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Pilgrimage at a price

One of the important aspects of the experience is accommodation as pilgrims are required to stay in Mecca for at least three days.

Primastuti Handayani (The Jakarta Post)
Mecca
Tue, May 23, 2017

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Pilgrimage at a price A sight to see: A view of the Mecca Grand Mosque and the Kaaba from Swissotel Makkah. (JP/Primastuti Handayani)

T

em>The number of umrah and haj pilgrims from Indonesia is increasing each year. One of the important aspects of the experience is accommodation as pilgrims are required to stay in Mecca for at least three days. Accor Group invited Indonesian journalists, including The Jakarta Post’s Primastuti Handayani, to Mecca to experience umrah, as well as look into the hotel business there. Below is her report.

Atang Suparna considered a haj pilgrimage an opportunity that was too good to be true, considering that the waiting list for departure is between seven and 15 years, depending on the applicant’s province of origin. Therefore, he preferred to perform umrah (minor haj) with his wife.

“There is no waiting list and the cost is lower than performing haj,” he reasoned as we talked during our transit at Abu Dhabi on our way home to Indonesia.

However, performing umrah with the relatively lower price of around Rp 20 million (US$1,500) meant they had to settle with two-star hotel facilities.

“Our hotel was quite far from the Mecca Grand Mosque and we needed to leave the hotel at least 90 minutes before adzan [call to prayer] to avoid road blocks,” Atang added.

In contrast, Febri, a pilgrim from Jakarta, stayed at the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel — one of the hotels within the Abraj Al-Bait complex — and got direct accesses to the Grand Mosque.

“The location [of the hotel] was the main consideration. We could see the Kaaba from our bedrooms,” she said.

Febri paid Rp 30 million — close to price of between Rp 31 million and Rp 38 million per person set by a Presidential Decree on 2017 pilgrimage fees — and in return she received accommodation at the closest hotel to the Grand Mosque.

Atang and Febri are among the many Indonesian Muslims who are eager to perform umrah instead of applying to be on the long waiting list for haj.

In the past five years, the number of Indonesians performing umrah has risen by 63 percent to 800,000 in 2016. Hotels in Madina and Mecca have picked up on the trend and are trying to tap into the Indonesian market.

“Even though we are relatively new to the Indonesian market, 20 percent of our guests come from Indonesia,” said Fairmont Mecca Hotel manager Abdel Aziz Eid. “Indonesia is a very important market for us. Our marketing team flies to Jakarta at least once a year to promote our hotel chain, as well as learn the demands from Indonesian pilgrims.”

Busier in Ramadhan

During the last 10 days of Ramadhan, hotels in Mecca, including Fairmont’s 1,618 bedrooms, are always fully booked.

Iftar [breaking-of-the-fast meals] is another issue, because everybody wants to break the fast at the same time and our chefs need to make sure to get the food ready,” Eid said.

Fairmont usually uses its ballroom — which can accommodate around 3,000 guests — for iftar, especially when its restaurants are full.

Holy land: Thousands of tents at Mina, where haj pilgrims perform a ritual of Jamrah (throwing stones).(JP/Primastuti Handayani)

Swissotel Makkah, which is a member of Accor Group, experiences the same trend. Assistant director of Food and Beverage, Aznan Shariff, said the hotel’s dining room could accommodate up to 3,800 people and it would always be full during iftar.

During those busiest days of Ramadhan, the Accor Group needs to hire additional waiters and chefs to ensure hotels don’t fall behind schedule in preparing meals for iftar, dinner and sahur (predawn meal).

Fairmont provides a wide range of rooms, from the Fairmont King Room to the Royal Floors, with rates ranging from 700 riyals ($187) to 7,500 riyals per night, according to the hotel’s website.

The Fairmont Gold usually serves VIP guests and its heightened level of luxury can be felt the moment guests enter the lobby and take a private elevator directly to check in at the Fairmont Gold Lounge on the 28th floor.

Guests are served with Arabian coffee and dates at the lobby, where they can also enjoy snacks or entire meals.

The Royal floors — the top lineup of the hotel — are usually reserved for VVIPs or Saudi Arabia’s royal families. The Grand Royal King Suite Kaaba, which has the largest space of 720 square meters, has two bedrooms, a private lounge, a Jacuzzi, a spa and a prayer hall within the suite.

