Ritz-Carlton Riyadh to Reopen After Reportedly Serving as Temporary Prison for Saudi Crackdown

The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh will reopen to the general public in February after three months of serving as a temporary detention center for royals, officials, and businessmen caught up in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s anti-corruption crackdown.

A Ritz-Carlton employee told Reuters on Monday that bookings by the public would once again be accepted beginning February 14. The same availability date is now provided by the hotel website.

On the other hand, a spokesman for the hotel’s owner, the Mariott Group, stated that the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh is still “operating under the directive of local authorities and not as a traditional hotel for the time being,” and would not provide a firm reopening date.

A call center employee told the Associated Press that, while bookings would be available from February 14 onward, “local authorities might extend the hotel lockout for security reasons,” and the hotel is not liable for cancellations. It remains impossible to contact the hotel directly, as the phone lines were cut when Saudi authorities commandeered the property on November 5.

Talk of the hotel reopening has been taken as a sign the Saudi anti-corruption investigation is winding down. The Ritz-Carlton may be expensive to book, with rooms listing for about $650 a night, but it can be even more expensive to check out of. The detainees have been signing huge settlements transferring cash and assets to the government in exchange for their freedom.

At least one of those settlements, paid by Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, reportedly topped one billion dollars, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s might be comparable, assuming an agreement can be reached. Prince Alwaleed’s case is proving to be one of the most difficult to resolve, given the vast size of his international business holdings. The total value of all settlements is said to approach $100 billion.

Australia’s News.com reports that about 60 people are still believed to be incarcerated from the anti-corruption purge, with some of them relocated from the Ritz-Carlton to more formal detention areas, Alwaleed among them. Arabian Business quotes Saudi media reports that a large portion of the remaining detainees were released from the hotel over the past few days.