The hotel where the King of Saudi Arabia stayed. The Saudi king made a cash register for Moscow luxury hotels
On Sunday, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh returned to normal operation. For 99 days, since the beginning of November, it served as a place of detention for 381 dignitaries; princes, businessmen and officials were detained during the largest Saudi Arabia anti-corruption investigation.
The campaign, led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, began unexpectedly. On November 4, an influential citizen was called to see King Salman at the Ritz-Carlton. But instead of the king, armed men met him there, took him mobile phone and escorted to one of the hotel rooms. “I was told that I would stay there for a while,” he recalls.
The investigators who interrogated him had a wealth of information, producing large stacks of documents about his financial assets. During the "long, tiring" interrogations, they methodically looked through them, but did not make any significant claims to the suspect. He was told that he was detained as part of an anti-corruption investigation, but that he could be released if he made an agreement and paid for his violations, which he eventually did. According to him, some of the detainees tried to dispute the charges, but made concessions when their business partners were brought to the hotel, who began to testify against them. “They didn’t expect this,” he says.
In Saudi society, the anti-corruption campaign was met with enthusiasm. According to the government, agreements with detainees have been concluded for $106 billion, and several dozen people may face trial.
Interviews with the detainees and their loved ones shed light on the actual conditions of detention. Some were cooked by royal chefs, but they were only allowed one phone call a day. Others had to endure many hours of interrogation, but for a certain price, all charges of corruption were offered to be dropped.
The Saudi Ministry of Finance has hired consulting firms in Europe and the Middle East to track the assets of wealthy Saudis such as billionaire Mohammad al-Amoudi and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former ambassador to the US, people familiar with the situation said. Al-Amoudi was held at the Ritz-Carlton in November, his current status is unknown, his spokesman said, adding that the businessman did not admit to wrongdoing. A spokesman for bin Sultan, who was not detained, did not respond to a request for comment.
Among the prisoners were the richest businessman in Saudi Arabia - Prince Al-Walid bin Talal; Bakr bin Laden, head of construction company Saudi Binladin; the owner of the largest media company in the country, Walid bin Ibrahim; several ministers.
$13 billion
This is how much Saudi Arabia hopes to replenish the treasury by the end of the year thanks to payments for detainees as part of an anti-corruption campaign, the Financial Times reported, citing a senior Saudi official. It will be money, real estate and corporate assets. These funds will help the government limit the growth of the budget deficit, which should reach $52 billion this year.
The Ritz-Carlton was built in 2011 and has over 500 rooms, including 48 Presidential Suites, a 24-hour medical service and olive trees that are about 600 years old. The hotel is close to the seat of the Saudi government.
Some prisoners say they were treated well. So, Al-Waleed bin Talal, in a video interview with Reuters, which was shown on television, said that in the kitchen in his room there are several special coffee pots for traditional Arabic coffee and the authorities allow him to follow his usual vegan diet. Near the entrance to the room is a vase with tulips, on the wall is a large-screen TV. “I go in for sports, swim, walk. I eat like always. I feel at home,” said bin Talal (pictured below is the living room in his room).
/ Reuters Staff
High-ranking prisoners were kept in the so-called royal rooms, the hotel employee explained. Each of them has two bedrooms, a dining room, two living rooms, an office and a kitchen.
The Saudi Attorney General said at the end of January that most of the prisoners had already been released: against some, no evidence could be found, most agreed to a deal with the authorities. Bin Talal was demanded $6 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. But even the billionaire prince found it difficult to pay such an amount. According to people familiar with the situation, he was released in January after he entered into a financial agreement with the authorities; its size is not reported.
65 people refused to pay, they are in custody, the place of which was not disclosed.
The first guests who stayed at the hotel on Sunday after it resumed work, note that almost nothing has changed in the atmosphere. However, "The Ritz will now always be associated with a luxury prison in Saudi Arabia," says Simon Henderson, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Some Western analysts see what happened as Crown Prince Salman's campaign to consolidate his power. “If you are a potential investor, this does not bode well for you,” said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution.
Translated by Varvara Podrugina
King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has settled in Moscow with oriental luxury. The correspondent of "MIR 24" Vladimir Seroukhov visited a fashionable hotel, which was completely bought out by the monarch.
King of Saudi Arabia at night in a hotel The Ritz Carlton» on Tverskaya Street with its large delegation - more than a thousand people. This is the first visit of a monarch to Russia, and the luxury with which he passes is simply amazing. The delegation will move around the city in cars of the most prestigious brands - these are top-end Mercedes, BMW, Jaguars and other executive class cars. The cost of each ranges from 6 to 10 million rubles - one might say, an apartment on wheels. There was even a tale that the number of cars in the escort is equal to the number of letters in the name of the king, and it is quite complicated - Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.
The dear guest himself settled in one of the most prestigious hotels in the capital - the Ritz Carlton, and simply bought up all 334 rooms. The most luxurious of them costs 112 thousand rubles per day. The monarch, most likely, will be cramped in one, albeit a luxury room. He probably bought the whole floor for himself. By the way, the interiors of the Ritz were redesigned in the Arabic style, many brought their own carpets and furniture with them. The whole hotel per day will cost the king 14 million rubles per day, for 4 days (his visit will last so long) - about 60.