The Royal floors offer a captivating view of the Mecca Grand Mosque and the Kaaba, which only elevates the experience of performing prayers. Additionally, built-in speakers broadcast mass prayers from the Grand Mosque for a truly immersive spiritual moment.

Fairmont provides one butler per floor in the Fairmont Gold and the Royal Floors. These butlers are available 24 hours to offer various services, including delivering fruits, snacks and Arabian coffee to each room.

Privacy is another crucial element Fairmont guarantees to its guests.

“We make sure that our staff maintain privacy for the guests,” said Hossam Morsi, senior head butler.

Another reason why Fairmont is at the top of visitors’ list is the facilities it offers to ensure that senior citizens and people with disabilities are still able to pray in the comfort of their own hotel rooms.

“The holy area is within a 15-kilometer radius from the Kaaba. Therefore, guests could join mass prayers from their rooms without being inside the Grand Mosque,” said Ziad Al Hdaithat, Fairmont’s group assistant communication manager.

Guests who prefer to stay in a quieter ambience can choose the Raffles Makkah Palace within the tower building, which boasts 214 suites and villas.

The highlight of Raffles — which is not available in other hotels in the city — is its spa. Raffles Spa offers fitness facilities, massages, as well as a sauna and ice fountain, which are perfect for pilgrims who need to relax after performing umrah.

“There are always guests who use our spa facilities,” said spa manager Eddy Waluyo, who is from Indonesia. “Sometimes guests from our hotel group come here to enjoy the [spa].”

The number of umrah pilgrims is increasing 30 percent annually, according to the Arab News, who also quoted Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj and Umrah spokesman Hatem Alqadi in June 2016 as saying that by 2020, 15 million umrah travelers will have visited the kingdom.

The Saudi Arabia government enacted a regulation two years ago restricting its citizens to umrah once every five years and requiring them to obtain a permit.

The increasing number of pilgrims from all over the world consequently brings new demands on hotels — including Accor Group — to adjust their services and cater to their guests’ needs. The pilgrims expect to fulfill their spiritual journey while staying in comfort and luxury.

What's on the table

A happy stomach makes for a happy day, which pushes Mecca hotels tapping into the Indonesian market to constantly improve their services with menus that agree with Indonesian tastes.

Fairmont Mecca Hotel boasts nine luxurious restaurants.

Friendly face: Tambri Deran, Fairmont’s executive sous chef from Indonesia, shows off a salmon steak dish.(JP/Primastuti Handayani)

“We have a list of 50 highly requested Indonesian dishes on our menus, such as soto [chicken soup], rendang [beef cooked with coconut milk and spices] and gado-gado [vegetables salad served with peanut sauce],” said Tambri Deran, Fairmont’s executive sous chef.

Indonesian pilgrims who prefer meals that remind them of home will be relieved to find the archipelago’s delicacies on the restaurants’ tables.

“Many of us are not familiar with local or western food. It’s good that the hotel provides us with Indonesian food — even only one or two [dishes] is okay. We don’t have to buy food from outside the hotel,” Febri said.

Tambri, who comes from Pamulang, South Tangerang, said guests often request certain Indonesian food, such as rawon (beef stew cooked with kluwak), and his kitchen would try to get the necessary ingredients.

Taste of home: Nasi goreng (fried rice) is served with chicken and shrimp satay at the Fairmont's Al-Dira Restaurant.(JP/Primastuti Handayani)

“If we could not find certain ingredients in Mecca, we would ask our suppliers to find them in Jeddah or another country,” he said, adding that Indonesian guests are among his staff’s favorites because they never waste food.

Food waste is a problem for hotels in the Clock Royal Tower compound, not only for Fairmont but also for Swissotel Makkah, which is in the same Accor Group.

“We have worked together with NGOs to channel the leftovers to the needy. The problem is on-table leftovers, which we have to throw away,” said Swissotel’s Shariff.

He also praised Indonesian pilgrims for their food etiquette.

“Indonesian pilgrims always put whatever they need on their plates. They don’t waste food. We like serving them as our guests,” he said.

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