For the next portion ofmy long journey to Abu Dhabi,I had a roughly nine hour layover at Jeddah Airport (JED). After the complicated transfer from the Hajj Terminal to Terminal 1, I spent a six hour block of time...

For the next portion of my long journey to Abu Dhabi, I had a roughly nine hour layover at Jeddah Airport (JED). After the complicated transfer from the Hajj Terminal to Terminal 1, I spent a six hour block of time in the 120-room Aerotel Jeddah Airport, which is the airside transit hotel in Terminal 1.

When I have a long layover and am looking for rest, I hugely value airside transit hotels, as it’s so convenient to get some “real” sleep while being steps from your gate.

For the most part, I have great experiences with the major airside transit hotel chains, whether it’s Aerotel or Yotel. However, I have to say that the Aerotel Jeddah Airport is probably the least impressive “property” that I’ve stayed at, between the unfriendly service, no Wi-Fi in rooms, and the lack of attention to detail with upkeep and design.

Booking the Aerotel Jeddah Airport

The Aerotel Jeddah Airport can be booked for a minimum of a six hour block, but you can book a much longer stay than that, if you’d like (though if you have a really long layover, it might be preferable to go into the city, assuming you can get a visa).

I booked a six hour block at the Aerotel from 7PM until 1AM, at the cost of 417 SAR all-in (~$111).

Aerotel Jeddah Airport location

The Aerotel Jeddah Airport is located airside within the airport’s impressive Terminal 1, which I’ve written about separately. Note that the hotel is located airside, so you can only stay here if you have an outbound boarding pass.

Since I had to transfer from the Hajj Terminal to Terminal 1, I only ended up booking the hotel after I was able to check-in online for my flight departing Jeddah, to avoid a situation where I wouldn’t be able to access my room.

The Aerotel Jeddah Airport is located in the central duty free shopping and dining area of Terminal 1. Essentially each of the three “wings” of the terminal leads in this direction. So if you’re originating in Jeddah, just walk down the main concourse walkway until the terminal widens.

Jeddah Airport Terminal 1 Jeddah Airport Terminal 1

Once you find yourself in the circular central part of the terminal, just look for the entrance to the Aerotel on the ground floor.

Jeddah Airport Terminal 1 Aerotel Jeddah Airport Terminal 1

Aerotel Jeddah Airport lobby & check-in

The Aerotel Jeddah Airport has a fairly modest lobby, with the reception desk straight ahead, and then a sitting area on each side.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport lobby

I’m not sure if the lady working the check-in desk just didn’t speak English, was rude, or both. During the entire (extended) check-in process, I don’t think she said a single complete phrase to me, but rather she just barked things at me, like “card,” “sign,” etc. Not exactly a great first impression…

Eventually she handed me a key to room 222, with no explanation for how to get there.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport guest room

While the Aerotel Jeddah Airport has rooms on three floors, my room was located on the same floor as reception, so I didn’t have to take the elevators.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport elevators

There’s a lot wrong with the signage at this hotel, and I just don’t get it. For example, past reception, I eventually found a sign indicating that rooms 219-236 were straight ahead. Great, that’s where I need to go!

Aerotel Jeddah Airport signage

But then I kept walking around the restaurant area, and didn’t see any additional signs. When the guy working in the restaurant noticed I was confused, he told me that the unmarked door at the side of the room was where the guest rooms were located. You’d think this would be a bit more obvious, no?

Aerotel Jeddah Airport door

By the way, let’s look at that same door in the other direction, going from the guest room corridor back into the restaurant and reception area. As you can see above, the signage clearly says that this is the door you should use for that.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport signage

But then you get to the door, and it doesn’t have a handle (and yes, you need to pull the door, and not push it). Huh?

Aerotel Jeddah Airport door Aerotel Jeddah Airport door handle missing

Does nobody else notice this, does no one care, or…?

Anyway, my room was located just down the hallway to the left.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport hallway Aerotel Jeddah Airport room exterior

I had booked a superior double room, marketed as being 28 square meters (~300 square feet). The room had an entryway with the bathroom to the left and the rest of the room straight ahead.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport room

The room had all the basics, including a fairly comfortable bed, a chair with a table, a desk (which lacked an extra chair) and a wall-mounted TV.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport room Aerotel Jeddah Airport room Aerotel Jeddah Airport room Aerotel Jeddah Airport room

The hotel doesn’t have any windows or exterior light, which is fair enough, given that it’s inside a terminal. In many ways it’s even a positive, since it makes it easier to get some sleep during the day.

The bathroom was back near the entrance, and featured a sink, a toilet, and a pretty basic walk-in shower.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport bathroom Aerotel Jeddah Airport toilet Aerotel Jeddah Airport shower

Toiletries were from Dove, and were in reusable containers.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport toiletries

While the room looks decent enough, I can’t help but point out the complete lack of attention to detail with just about everything:

As it turns out, the Aerotel Jeddah Airport only has Wi-Fi in the public restaurant area, and not in guest rooms, which I find to be ridiculous; I’m not sure if that’s the hotel’s choice, or some moral decision by Saudi Arabia, or something I can’t say I’m surprised, but the construction quality in the room felt poor across the board There were several other issues with the room, including the lamp next to the bed not working, and the soap dispenser being empty The sound insulation in the rooms is awful, as I could hear every word of the phone calls being made by the person in the room next to me

So while I do like airside transit hotels, this is the least impressive one I’ve stayed at.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport restaurant

The Aerotel Jeddah Airport has a restaurant, known as the lobby lounge. I didn’t eat anything here, but this area has plenty of seating, and also has a la carte food throughout the day, and buffets over select hours.

Aerotel Jeddah Airport lobby lounge Aerotel Jeddah Airport lobby lounge Aerotel Jeddah Airport lobby lounge

Bottom line

There’s huge convenience to airside transit hotels, as it’s so nice to be able to escape the main part of the terminal and get some proper rest. So if I have a long layover somewhere and am looking to sleep, I always appreciate this concept.

However, the Aerotel Jeddah Airport is the weakest transit hotel experience I’ve had, from the unfriendly person working at reception, to the confusing signage, to the lack of Wi-Fi in rooms, to the lack of attention to detail with servicing rooms (lamps broken, no soap, etc.).

What’s your take on the Aerotel Jeddah Airport?

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