Riyadh's five star Ritz-Carlton hotel, which recently housed US President Donald Trump, is currently being used to accommodate detained Saudi princes, according to reports in The New York Times.
The group reportedly includes military officials and government ministers and 11 princes, among them Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, whose net worth is estimated to be US$17bn, according to Bloomberg.
A Marriott International spokesperson told Hotelier Middle East: “As a matter of guest privacy, we do not discuss the guests or groups with whom we do business or who may be visitors of the hotel.”
The hotel features 493 rooms and suites, is prominently situated next to the Diplomatic Quarter and adjacent to the King Abdul Aziz Convention Centre. Highlights include 49 two-bedroom Royal Suites, each measuring more than 425m2 and 50 one-bedroom Executive Suites at 95m2.
According to The New York Times, the hotel was converted over the weekend into "almost certainly the world’s most luxurious prison". The newspaper also recently published a video that shows people lying on mats covered with brightly coloured blankets in what seems to be one of the hotel's ballrooms.
The Guardian reported that paying guests at the hotel were told late on Saturday evening that they should assemble in the lobby with their luggage, before being transported to other hotels in the Saudi capital.
The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh website shows zero availability for hotel bookings this month.
The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh opened on October 24, 2011 and was Saudi Arabia’s first Ritz-Carlton branded property.
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