Hotel Interior Design and Fit-Out in Makkah and Madinah

Hotel interior design in Makkah and Madinah has to work for guests who arrive in groups, pray five times a day, share rooms with family and keep the building full for weeks at a time. NoVi Designs and Finishing designs hotel rooms and suites, lobbies, restaurants, spas and serviced apartments for owners and operators in both holy cities, and can take suitable projects through to fit-out as a design and build contractor from our Saudi branch in Al Olaya, Riyadh. We have designed in both cities: the Hilton Embassy Suites in Makkah's Thakher development and the Nasmet El Gamal Spa in Madinah. Send your brief or book a site survey, and we will reply with a scope and an itemised BOQ, never a guessed price per square metre.

Who this page is for

This page is for people who own, develop or run hospitality property in Makkah or Madinah and need design, or design and build, that respects how these buildings are actually used:

• Hotel owners and developers planning a new pilgrim hotel or a hotel tower in a development such as Thakher Makkah, Masar Makkah or Rua Al Madinah.
• Operators and asset managers who need to refresh rooms, a lobby or a restaurant between seasons without losing a peak.
• Serviced apartment and hotel apartment owners converting or upgrading buildings for families and Umrah groups.
• Spa, salon and food and beverage tenants inside hotels or near the central areas who need a fit-out that passes approvals and survives heavy use.

If your project is a hotel, resort or restaurant elsewhere in Saudi Arabia or in Egypt, our general hotel and hospitality fit-out page is the better starting point, and hotels in the capital have their own hotel interior design in Riyadh page.

Hospitality spaces we design in Makkah and Madinah

• Guest rooms and suites: standard rooms, two-room suites and family suites with extra beds, generous luggage space, a marked qibla direction, prayer space on the floor and bathrooms that handle frequent ablution.
• Lobby and reception: group check-in counters, luggage holding, seating for families waiting for rooms, and clear wayfinding to lifts, prayer areas and the street towards the Haram.
• Restaurants and buffets: high-turnover breakfast and suhoor service, family seating, separate sections where the operator wants them, and finishes that clean fast between sittings.
• Spa and salon: ladies' salons, bride rooms, treatment and massage rooms with privacy, calm materials and controlled acoustics.
• Serviced apartments: repeatable unit types with kitchenettes, durable furniture and layouts that sleep a family without feeling crowded.
• Hotel renovations: room-by-room or floor-by-floor refurbishment of operating hotels, phased around the Hajj and Umrah calendar.

Our Makkah and Madinah work

We keep this section honest. On both projects below, NoVi's commission was design only. We did not carry out the construction or fit-out.

• Hilton Embassy Suites, Makkah (Thakher City Development): architectural design, facade design development and hospitality planning for 392 two-room suites on a site of about 3,849 m². In general, planning two-room suites at this density is about repeating one well-resolved module many times, with corridors, lifts and service cores sized for full occupancy.
• Nasmet El Gamal Spa, Madinah: interior design of a three-floor beauty spa covering the salon, lounges, a bride room and facial, body and massage rooms, in a calm, earthy palette of plaster, stone, timber and linen.

Our wider hospitality design work is mostly in Egypt. It includes the lobby and lounge interiors of Fairmont Nile City in Cairo (a 562-room hotel), the revamp interior design of guest rooms, reception, restaurant and a multi-purpose hall at Shams Hotels and Resorts on the Red Sea (about 1,300 m² of interiors), reception and restaurant interiors at Talisman Hotel in Zamalek (940 m²) and rooms and suites at Tulip Hotel. On these projects too, our commission was interior design.

Designing for pilgrims, not just hotel guests

A pilgrim hotel is closer to a high-occupancy residence than a city business hotel. The details that matter most:

• Qibla in every room. The Ministry of Tourism's hotel classification criteria call for a Qiblah indicator on the ceiling of each room and list a prayer rug in room furnishing (on request in 1 and 2 star hotels). We plan the bed and furniture layout so there is clear floor space facing the qibla, not just a sticker above the wardrobe.
• Ablution-friendly bathrooms. Floor falls and drains that cope with water on the floor, slip-resistant tiles, a hand shower near the WC, hooks and a bench, and ventilation that clears humidity quickly.
• Family and group layouts. Connecting rooms, suites that sleep four to six, and wardrobes and luggage racks sized for long stays, not overnight bags.
• Guest flow with luggage. Groups arrive together by bus. Drop-off, lobby, lift lobbies and corridors need room for suitcases and wheelchairs at the same time.
• Durable finishes. The classification criteria ask for corridor floors in resilient, easy-to-maintain materials that absorb or do not make noise. We specify finishes, fabrics and joinery edges for constant use and fast housekeeping turnarounds.
• Acoustic control. Guests sleep at odd hours around prayer times. Soundproofing of walls and windows is part of the classification criteria, and we add door seals and quiet corridor finishes on top.
• Housekeeping and service access. Linen stores and service lifts placed so staff can turn rooms around without crossing busy guest corridors.
• Accessibility and privacy. Accessible rooms and an accessible restroom alongside male and female restrooms, plus family sections in restaurants and private rooms in spas where the operator wants them.

