InterContinental Dar Al Tawhid

Dar Al-Tawhid Intercontinental Hotel

I decided on staying at this hotel after looking at its location in Google Earth and reading reviews on this site. It is on the west-side of Haram, across from Gate Malik (King) Fahad.

There are numerous advantages in staying here... as soon as you step out of the hotel, you are literally on the marbled courtyard around Haram; another 200 feet and you're in the mosque. This was an important feature for me as my mom has arthritis and can't walk too far in one go.

The part of the mosque you enter is the newly-built section. One fact that I must mention here is that although the "entrance" is very close to the Intercontinental (and also the Hilton), this is the new part of the mosque and the walk once inside to the open center of Haram is still quite long. However, it is air-conditioned and you are inside so you can sit to take breaks /pray if you have older people with you.

Viewing of Kaaba from the hotel room is only possible if you’re above the 17th floor and on the Haram-facing side of the hotel. I couldn’t get such a room even though we were on a higher floor on the other side.

When I went to Makkah last, I was a kid and my parents couldn’t afford a decent hotel. That was not a pleasant memory, and so this time I made sure that I house my parents at a nice place so they can relax comfortably and go to pray easily. The hotel is a five-star hotel with excellent service. It is expensive ($200+ /night in low season) but it is well worth it. The staff was superb and the rooms very nice. We were given a kind of a suite - enter into a private lobby and from there we had two rooms. The rooms were big and very plush with French colonial design. The hotel offers a delicious breakfast buffet, and if your room rate includes it (ours did), I suggest you avail it. Good food from all over the world. Get all charged up and then head out for an Umrah.

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Unique Quality: The hotel is next to the Hilton, which also houses a shopping mall and a food court. (One note: I highly recommend trying out Al-Baik Chicken. I ate it in Madina the day we were leaving and was sorry I didn’t have it sooner.) In between Hilton and Intercontinental, near the shawarma eatries, you will also conveniently find the bus terminal for going to Madina and Jeddah. I recommend the government buses as they leave (relatively) on time. Most private ones will make you wait in the bus and won’t leave until they fill it up. Or you could charter a cab/car. We used the Govt. bus and it was just fine.

All in all, we were all very happy with the hotel. I wanted our trip to be perfect and memorable and this hotel was great to come back to for recuperation. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. I am planning on taking my parents and my kid next year and would love to stay here everytime. You can't go wrong with this hotel.

I hope this review helps you in making a decision.

• Opinion of Price: most expensive
• Related to: Family Travel, Seniors, Religious Travel

InterContinental Dar Al Tawhid Photo: From halfway between Hotel and Haram Gate

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