The hotel industry in Saudi Arabia is still learning to cater to foreign tourists, and this shows in many ways (one of the most obvious being the lack of a dining room in most hotels). This hotel is one of the better ones I stayed in during a Saudi tour. The setting if quite attractive, in an open desert area with a mountainous backdrop. Unusually for a Saudi hotel, the Shaden Resort is laid out in a series of quite dispersed units, vaguely disguised as traditional tents. They are fairly comfortable, although I and others in my group had difficulty getting the room keys to work. The restaurant food, as so often in Saudi Arabia, is somewhat monotonous and unimaginative. This is a pleasant property with a lot of potential.

This hotel has a management problem Al Ula is a magical destination that is well worth a visit. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the most memorable places we have visited However the Schaden Resort lacks decent management. The pool area is poorly maintained, and no service is available for refreshments The quality of food at breakfast and lunch falls well below the standard one expects from a resort of this price The bedroom is poorly maintained. The bedroom door does not unlock without getting staff help - staff are difficult to find. The shower does not work. It seems impossible to get help from staff. For reasons I am not clear, the restaurant is a long hike away from the bedrooms, and no transport is available. The hedge bordering our terrace has not been trimmed and so does no do the job that was intended This hotel is managed by Acor who should urgently investigate the management they have on site. It is in a good position but does not justify its price level

Al Ula is a fabulous area, until recently inaccessible to most foreigners. Now the Saudi government has decided to embrace international tourism and are focussing a lot of investment in this area. We were visiting on a small Silversea expedition ship. Obviously we did not sail to Al Ula as the ‘desert is an ocean in which no oar is dipped.’ We berthed in Jeddah and flew up to Al Ula on a chartered jet. We were originally booked into the Habitas resort but at the last moment a member of the Saudi royal family decided he wanted to stay at Habitas so we were all kicked out and transferred to the Shaden Resort. Any hotel here will take maximum advantage of the setting and the Shaden is no exception. The pool and garden area is magnificent. What matters is the management, the quality, the service and the food and I have to say the Shaden seemed a little cheap and under-achieving. Standard rooms are like motels anywhere with cost-cutting amenities and, it seems, twin beds. Our overhead shower didn’t work. Service levels were fairly low and judging from one breakfast and one lunch the food needs major improvement. There are far better options and many more to come.

I was mistakenly charged twice by the hotel. The manager immediately said I would be reimbursed. 4 months later and despite numerous emails, I was not reimbursed. Very dismayed by this, given the high price and the ambitions of the hotel.

Enjoyed 3 nights at the Shaden Resort. The location is perfect, surrounded by huge rocks outcroppings. The morning and evening buffets were outstanding! I'm primarily vegetarian, husband total fish and meat eater but we both found loads to choose from. Transportation from the resort to Winter Park for visits to all the historic sites was very convenient. Special shout-out to the women in the reception area, they were always helpful and the refreshments that greeted us after some long days were greatly appreciated.

Shaden Resort AlUla Bad Experience 825728666 The Resort itself is in a superb location and the Staff at the reception are great and welcoming. However, the hotel is ran by Egyptians who know nothing about customer service or attending to the needs of the guests that came to experience 5 star service. The are rude, arrogant and continuously practicing ‘up selling’ without first sharing the prices of the service being provided. I had a very bad experience with them when they told me that we can sit you outside after dinner and light a fire for the cost of SAR 115. Then came the “up selling” where they started to offer you tea, coffee, some cakes and nuts which they said are included in the price of the fire. In actual fact you will end up paying a lot more than SAR115 because, although they claimed it included in the price of the fire, they still charged for them claiming that I requested the package, when I only asked for the fire. They claimed it’s a package and not included in the cost of the fire, however, when I asked them the breakdown the cost of each item that we were served, the sum of the individual cost was half that of the package; that’s when they were found out.

Location is within a canyon with rooms/villas scattered up three smaller canyons. Because of distances involved golf buggies are used to transport people although it is more than possible to walk to the restaurant or reception. Rooms vary but mine was of Bedouin design. It was large and comfortable. TV did not appear to have any English speaking channels but fast WiFi enabled one to keep abreast of any developments at home or abroad. Food was excellent. Breakfast buffet had more than anyone might ask. Dinner varied. One night it was kebabs and chicken grilled on the barbecue. This was accompanied by a huge made to order pasta station. Of course a wide variety of salads were available as were desserts. A very enjoyable stay close to the various sights in the vicinity