WEB DESK: If all goes according to plan, by 2017 Makkah will be home to the largest hotel in the world with 10,000 rooms!

According to reports, the Abraj Kudai hotel, which is the labour of love and a lot of finance – around $3.5 billion of funds are in play – should be ready for visitors in 2017.

Said to be the largest hotel in the world, the project is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance and is being designed by the Dar Al-Handasah group. It will be located in the Manafia area of Makkah’s central zone, which is about 2km from the Holy Haram in Mecca.

Tourists will be offered an unprecedented level of luxury, with more than 70 restaurants, across 48 storeys, 12 towers (which will vary between 30 and 48 storeys) and there are plans of four helipads on the roof as well.

The hotel expects a lot of royal visits, so it’s being planned in such a manner that entire floors of the 1.4 million sq. m complex could be reserved for royal families. There will also be a convention center built inside the hotel compound.

The hotel’s podium will accommodate a bus station, shopping mall, restaurants, food courts, conference center and car parks. A dome located on top of two mid towers will house a ballroom and the convention center.

Not only will the Abraj Kudai boast of the most number of hotel rooms, but also house one of the world’s largest domes atop its tallest tower.

Due to its unparalleled size, height as well as location, exposure and architectural style, the building poses itself as a striking landmark with a profoundly modern multifunctional identity relating to both the Saudi locality and the Islamic universality of its expected users.

So far, the hotel is supposed to be functional by 2017, but according to a Forbes report, financial experts believe the construction could be delayed to 2018 as well. Nevertheless, the mammoth hotel has already left behind Malaysia’s First World Hotel (with 7,351 rooms) to become the largest hotel in the world by room count.

With inputs from Forbes

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