"Designed by the firm behind Dubai’s Burj Al Arab and managed by the Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotel chain, the all-suite Qasr Al Sharq feels like a sumptuous private residence. With scalloped archways, carved arabesques, and layers of brocade, it caters mainly to protocol-obsessed Arab royals and CEO types. Some of the 46 suites exceed 10,000 square feet; amenities include butlers, private gyms, massage tables, 16-seat dinner tables, TVs wrapped in 24-karat gold leaf, and Swarovski crystal chandeliers dangling from the gold ceiling. Female travelers will want to stay here for the penthouse pleasures of the kingdom’s first women-only hotel spa; this abaya-free zone has an Aquamedic lap pool under a retractable glass roof. (Men can use the next-door Jeddah Hilton’s no-women-allowed health club.) At Mataam Al Sharq, the excellent Middle Eastern restaurant, try the tiny roasted fig-birds (a type of oriole), eaten heads and all, with pomegranate sauce."
