will cost $3.5 billion to complete.

It will house more than 70 restaurants and 10,000 rooms, making Abraj Kudai the largest hotel in the world by room count. But not every room will be available to the public.

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Whole floors of the 1.4 million-square-meter hotel complex are dedicated to guests who are members of the Saudi royal family. Some sections of the roof are designed with helipads.

In keeping with the bigger-is-better design theme, one of the world’s largest domes would sit atop the tallest tower at Abraj Kudai, and a major convention center would be located inside, not alongside, the sprawling hotel.

Travelers may have to wait a couple more years to stay at Abraj Kudai. Economic problems in Saudi Arabia could delay the opening of the mega-hotel from 2017, as scheduled, to 2018. [Travel and Leisure] — Mike Seemuth