Ibis Hotels in Riyadh

I came to Riyadh for a few days only out of curiosity as flights from Budapest were so cheap I thought 'why not?. Not really knowing what to expect. I wanted to be in the downtown Olaya area but hotels there were in the £200 - £300 +++ range. Other than the IBIS which came in at £80 a night. The IBIS room was better than standard IBIS fare I have seen in the UK and Europe - ie larger, and better equipped with safe and tea & coffee making facilities. But what makes this hotel really stand out was the helpfulness and welcome of front of house staff. Nothing was too much trouble - and they were patient and courteous dealing with my various queries and requests, writing out place names in Arabic, explaining how to get to places, nearest places to buy water and snacks etc. The hotel's guests were overwhelmingly people on business rather than tourists. However, I can unreservedly recommend this hotel to visitors to Saudi Arabia travelling for tourism. I say this as a solo female traveller. Top tips: - there is an Asian run convenience store round the corner five minutes walk away that does not involve crossing roads!! - have tbe hotel breakfast as there's not much around by way of cafes etc (unless you go to a mall) - download the Kareem app (= Saudi Uber) for safe, convenient and cheap taxis - if you have a choice, avoid Room 122 as it was on the first floor and overlooked two air conditioning units and tbe wall 😉 - not that matters in the scheme of things. However, a room on a high floor with views of Kingdom Tower must be pretty awesome