However, one "Ritz", of course, is not enough, therefore, for the duration of the visit, all hotels in the center of Moscow are booked for the accompanying persons - the Four Season, the National, and the Marriott.
It is estimated that the placement of the suite will cost an additional 160 million rubles. We add the price of the Ritz and we get that the accommodation of the delegation alone comes out to a quarter of a billion rubles.
Although this amount looks small compared to the multibillion-dollar contracts and investments that will be discussed in the Kremlin, which, by the way, sheikhs, princes and ministers, who will live near Red Square all these days, have a beautiful view.
The King of Saudi Arabia is believed to be descended from the Prophet Muhammad himself. The monarch flew to Moscow wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf made of cotton or silk with a colored pattern, traditional for Eastern men.
King Salman's attire is always the national loose-fitting ankle-length shirt. It's called "tobe". And a long cloak - mishlah, without which the king never goes out. The king's cloak is most often gold in color, but sometimes green and brown.
Interestingly, all officials in Saudi Arabia are required to wear national dress when visiting abroad. This is done in order to emphasize the national identity and acquaint the world with the traditions of the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia occupies about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the fact that its borders are not clearly defined, the exact area of the country is not known. According to various sources, it can range from 1,960,582 km² to 2,240,000 km². Which puts it in 13th place in the world in terms of size.
Saudi Arabia is often referred to as the land of the "two holy places". There are two main cities for Muslims - and Medina. By the way, Saudi Arabia is one of the three modern states named after their rulers. In this case, we mean the Saudi dynasty.
The Kingdom is the world leader in the sale and production of oil. So, only the largest field in the country - Gavar is able to accommodate almost 5 million Olympic swimming pools. Oil reserves in the country amount to 260 billion barrels.
In Saudi Arabia, it is profitable to take. Banks issue them at only 2% per annum. Since the Qur'an forbids usury, this percentage only goes to cover the operating expenses of the bank.
In Saudi Arabia, everything that is directly or indirectly related to witchcraft and magic is banned. This is considered a serious crime and may be punishable by death. The government takes the magical threat so seriously that it even banned the Harry Potter books.
Widespread in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, the authorities saw them off every other day. In most cases, the execution is carried out by cutting off the head with a scimitar. Diera Square in the center of Riyadh famous place public beheadings, locally known as "Chop-Chop Square".
Meeting the Guardian of the two Islamic shrines, as the kings of Saudi Arabia are often called, on the one hand, is easy, and on the other, difficult. Easy, because they always bring everything they need with them, including servants, but difficult, since the Saudi monarchs are not only one of the richest people on the planet, but also the most demanding. Moreover, not so much because of his exclusivity and wealth, but because of his advanced age (Salman is 81 years old) and poor health.
The first visit of the Saudi monarch to Russia was no exception to this, which has already become a rule. According to tradition, it can be said that Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz al Saud brought with him a 1,500 retinue and everything necessary for a four-day visit, from carpets with furniture to servants who know the habits and tastes of their master and replace individual hotel employees. Salman settled a couple of hundred meters from the Kremlin, in Hotel Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, better known to Muscovites as the Moskva Hotel (demolished and rebuilt in the last decade).
The hotel was closed for four days to other visitors, including even those who live there permanently. The Saudis also rented all 334 rooms at the nearby Ritz-Carlton for 14 million rubles a day, booked rooms at the nearby National and Marriott.
Fans of statistics have calculated that just living in Moscow will cost Riyadh at least 250 million rubles. For a Saudi monarch, this is quite a bit. If only because it summer rest in Moroccan Tangier this year cost his subjects $100 million.
In addition to furniture and carpets, King Salman brought to Moscow a special gilded escalator, with which he travels the world. The same one, in whose work on Wednesday at the airport "Vnukovo 2" there was some kind of failure. The escalator stopped halfway, so the monarch had to go down, as they say, on their own. Naturally, Salman moves around Moscow in his cars. According to the fleet that arrived in the capital of Russia from Saudi Arabia, you can recognize all the brands of the most expensive and luxurious limousines.
The king and his retinue eat exclusively Saudi products. Every day, a special plane brings 800 kilograms of food and drinks from Riyadh.
It is difficult to name the exact number of Saudi aircraft that arrived in Moscow on October 4. Obviously there are many. It is known, for example, that in March, King Salman flew on an official visit to Japan on 10 airliners, which brought almost half a thousand tons of luggage.
When it comes to foreign travel, Salman is no different from his predecessors. King Fahd (1982-2005), for example, liked to relax in the Spanish Marbella. The number of his retinue sometimes reached two or three thousand people. In 2002, he flew to seaside resort on 7 planes: in five the royal retinue of four hundred people traveled, and the other two transported exclusively food, armored limousines and luggage. On average, King Fahd left about $100 million in Marbella during the summer season. However, in 2002 he set a record and left the Spaniards almost a third of a billion.
