RIYADH: People will have to fork over more cash to break their fasts at special iftar buffets at area hotels this Ramadan.
Waleed Haidar, assistant sales and marketing manager at the Sheraton Hotel in Riyadh, said their iftar buffet will be offered at SR155 this year, a 15 percent increase over last year’s SR135.
“We can’t close our eyes to the global increase in food prices,” he said.
Indeed, all food prices have gone up by around 30 percent in 2008 due to food shortages, high fuel prices and a weak US currency to which the Saudi riyal is pegged.
Area businesses that serve food reap annual windfalls during the Ramadan season as Saudis set out to break their daily fasts, which can include picking up food and taking it home or going out to eat. Hotels offer traditional foods in their dining halls.
“We rely on Ramadan as a dynamic season to compensate for any slump in profits during the rest of the year,” said Haidar.
Khalid Al-Edresi, marketing manager at Riyadh’s Alfaysalia Rosewood Hotel, said prices will go up for special dinners by as much as 50 percent. Alfaysalia Rosewood offers entertainment in its fast breaking offer, which adds to the price. The hotel also recently renovated its Prince Sultan Grand Hall, which can seat 2,800 people in an enormous column-free hall.
“Iftar and suhoor meals will start at SR275, plus service charges,” he said. “This is an entirely new concept in Riyadh and the whole Saudi Arabia, because it’s totally different from what guests normally expect during Ramadan,” he said.
Like the Alfaysalia Rosewood, many of Riyadh’s boutique and international hotels are pulling out all of the stops to offer attractive venues for Ramadan fast-breakings. Consider this part of the Kingdom’s overall strategy to promote Saudi domestic tourism.
Riyadh’s Mariott Hotel, for example, flew in Syrian set designers to decorate their dining hall to resemble a scene from the popular Ramadan soap “Bab El Hara,” a historical series that takes place in an old neighborhood in Damascus during the early 20th century French occupation.
The hall will include an indoor children’s playground and there will be activities to keep the little ones preoccupied as the adults chat after their meals and prayers.
“The venue will represent an authentic Middle East, just as it’s seen in the series,” said Saleem Khan, Marriott’s spokesperson in Riyadh.
Khaldoun Hayajneh, Marriot's general manager, said that while the price for their Ramadan program will also increase this year, they will be offering special packages for stays in the hotel. “We want more and more guests to visit us and enjoy Ramadan in the glory of ‘Bab El Hara,’” he said.
