Newcomer to riyadh, appreciate some help! hotel or compound?

A tip:  you don't want to just randomly select an area ("I hear the DQ is nice").  Traffic here can be a b*tch!  You need to find out where your workplace is located and find a place as close to there as possible.

Also, if you look to the left, you'll see a vertical, rectangular box with a list inside.  Click on 'Housing' and read about the many compounds.  Google them.

However, don't expect to land and have something lined up ahead of time.  If you've been reading the threads regarding housing (use the google custom search box) you've undoubtedly realized it's just not the way it's done here (that would be too simple and painless--things in Saudia are aways complex and painful lol).

Anyway, good luck!

Hi,
Yes I have been looking, and quite a lot useful information to digest.
I will be working near the ministry of agriculture (near ministry of education on king abdul aziz road). King Abdulaziz University Hospital is nearby also. I understand that is not a very nice part of town..

I've also started reading your blog on this which is great.

But are there any nice hotel apartments with kitchen to live? Or are there nice 1 or 2 bed compound flats.

cheers

jefferington wrote:

But are there any nice hotel apartments with kitchen to live? Or are there nice 1 or 2 bed compound flats.

cheers

Yes there are.
http://bit.ly/12rsRgV

Use the map to see where they're located.
Look for those which provide laundry/ironing service, free wifi, free parking etc.

A villa outside the compound is cheaper than the 1 bed apt. in a hotel. But the apt. comes with everything included and you'll have the hotel staff at your disposal 24/7.

there seem to be some hotels with a complete kitchen (fridge, oven etc.) pretty far away.

Looking for a 4-5 star hotel at about 10k SAR a month was probably being unrealistic, just assumed being riyadh it may be possible. If anyone has any suggestions very happy to hear it?

Would prefer to pay that amount and get a proper purpose built high-end apartment block with security etc. not necessarily a hotel, similarly to most residences in Dubai etc..Any recent ones to look out for in a decent part of town?

Otherwise my compound choice seems to be alhamra, for a 1-bed, but its pretty far from work.


also you mentioned villa outside compound as being very cheap like 3-4k a month, but for a single person, I assume this is like a poor quality large 2-3 bed house, doesnt seem practical. Or am I off base on this??

thanks again for the help..

jefferington wrote:

there seem to be some hotels with a complete kitchen (fridge, oven etc.) pretty far away.

Otherwise my compound choice seems to be alhamra, for a 1-bed, but its pretty far from work.

thanks again for the help..

Your standard is pretty high and so is the pricing. Those prices are negotiable as far as I know and are calculated according to the daily rate multiplied by the number of days. The resulted monthly fee posted on the website is unrealistic for a long term stay (1-2 years).

Plus... I doubt you'll do any cooking if you'll choose to stay in Olaya, for example (I wouldn't choose to stay close to my work place because I like to have access to everything within walking distance). I only need a fridge and a microwave oven as i never cook. There are restaurants that cook far better than I do at reasonable prices and you also have www.6alabat.com to choose food from.  Also, comparing compounds to hotels, the latter are far better from my point of view... but there are enough people that will tell you to live in a compound because you'll interact more with westerners and you won't get bored.

Anyway, as you can see, my opinion is pretty biased

thanks bruckner. I agree with you on apartments, if there a good ones available. On the other hand compounds seem nice to be able to step outside your condo on a weekend and feel like you are in some american suburb (I can only imagine!)

I do cook occasionally and will always need an oven, fridge etc. hence the search.  Any high-end compounds nearer to the ministry of agriculture/ministy of education area?

Hi! Given the location you specified, i will highly recommend you to try Taleen Apartments for intial 2-3 months. It's a pretty clean , furnished apartment behind King Abdul Aziz University hospital. The rent for 1 BHK is SAR 5K per month and 2 BHK is SAR 7K per month.

I stayed there myself close to 5 months. Once you are here and get to know the place you can always move on as it's a monthly rental.

It seems that good compounds even for a 1 bed is very expensive around 150k SAR a year.

Good 4-5 star hotel apartments are about the same.

And then you get villas, condos and apartments outside compounds for like 30-50k SAR.  Am I missing something? it seems to cheap? Is there just a massive difference in quality, or am I sacrificing security to live in these places?

I'm looking to get something for 100k, but that doesn't get me the compound or hotel I need, and everything else is too cheap!

jefferington wrote:

It seems that good compounds even for a 1 bed is very expensive around 150k SAR a year.

Good 4-5 star hotel apartments are about the same.

And then you get villas, condos and apartments outside compounds for like 30-50k SAR.  Am I missing something? it seems to cheap? Is there just a massive difference in quality, or am I sacrificing security to live in these places?

I'm looking to get something for 100k, but that doesn't get me the compound or hotel I need, and everything else is too cheap!

Seriously, you really should wait until you arrive in Riyadh to actually see what's available to suit your needs and budget; expectations don't always match reality. Besides, you can't rent a place unless you're physically in country anyway.

smurfette wrote:

Seriously, you really should wait until you arrive in Riyadh to actually see what's available to suit your needs and budget; expectations don't always match reality. Besides, you can't rent a place unless you're physically in country anyway.

Ditto Smurfette (I said this in an earlier response to one of your *other* posts about housing).  Most people land here and make do with a furnished apt. until they can round up something better and Kymadoce's suggestion seems excellent.

Depending on your budget you can find 1 or 2 bedrooms in the compound fully furnished

Guys,

Appreciate comments, but the reason for pressing with questions, is because I do not have to move to Riyadh. I am based in the Dubai. The offer in Riyadh is better in terms of compensation and position.

But more importantly I'd like to get a feel for whether I would be happy moving here.
Accommodation is the biggest factor in terms of lifestyle and the resultant cost has  an obvious impact on what the offer looks like.

For e.g alhamra is about 180k SAR for a 1 bed, which is as expensive as the W hotel in dubai on monthly basis!

I simply assumed Riyadh was cheaper, but for a SIMILAR standard its more expensive than dubai.

Sorry if I'm missing something, but this will determine whether I should move or not. I want to, as the job is better, but this feels like a deal breaker.

So appreciate your patience, comments and help.

Jeff, the only deal breaker for Riyadh is a life unlike any other you have lived. And People save here more then UAE because you really have nothing to spend your money on inside KSA.

Compounds r preferred because of some degree of freedom in terms of social interactions.

Happiness Factor , I will let seniors of Expat.com handle tht ;>. I am just 7 months here and biased as m trying to get out.