This time, the Saudis will not have time to fork out such a sum in Moscow, but it is already clear that the Russian side has made decent money on the visit of the king, even regardless of the business contracts that are discussed during the visit.
https://www.site/2017-10-06/podschitano_razmechenie_saudovskogo_korolya_so_svitoy_v_otelyah_moskvy_oboshlos_v_3_3_mln
Calculated: accommodation of the Saudi king with his entourage in Moscow hotels cost $3.3 million
Kremlin press service
Travel service OneTwoTrip calculated that the accommodation of the delegation of the king of Saudi Arabia in five-star hotels in Moscow cost 2.5-3.3 million dollars.
The king's delegation of 1,000 people stayed at the Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, National, the report says. From 2.2 million to 3.3 million dollars was the cost of living in all rooms Hotel Four Seasons, as well as in suites, standard and superior rooms at the Ritz Carlton, St. Regis, "National".
The cost of accommodation for three nights only in one Four Seasons, in which the rooms were bought out for the delegation in full, can be 738 thousand dollars, excluding price adjustments for group bookings. The hotel has 180 rooms: 139 rooms, 39 suites, 1 presidential suite and 1 royal suite. The cost of living per day in the last two is at least 1 million rubles, a night in a standard room, depending on the view from the window, from 35 to 60 thousand rubles, in a suite from 80 to 200 thousand rubles.
In addition, they suggested in the service, especially for the arrival of the king, the situation in the rooms was changed: they added carpets, changed the furniture.
81-year-old King of Saudi Arabia Salman Ben-Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in Russia the day before. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Kommersant, as a result of negotiations between the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia, agreements were reached on the purchase by Riyadh of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition, a contract was signed to organize the production of Kalashnikov assault rifles in Saudi Arabia and a memorandum was signed on the purchase and localization of TOS-1A heavy flamethrower systems, Kornet-EM anti-tank missile systems and AGS-30 grenade launchers.
The king of Saudi Arabia is famous for his love of luxury. During a recent visit to Indonesia, he was accompanied by 1,000 people, and his luggage weighed about 500 tons. Salman Al Saud's visit to Japan was carried out on 10 planes. He brought with him 500 limousines and two golden escalators.
Five-star hotels in the center of Moscow have almost run out of rooms: the suite of the king of Saudi Arabia has taken the best hotel rooms, RIA Novosti reported. He is due to arrive in the capital on an official visit already on Thursday. Together with Salman Al Saud, a delegation consisting of a thousand people will arrive in Russia, a source from the agency said. How hoteliers will meet distinguished guests, Yana Lubnina figured out.
During the visit, the delegation of the King of Saudi Arabia will live near the Red Square. Already today, rent a room at the National, Four Seasons or St. Regis will not work: in one of the hotels, journalists were told about the full load, which, according to employees, happens extremely rarely. Reservations will reopen after October 8th.
Some hotels had to cancel planned weddings and banquets; the main task now is to strengthen security: you can get into the building only after presenting a guest card. Sergei Kolesnikov, vice president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, told Kommersant FM that this is a normal practice:
“These events do not take place spontaneously, regardless of who comes: Saudi Arabia, the United States, the President of the Russian Federation or high-ranking officials. The representative of the special services selects not just a hotel, but specific rooms, this happens in a week or two. After the advance group, special regime events are held the day before arrival: the room is checked again so that there are no misunderstandings.
The organizers of the visit paid special attention to the convenience of the guests. The king of Saudi Arabia is known for his whimsicality: on his March trip to Indonesia, he took about 500 tons of luggage, two Mercedes-Benz S600 cars and even two electric elevators; apparently, the Saudis did not come to Moscow lightly either. Especially for the delegation, the hotels change the furnishings of the rooms: the usual European furniture is sent to the warehouse, and in return they spread carpets brought from Riyadh; in addition, pork dishes will be excluded from the menu of hotels. This is far from all that hotels can do for the sake of customers, said Kirill Ryabkov, Marketing Director of Quintessentially Russia concierge club:
“I worked at the Hyatt hotel where Madonna lived, and we made a separate room where she did yoga. The room had to be connected to her presidential suite, it was a must. One Australian pop star demanded that there must be a certain scent of lilies where she passes.
The delegation of Salman Al Saud has a thousand people, and apparently they were lucky with the accommodation. Although it happened that wealthy guests bought the best rooms from the guests - Yunis Teymurkhanly, the owner of the Helvetia Hotel in St. Petersburg, told Kommersant FM about this case:
“The delegation, it seems, from the Emirates, was satisfied only with the presidential number: it was sold to one of the Russian oligarchs, and representatives of the Arab sheikh contacted the Russian with a request to give up this number. He categorically refused, bidding began, and in the end, when it had already reached astronomical figures, the oligarch’s wife could not stand it, saying: “You don’t want it, but I want it, I’ll buy goods in France for this difference.”
Prices in best rooms Four Seasons with an area of 500 sq. m. start from 1 million rubles. per day., but for the delegation this is not a problem: moreover, according to some reports, the Saudi prince Al-Walid, the king's nephew, owns a share of this hotel chain.
Interlocutors of Kommersant FM say that special conditions, in which the king of Saudi Arabia will live, cannot be called a whim: it is, according to experts hotel business, a guarantee of their complete safety.