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International

Riyadh Ritz to reopen to public as corruption purge winds down

16:05, Tuesday, 16 January, 2018
Riyadh Ritz to reopen to public as corruption purge winds down

The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which was converted into a luxury detention centre during the corruption purge late last year, has resumed taking guest bookings, in the latest signal that the crackdown is winding down.

Reservations can be made at the five-star complex from the middle of February, with a double room advertised on its online booking service for a nightly rate of 2,489 riyals, about $663. The royal suite is available for 25,000 riyal.

“We have information that the hotel is reopening,” an employee at Ritz-Carlton’s call centre said when contacted by the FT. “Book online and we will get back to you if there’s any issue.”

Online reservations had resumed since the purge began in early November, only for bookings to be cancelled as the corruption probe was extended.

A spokesperson for Marriott International, which owns the Ritz-Carlton brand, declined to comment on whether the complex had reopened permanently, saying it continued to operate “under the directive of local authorities and not as a traditional hotel for the time being”.

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