Saudi ‘prison’ for princes gets 4½-star rating on TripAdvisor
Saudi prisoners have a suite life.
Over the weekend, more than 30 senior Saudi officials and royal family members were arrested in what was portrayed as an anti-corruption crackdown — and their prison cells are nicer than anything the majority of the world will ever experience.
The political prisoners — among them 11 princes and a billionaire investor — have been detained inside the walls of Saudi Arabia’s lavish five-star Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, where a “royal suite” runs $5,332 a night.
Hotel guests were woken up at 11 p.m. Saturday and asked to report to the lobby with their bags, according to the Guardian. They were then bused to other hotels while dozens of political prisoners moved in.
But before it was turned into a posh detention center, the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, which opened in 2011, racked up a 4½-star rating on TripAdvisor. The travel company also recently awarded the ritzy hotel a certificate of excellence.
The five-star palace boasts 493 guest rooms, including 49 two-bedroom royal suites and 50 one-bedroom executive suites, an all-male spa, cigar lounge and bowling alley. Its 62,000 square feet of event space is rented out for weddings and conferences for the world’s elite. It also features two five-star restaurants, a late-night dessert shop and a spot for afternoon tea.
“My vision for the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh is to [be recognized as a] world-class luxury hotel not just in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region, but globally,” the hotel’s general manager, Gerrit Graef, said in an interview in 2016.
A video obtained by the New York Times shows the hotel’s Ballroom B filled with people lying on mattresses as armed guards stand in the background. Non-royal prisoners reportedly are being kept together in one room and sleeping on mattresses, according to the Intercept.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the arrests as he embarks on an ambitious effort to overhaul and diversify the oil-dependent kingdom. The sweep was depicted as part of an anti-corruption effort, but the prince’s power play also served to sideline potential rivals and critics.
Saudi Arabia is ruled by multiple branches of the royal family, all of whom are descended from the kingdom’s founding ruler, Abdulaziz al-Saud (Ibn Saud). The kingdom depends on tribal loyalty, and the royals would take it personally if one of their own was placed in a common jail cell — regardless of charges or accusations.
“He couldn’t have put them in the jail,” a senior official told the Guardian, referring to the crown prince’s decision. “So this was the most dignified solution he could find.”
The hotel hasn’t addressed the presence of imprisoned guests, but a message on its website says its internet and telephone lines are currently disconnected due to “unforeseen circumstances.”