Hotel berhampiran Village Art Fun Balloon, Khamis Mushait

This is a relatively new hotel. The staff are friendly and helpful. The rooms are spacious with en suite bathroom with shower. Comfortable beds. All very clean. Three annoyances though. The hotel has a machine that squirts an acrid cheap smelling perfume on all the floors. It smells awful and synthetic. Plus it gave me a headache and sore throat. The manager contacted the owner to see if he was allowed to turn t off, but no!! The electronic key card entry to the rooms is very unreliable. I was part of a group of 4 and all of us had card issues during our stay. Its a tedious long walk back to reception.

I was unsure what to expect with citadines, I’ve had varied experiences in several countries over several decades. However, this was a very new and modern hotel. Check in was swift, though the concierge who took our bags was nowhere to be seen. We were given a room on a high floor. It was their standard studio room, so no upgrade, would have loved more space but it was really well appointed and incredibly clean. We didn’t have any breakfast included nor even used or found the restaurant during our stay, we opted for deliveries and even cooked on the small stove since there were plenty of utensils and pans. The fridge was a problem, it was small and didn’t keep things cold. The huge benefit of staying here was they have a lovely jacuzzi and pool open until late. We came back one evening and I was sure it would be closed. The lovely staff member just said no problem, it’s open, enjoy. The water was really warm in the jacuzzi, less so in the pool but it was still heated. It was relaxing against the cool air of Abha and a really nice place to hang out and catch up with people. We ended up talking with some Saudi guys for a few hours and had a lovely relaxed evening. There is also a Sauna and a gym. This impressed me a lot about the hotel. No funny 7pm closing times I’ve seen in other hotels, just genuine hospitality in a very well appointed, clean and comfortable hotel. I don’t think there’s anywhere better to stay in Abha.