Dubai, Tel Aviv and beyond: CNBC names the best hotels for business travel in the Middle East

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

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

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

In total, we analyzed more than 10,000 four- and five-star hotels in 117 locations to produce lists corporate travelers can trust. We did this using a three-step process:

• Asking business travelers and hotel industry professionals to answer a CNBC reader survey which ran from May 3 to June 7, 2022.
• Reviewing more than 1 million hotel data points, which included objective information (location, business facilities, food, leisure activities and room characteristics) and subjective reviews (gathered from Google, TripAdvisor, Expedia and similar websites).
• Weighting the data to prioritize the hotel characteristics deemed most important in the reader survey.

For full details on our research methodology, click here.

From Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, here is the full list of the 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 at 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 fewer than 200 rooms and suites, it’s not huge, yet it has seven on-site restaurants and lounges. Bookings that include access to the Manor Club come with more than the usual lounge fare: all-day food and evening cocktails, yes — but also early check-ins, spa discounts, boardroom usage and a fitness consultation with a personal trainer.

1. Alegria Business Hotel
2. Holiday Inn Ankara — Cukurambar
3. Ankara Atli Hotel
4. Ankara HiltonSA
5. Occidental Ankara

The Alegria is all business — as befits its name. Opened in 2020, the hotel blends contemporary decor with simple conveniences. Though 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 City Center Doha
4. Mondrian Doha
5. Park Hyatt Doha

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

1. Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai
2. Jumeirah Living World Trade Centre Residence
3. Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre
4. Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre 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 standout Sheraton hotels, and this hotel was among the first ten properties to receive the label. The 54-story tall hotel has a bar and pool on the rooftop, plus a ballroom that can seat 400. 

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

With a posh address at the Zorlu Center, Raffles Istanbul tops CNBC’s hotel list in Turkey’s largest city. Every room comes with a personal butler, available 24 hours a day. There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, an on-site helipad and “meet and greet” airport service that fast-tracks travelers through passport control.

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

The Svalinn Hotel is a practical and popular choice for business travelers in Izmir. Room rates are low, but accolades are high. It has the amenities that business travelers value — an on-site restaurant, bar and patisserie — all just a few miles from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport.

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

Business travelers may miss having space when staying in city hotels, and Assila has them covered. It’s got rooms and suites, but also one- to four-bedroom apartments. Part of Marriott’s “The Luxury Collection” hotels, the hotel’s business center is anything but an afterthought — it’s a vibrant space awash in natural sunlight with copying and printing services. 

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

The American Colony Hotel is more akin to a home than a hotel. The original portion of the hotel was the former palace of a pasha — or high-ranking Ottoman official — and his four wives. During its 120-year history, the hotel added three more buildings, including the Cow Byre, a former barn which now has suites with private terraces. 

1. Four Points by Sheraton Makkah Al Naseem
2. InterContinental Dar Al Tawhid
3. Raffles Makkah 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 right for business visitors who are watching their travel budgets.   

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 car ride to the city can stay at the Radisson Hotel Riyadh Airport — it’s just five minutes from King Khalid International Airport by car. Rooms are generous with space, ranging from entry-level ones measuring 670 square feet to sprawling villas with offices and private pools.

1. The Norman Tel Aviv
2. The Drisco Hotel
3. Ink Hotel
4. The David Kempinski
5. The Jaffa Tel Aviv

A beautiful blend 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, plus same-day dry-cleaning services.

— Natalie Tham contributed to this report.