Approvals and standards to plan for

Every hospitality project in the two cities sits inside several approval tracks. The exact list depends on the building, its licence type and its location, so we confirm it at survey stage with your engineering office. Typically you should plan for:

• Ministry of Tourism licence and classification. Every hospitality facility in Saudi Arabia needs a Ministry of Tourism licence. Hotels and serviced apartments are classified against published criteria that affect room sizes, furnishing, public areas and services, so the design brief should start from the target classification.
• Hajj season accommodation rules. In 2026, ahead of the 2027 Hajj season, the Ministry of Tourism approved updated regulations and classification standards for facilities housing pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah during Hajj, split into economy and first class, with inspections before licensing, before operation and during the season. They cover guest rooms, common areas, reception, cleanliness, maintenance and safety.
• Balady and the Saudi Building Code. Construction and renovation permits are issued through the Balady platform, and design and works follow the Saudi Building Code.
• Civil Defense. Fire and life safety design is reviewed by Civil Defense, and an operating approval is needed before guests return. Makkah's Hajj housing checks have included matching the building to its approved plans, safety reports and emergency stairs.
• Central area authorities. The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites oversees major development in Makkah, and in Madinah the Madinah Region Development Authority works with the municipality on central projects. Large developments such as Thakher Makkah and Rua Al Madinah also have their own design guidelines.
• Operator brand standards. If an international or local operator is involved, their room, lobby and kitchen standards sit on top of the regulations.

We prepare drawings and specifications for these submissions and coordinate with your licensed engineering office. We do not promise approval timelines on behalf of any authority.

Working around Hajj, Umrah and Ramadan

Demand in the holy cities follows the Hijri calendar, so the best working windows move about eleven days earlier every year. Umrah now runs all year and keeps growing. The Doyof Al Rahman Programme's annual report counted 16.92 million Umrah pilgrims in 2024, up 101 percent on 2022. That leaves fewer quiet months for renovation.

• Avoid the peaks. Ramadan, especially the last ten nights, and the Hajj season are the times operators can least afford rooms out of service.
• Use the quieter windows. We plan design so procurement and off-site joinery happen during peak months, and site work starts as soon as occupancy drops.
• Phase floor by floor. In an operating hotel we close floors in blocks, keep noise and dust away from occupied rooms and return finished floors before the next peak.
• Summer heat. Saudi Arabia bans outdoor work in direct sun from 12:00 to 15:00 between 15 June and 15 September. Interior fit-out continues, but facade, roof and delivery work is planned around those hours.

Logistics near the Haram

Sites close to the Masjid al-Haram or the Prophet's Mosque come with constraints that affect design decisions as much as programme:

• Crew eligibility. Only Muslims may enter Makkah. Before any site visit we confirm that each designer, supervisor and installer assigned to it is eligible to enter.
• Access and delivery windows. Vehicle access in the central areas is controlled and tightens in peak seasons. We favour prefabricated joinery, flat-packed furniture and modular bathroom elements that move in standard lifts and arrive in small loads.
• Storage. Laydown space is rare, so we sequence deliveries floor by floor rather than stockpiling.
• Working with Jeddah and Riyadh suppliers. Many materials and furniture items come through Jeddah, so lead times and transport are part of the specification, not an afterthought.

Design only or design and build

You can appoint NoVi in two ways:

• Design only: concept, detailed design, 3D visuals, material and FF and E schedules and tender drawings for your own contractor. This is how we worked on both our Makkah and Madinah projects.
• Design and build: one contract from survey to handover, where the same team designs, prices, coordinates MEP and finishes the space. Our Saudi branch in Riyadh runs design and build projects in the Kingdom, and for a Makkah or Madinah site we confirm the delivery team and site arrangements during the survey before we commit to a programme.

See our commercial design and build services for how a single contract works.

How pricing works

We do not publish a price per square metre for hotel design or fit-out, because two hotels of the same size can differ hugely in room count, bathroom count, MEP condition and finish level. Instead:

• For design only, we quote a fee based on the brief, the number of room types and public areas and the level of drawings you need.
• For design and build, we price from an itemised BOQ after a site survey or a full set of drawings, so you can see every line and compare alternatives.
• Value engineering is offered line by line, with the effect on durability and classification points made clear.

Our process

1. Brief and survey: target classification, operator standards, room mix, opening or reopening date and an as-built survey.
2. Concept: layouts for typical rooms and public areas, materials and lighting direction.
3. Mock-up room: for larger hotels, one finished typical room to test before repeating it across floors.
4. Detailed design: joinery, ceilings, lighting, bathroom and MEP coordination drawings.
5. BOQ and approvals: itemised quantities and submission drawings for your engineering office.
6. Fit-out (design and build only): phased site works, inspections and snagging.
7. Handover: as-built drawings, care and maintenance notes for housekeeping and engineering.

Related pages

• Hotel and hospitality fit-out in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
• Interior design in Jeddah and interior design in Riyadh
• Restaurant and cafe fit-out in Jeddah
• Clinic fit-out in Jeddah
• Majlis interior design in Riyadh
• NoVi in Saudi Arabia

Book a site survey or send your brief

Tell us the city, the building, the number of rooms and when you need it back in service. Call or WhatsApp our Saudi team on +966 54 346 1981, Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 to 18:00 Saudi time, book a site survey or request a proposal with your drawings. We will come back with a clear scope and the next steps.