What are the best business hotels in the Middle East: Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Planning a business trip to the Middle East? CNBC has made it easy to find the best hotel for the trip.

CNBC Travel and market data firm Statista today release a ranking of “Best Hotels for Business Travelers” in the Middle East.

This is the first ranking of its kind between CNBC and Statista, who also jointly released hotel rankings in Europe today. The Asia-Pacific rankings were released in September.

In total, we analyzed more than 10,000 four- and five-star hotels in 117 locations to produce lists that business travelers can trust. To do this, we followed a three-step process:

• Asking business travelers and hospitality professionals to complete a CNBC readership survey that ran from May 3 to June 7, 2022.
• Looking at over a million hotel data points, which included objective information (location, business facilities, food, leisure activities, and room features) and subjective reviews (collected from Google, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and similar websites).
• Weight the data to prioritize the hotel features deemed most important in the reader survey.

For more details on our research methodology, click here.

From Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, here’s the full list of winners in the Middle East in PDF format – complete with final scores – some of which are highlighted below.

Alternatively, you can search by city or country using the table here:

1. Rosewood Abu Dhabi
2. Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi — Yas Island
3. Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi on Al Maryah Island
4. W Abu Dhabi — Yas Island
5. Beach Rotana Residences

Rosewood Abu Dhabi is the brand’s only hotel in the United Arab Emirates. With less than 200 rooms and suites, it’s not huge, but it does have seven restaurants and lounges on-site. Bookings that include Manor Club access come with more than just the regular lounge fare: all-day food and evening cocktails, yes, but also early check-ins, spa discounts, conference room use and a fitness consultation with a personal trainer.

1. Business Hotel Alegria
2. Holiday Inn Ankara — Cukurambar
3. Atli Hotel Ankara
4. Ankara Hilton SA
5. western ankara

The Alegria is a business, as its name befits. Opened in 2020, the hotel combines contemporary decor with simple amenities. Although it has fewer than 150 rooms, the hotel has the facilities of a large hotel, with a restaurant, rooftop bar, spa, gym, and event spaces.

1. Alwadi Hotel Doha MGallery
2. The St. Regis Doha
3. JW Marriott Marquis Downtown Doha
4. MondrianDoha
5. Park Hyatt Doha

Guests find few faults in the first MGallery-branded hotel to open in Qatar. They praise its service, food and location in the downtown Msheireb area and close to Souq Waqif, Doha’s most famous market. It has four restaurants, including fine Arabic cuisine at Sofra and poolside O’Glacee, and a rooftop bar offering cocktails inspired by flavors from 28 countries.

1. Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai
2. Jumeirah Living World Trade Center Residence
3. Dubai Waldorf Astoria International Financial Center
4. Dubai Pullman Creek Downtown Residences
5. Grand Plaza Movenpick Media City

There are four Sheratons in Dubai, but the Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai is the only one with the brand’s “Grand” distinction. Launched in 2015, the designation was created to distinguish outstanding Sheraton hotels, and this hotel was among the first ten properties to receive the label. The 54-story hotel has a rooftop bar and pool, as well as a ballroom that can accommodate 400 people.

1. Raffle Istanbul
2. The Ritz Carlton Istanbul
3. Witt Istanbul Suites
4. The Leos Residence
5. Akgun Hotel Istanbul

With a chic address at the Zorlu Center, Raffles Istanbul tops CNBC’s list of hotels in Turkey’s biggest city. Each room has a personal butler, available 24 hours a day. There are indoor and outdoor pools, an on-site helipad, and a “meet and greet” airport service that speeds travelers through passport control.

1. Hotel Svalinn
2. Marriott Izmir Hotel
3. Wyndham Grand Izmir Ozdilek
4. Radisson Hotel Izmir Aliaga
5. Renaissance Hotel Izmir

Svalinn Hotel is a convenient and popular choice for business travelers in Izmir. Room prices are low, but the rewards are high. It has the amenities that business travelers appreciate – an on-site restaurant, bar and patisserie – just a few miles from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport.

1. Assila, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Jeddah
2. Radisson Blu Hotel, Jeddah Al Salam
3. Adagio Aparthotel Jeddah Malik Road
4. Budl Quraish
5. Vivienda Jeddah

Business travelers can be tight on space when staying in city hotels, and Assila has them covered. It offers rooms and suites, as well as apartments with one to four bedrooms. Part of Marriott’s “The Luxury Collection” hotels, the hotel’s business center is anything but an afterthought — it’s a dynamic space filled with natural light with copy and print services.

1. American Colony Hotel Jerusalem
2. The Inbal Jerusalem
3. Hotel Mamilla
4. David’s Citadel
5. Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem

The American Colony Hotel feels more like a home than a hotel. The original part of the hotel was the former palace of a pasha – or high Ottoman official – and his four wives. Over its 120-year history, the hotel has added three more buildings, including the Cow Byre, a former barn that now houses suites with private terraces.

1. Four Points by Sheraton Makkah Al Naseem
2. InterContinental Dar Al Tawhid
3. Mecca Raffles Palace
4. Hilton Makkah Convention Hotel
5. Park Inn by Radisson Makkah Aziziyah

Four Points by Sheraton Makkah Al Naseem is a large hotel with all the bells and whistles of a branded hotel — a fitness center, 24-hour room service, and dry cleaning services. And with suites with living rooms and marble bathrooms for around $125, the price is fair for business travelers watching their travel budget.

1. Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport
2. Movenpick Hotel And Residences Riyadh
3. Vivienda Hotel Villas Granada
4. Marriott Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter
5. Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter — Marriott Executive Apartments

Travelers landing in Riyadh who want to avoid the half-hour drive to the city can stay at the Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport, just a five-minute drive from King Khalid International Airport. Rooms are generous in space, ranging from entry-level ones at 670 square feet to sprawling villas with desks and private pools.

1. The Norman Tel Aviv
2. The Drisco Hotel
3. ink hotel
4. The David Kempinsky
5. The Jaffa Tel Aviv

A beautiful mix of old and new, The Norman Tel Aviv opened in 2014 after an eight-year renovation of its two buildings – the modern main building and a historic residential building next door. Guests in its 50 rooms and suites have access to a rooftop infinity pool, two restaurants and a bar, and same-day dry cleaning services.

— Natalie Tham contributed to this report.