Saudis begin building world's largest hotel in Mecca

Currently boasting the title of largest hotel on the planet are The Venetian and The Palazzo of Las Vegas - operating as a single complex totaling 7, 117 rooms spread over 53 floors. However, everything seems to indicate that this designation is dated, because, according to Oliver Wainwright of The Guardian portal, the Saudis presented the project of building a much larger hotel in the city of Mecca.

As you know, for Muslims, Mecca - located in Saudi Arabia - is the holiest city in the world. More than 20 million people travel to the area each year, and during the Hajj period alone, about 2 million pilgrims visit this religious center.

Complex

With all this in mind, the Dar Al-Handasah group has proposed to build Abraj Kudai, a hotel that will occupy 60, 000 square meters and will have a built area of ​​1.4 million square meters. In addition, the complex will have no less than 10, 000 rooms - spread over a total of 12 towers -, 70 restaurants and 4 heliports.

According to Oliver, the project was inspired by the design of a traditional desert fortress, and the towers will be housed in a ten-story pavilion. This complex will include a convention center, mall, residential and commercial facilities, a luxurious ballroom, bus station and plenty of parking space. In addition, Abraj Kudai will be just two kilometers away from the Masjid al-Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba .

The towers will have 29 to 44 floors, and ten - out of a total of 12 - will offer 4-star category accommodation, while the rest will offer all the common amenities in luxury 5-star hotels.

In addition, the top five floors will be reserved for the exclusive use of the Saudi royal family, and Abraj Kudai will also feature a convention center. The construction of the hotel has been estimated at £ 2.3 billion (or the equivalent of about $ 11 billion), and work is expected to be completed by 2017.