Choosing a hotel near the Haram for Hajj

The short answer. We will not hand you a list of hotel names, because they change and a stale list is worse than none. Judge a building on six things: the walk in minutes at night, the lifts, food on site, how quiet the room is, which gate the route reaches, and whether you stay there the whole time. And remember the hotel is the second decision; the Mina camp is the first.

The question "which is the best hotel" has no answer without knowing who is travelling. What there is instead is a way to judge any building you are offered.

The distance question specifically, and why maps mislead in Hajj season, is in how far are Hajj hotels from Masjid al-Haram.

The six things to judge a building on

1. The walk, in minutes, at night, in season. Not the map. Ask the organiser for minutes and ask what the route is like when the crowds are at their heaviest.

2. The lifts. In a tall building full of pilgrims, the lift queue at prayer times is a real part of your day. Ask how many lifts and how high the building is. This matters more than the room's furniture.

3. Food on site. During Hajj you will be tired at odd hours. A building with food available saves a walk you will not want to make.

4. How quiet the room is. Sleep is the resource in shortest supply. Ask whether rooms face the road, and whether the hotel is used by very large groups.

5. Which gate the route reaches. The Haram is enormous. A hotel close on the map but reaching a gate far from where you pray adds a walk around the perimeter each time.

6. Whether you stay the whole time. Some packages move you partway through. Not wrong, but it should not be a surprise.

Why the hotel is the second decision

Because during Hajj you spend the hardest days in Mina, not in the hotel, and the camp's position decides the walk to the Jamarat, repeated, in heat.

A family that buys a famous building and takes the cheapest camp category has spent the budget in the wrong place. If the money forces a choice, take the camp. Mina camps during Hajj.

What a star rating does not tell you

Nothing about any of the six above, and nothing at all about Mina. A four star you can reach quickly beats a five star you cannot. Five star Hajj packages.

For an older pilgrim

The six become five, and one of them matters most: the walk. After that, the lifts and how far the room is from them.

Tell the organiser about mobility before the package is chosen. Afterwards nothing about the hotel can be changed. Hajj for elderly pilgrims.

Madinah is a different question

Easier, flatter, cheaper to be close in. Judge it on the gate and the number of nights rather than the rating. Hotels in Madinah for Hajj pilgrims.

What to ask, in one message

• What is the hotel called, in each city?
• How many minutes to the Haram, at night, in season?
• Which gate does the route reach?
• How many lifts, and how tall is the building?
• Is food available on site, and at which hours?
• How many share the room at this price?
• Is it the same hotel for the whole stay?

Ask us for the names

We name the hotels on each departure rather than describing them, on the Hajj packages page. Send us your dates and who is travelling and we will tell you the building, the walk, and whether we would put your family somewhere else.