Banyan Tree AlUla

I recently stayed at Banyan Tree, and unfortunately, my experience was far from what I expected. The main attraction—the rock pool—was closed during our stay, which was incredibly disappointing. It’s hard to justify such high prices when the facilities we were looking forward to were inaccessible. At the very least, a discount on our room night should have been offered. The alternatives provided were not acceptable. Each staff member gave us different information, leading to confusion about what options were available. We wanted to visit MyHabitas to use their pool, but they were fully booked. When we asked to check it out, we were told we had to pay a minimum spend, which should have been waived under the circumstances. We ended up having an overpriced mediocre lunch there. Service inconsistency was another major issue. Upon arrival, the concierge assured us we could book tickets to Hegra later that day. However, when we tried, we found out the tickets were sold out, and we ended up waiting four hours to get in. Interestingly, the ticketing office mentioned that Banyan Tree often provides incorrect information to guests about tours. While some staff members were great—like the friendly Philippine girl at breakfast and one attentive bellboy—the overall service lacked attention to detail. The resort itself had no proper program of experiences or activities. When we asked the concierge what to do on-site, he casually suggested we "relax and sleep," which felt dismissive. Our villa was visually stunning, but the wear and tear was disappointing. We noticed many scratches and signs of neglect. The bathroom amenities were not luxurious and felt poorly curated. For a high-end resort, thoughtful touches like a pool bag or sun hat should be standard. We were celebrating an anniversary, and while the team did a bed decoration, the effort felt lackluster. A small sweet plate from the lobby sweet corner and fruit basket were provided, but no one acknowledged our special occasion upon arrival, which was a missed opportunity for engagement. The arrival experience felt rushed and transactional, likely because staff were uncomfortable discussing the pool closure. It was disappointing that Banyan Tree couldn’t deliver a memorable experience. Additionally, we left our sunglasses in the room. Despite lingering in the lobby until 9 PM, no one thought to return them to us. We only realized they were missing at the airport, highlighting a lack of care and attention to service detail. You could have emailed or called us as the room was checked and cleaned as you claimed you were full house and couldn’t extend the late checkout not even for 30min. Overall, Banyan Tree offers stunning facilities and brilliant architecture, but the service is lacking. Without improvements, I fear they may lose guests to upcoming competitors like Aman. I cannot recommend this resort based on my experience.

很開心能來到這個地方，埃爾奧拉絕對是我最喜歡的地方，悦榕莊真的很棒，幫我做了升級，房間這正對着音樂廳，有24小時恆温泳池，早餐豐富，在沙漠裏能有這樣的酒店真心不容易，我一定還會再來

酒店就在沙漠中，景色獨特到處很出片。別墅超級大泳池也大也很整潔。早餐很一般已經取消自助部分，全部是點單制，味道一般般。員工動作很慢，磨磨蹭蹭！估計也知道來過一次短時間不會有回頭客，阿拉伯人服務意識也不行。完全為景色買單吧！入住當天都快下午五點了沒有房間，在前台當場發了一頓火，才給解決了。