The Pullman Zamzam Madina is probably the best value hotel in Medina. While other hotels were charging $400+ per night for standard rooms, the Pullman had rates of just $200 for standard rooms and $450 for a 914 sqft 2-Bedroom Executive Suite.
Since I was an Accor Le Club Silver member at the time of check-in, they upgraded our second room to a 2-Bedroom Executive Suite. I found this odd and surprising, since the guys checking us in couldn’t have been less bored with their jobs and didn’t so much as greet us.
They kept showing each other Youtube clips and disappearing behind a door before someone else wordlessly took over. It was like going to Walmart: Six people at the desk but only two of them were working.
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Even at check-out, the guy seemed to be really forcing himself to ask (in perfectly good English, I might add), “Did you…uh…did you all…have a good time?…Yes?…Will you be back?” It was like he really didn’t want to ask but was trying to painstakingly meet the last of his minimum word requirement for the day. It was tough to reconcile this level of service with a room upgrade, but I guess that’s par for the course in this corner of the world.
2-Bedroom Executive Suite at Pullman ZamZam Madina
The 2-bedroom Executive Suite was displayed as open and airy on the Pullman Madina website, with large floor-to-ceiling windows. In reality, the windows were tiny and the rooms lacked natural light.
The 2-bedroom Executive Suite featured a living room, kitchenette, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The kitchenette had no utensils, plates, or anything else in the kitchenette…which defeated the purpose of having a kitchenette in the first place.
Next to the entry was a bathroom with a shower and toilet. The bathroom was well-stocked with plenty of towels and C.O. Bigelow amenities.
My pet peeve was the half-glass shower door, which was completely ineffective in preventing the entire bathroom from flooding after a shower. There was also quite a bit of wear and tear on the tiles – like they hadn’t been cleaned properly over the years.
The master bedroom was massive and consisted of a King bed, a small seating area with two chairs, a desk, and a large closet.
The master bathroom was the same as the one by the entry.
The second bedroom featured two Twin beds and massive closet unit.
Both bedrooms had flatscreen TV’s, USB cables by the desk area, and the smallest windows ever. The foam pillows felt like lumpy rocks in pillowcases, though the mattress was comfortable.
Wifi at Pullman Madina
To say the wifi at Pullman Madina was limited would be an understatement. When I tried to connect, I got a message stating each guest was entitled to just 1 MB of wifi.
I had no idea how much web usage 1 MB would get me, but it was slow and ran out fairly quickly. I was pretty grateful for my T-Mobile unlimited data plan, which helped tide me over.
Breakfast at Pullman Madina
Breakfast at Pullman Madina was served at the Acacia restaurant. Most guests didn’t realize the restaurant had two floors until the staff instructed them to go up when they ran out of seating.
Being on the top floor guaranteed better views as well as fewer crowds.
The breakfast buffet was extensive, but the quality wasn’t up to the level of the Conrad Makkah breakfast buffet at Al Mearaj. For starters, they served that artificial egg mix, which was watery and terrible all around.
The baked beans were undercooked (or underbaked) and a lot of the selection was always cold. They did have an omelet and crepe station but most of the time there was one guy stressfully manning both.
As a result, he often burnt the omelettes…to a point where the fire alarm went off twice on the same day. That said, the restaurant did have great views of The Prophet’s Mosque.
Service at the Pullman Madina
The service at the Pullman Madina was excruciatingly slow all around. At one point we went to the restaurant in the lobby to order some coffee and tea. It took nearly 15 minutes before our waiter took our order. He wasn’t particularly busy either – there were just two other tables occupied.
Getting the check was another Waiting for Gadot moment. Coffee at this hotel cost something ridiculous like $10, but as an Accor Silver member I was entitled to 25% off on-site dining.
At one point, I tweeted at Accor (not the hotel itself) about the discrepancy between the way the 2-bedroom suite was portrayed on the website versus how it looked in reality. One of the reasons I booked this hotel was because the rooms looked airy and featured floor-to-ceiling windows. So it was bizarre to walk into both suites and find nothing but tiny half-windows in all of the bedrooms.
The hotel’s digital media manager called me shortly after, insisting I meet her for dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was totally unnecessary since my complaint wasn’t that big. I observed something that they could improve upon, provided feedback, and that was all there was to it.
When I returned that evening, she had sent up a large dessert spread. It was totally unnecessary and not my intention for her to do that all.
Maybe it’s from my days as a mystery shopper, but I tend to look at everything with a critical eye. My personal standards aren’t super high when it comes to travel, but when I stay at a hotel that has a great deal of potential, I consider it my job to provide feedback on how they can improve.
Final Thoughts
That’s my take on the Pullman Madina. It’s one of the newer, more modern hotels in Medina and has a convenient location steps from the Prophet’s Mosque.
However, if I return to Medina I will probably stay someplace else. I’m a stickler for open, airy rooms and the Pullman didn’t really deliver on that end. If you’re traveling as part of a large group and need multiple rooms, the 2-bedroom Executive Suite at Pullman Madina is a great choice at a great price.
Have you stayed at the Pullman Madina? If there are any other hotels you would recommend in the city, I’d love your feedback in the comment section.
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