Hellboy666

Hello all,
would anyone know if there is a general approach how Hilton hotels in the Middle East will handle Ramadan? Specifically Oman, UAE, and Qatar. I am planning holidays in March next year and just discovered that this will be the Ramadan time.
A search doesn't bring anything specific - in several individual hotel threads Ramadan is touched, but one can't read all pages of all of them ...

In General one can read on the internet that Ramadan is not imposed on tourists and hotels should still operate as usual. I would think that restrictions would noticeably hit hotel profits and impact customer satisfaction, or people just wouldn't come.
So is that a good assumption, or does have any more reliable information? In worst case I can contact each hotel, but it's a bit cumbersome.

Thanks all in advance!

khabah

As someone who lives in the Gulf states and lived/travels extensively among them, I offer you the following feedback:

• The UAE is far and away the most lenient of all the GCC states; this past Ramadan, many restaurants were open in the daytime hours. In other countries, restaurants will either close, or turn off their lights and open up a walled-/curtained-off section in the back for non-fasting clients.
• Alcohol [outside of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia] is offered around the clock via in-room dining, but restaurants/bars/club lounges will offer drinks service after sunset. Not a Hilton example, but when staying at a Hyatt in Doha last Ramadan, they offered food in the club lounge but happy hour drinks were only served in the room via in-room dining. In my experience with the UAE, drinks are served in the lounge after sunset.
• You're still expected to compose yourself in line with local norms when in public; this means no eating, drinking, chewing gum or smoking unless you're in designated spaces, lest you come at risk of penalties [including fines and up to jail time].
• I know you said it's cumbersome, but the best thing you can do is contact the hotels you'll be staying at and asking them how they handle their offerings, as each country and property operate under their own interpretation of the often-nebulous rules.

Good luck - Ramadan is a tricky beast to navigate, even for those of us here!

khabah

Penguinmoon

As someone based in a Muslim country, and I have been in Dubai during Ramadan I would also add to the above:

After breaking fast in the evening, it will get crazy and loud. Many larger luxury hotels will be full of families with unsupervised kids. Families will stay in hotels as most of their household staff will have returned to their home countries.

NoY

To add to the above......the roads can get really chaotic just before Iftar time with some people driving like crazy to get to family/Iftar etc in order to break their fast together. Taxis etc can be almost impossible to get. If one is not used to this time of year in The M.E. region it can be a challenge. Hotel dining venues can also get super busy.

Swanhunter

It’s an experience and if you go with it can be great fun. But if you just want a trip where you can be free and do whatever takes your whim, probably not the best time to visit.

bigdog2

Eating and drinking in public in daytime hours during Ramadan is 'banned' by law but IME as a foreign visitor you are not likely to be hassled about it. Drinking from a water bottle won't get you rude stares or anything like that.

kvan

So the Exec lounges will serve food during daylight hours, but not alcohol? And they will deliver drinks to your room? Seems an odd workaround.

Danny Martello

In Oman this is definitely against the law, which equally applies to tourists. And you just don't do it! I did carry a water bottle in my shopper (bag) but only had a sip in the restroom of a museum or a mall.... I would not go to Oman again during Ramadan. There was no "life" during the day....

craigthemif

This comment is worth highlighting.

It's not a case of the international hotels not providing something resembling regular food and drink service to non-Muslim guests during the day. It's the fact that there will be 2-3 evening hours each day where the public areas / restaurants of the hotel will be quite hectic and non-Muslims won't be served anything at all, because the Muslim guests / locals will be taken care of first.

Also a +1 for the recommendation to avoid Oman during Ramadan. Dubai and to a lesser extent Abu Dhabi are the only places where you can expect that most Ramadan restrictions won't apply to you as an international tourist.

Hellboy666

Wow thank you all for the responses and great guidance. Several aspects to consider then, specifically for Oman.
It's not an issue to honor the Ramadan tradition & local culture, we will spend probably a large amount of time in the hotels anyways. But I'll then better check with the hotels.
So, thanks again!

ElevatorEnthusiast

I was in Egypt during Ramadan last year and honestly didn't notice much of a difference among the offerings from many hotels - of course, that might be unique to Egypt as it's not 100 percent Muslim.