How We Execute Large-Scale Hospitality Projects in Saudi Arabia
Delivering a large-scale hospitality project in Saudi Arabia is one of the most demanding challenges in the interior design industry. The scale is extraordinary. The standards are uncompromising. The timelines are fixed. And the cost of getting it wrong — in lost revenue, brand damage, and remediation expense — is enormous.
At Saudi Kenz, hotel interior design in Saudi Arabia is one of our core specializations. Over 22 years, we’ve delivered fit-outs for five-star hotels, luxury resorts, boutique properties, and large hospitality developments across Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah. In this article, we take you inside our execution methodology — so you understand exactly how we approach these projects, and why our approach consistently delivers results that meet the demands of the world’s most discerning hospitality brands.
Why Hospitality Projects Are Different
Before we get into process, it’s worth understanding what makes hospitality projects fundamentally different from residential or corporate interior design.
Scale is non-negotiable. A hotel isn’t one space — it’s hundreds. A typical five-star property might include 300+ guest rooms, 10+ food and beverage outlets, multiple ballrooms and meeting rooms, arrival and lobby areas, spa and wellness facilities, back-of-house corridors, and staff areas. Furthermore, each of these spaces has its own functional requirements, its own brand guidelines, and its own user experience objectives. Managing that complexity requires a level of organizational discipline that most interior firms simply don’t have.
Timelines are immovable. A hotel opening date is not a target — it’s a contractual commitment with financial consequences. Pre-opening marketing campaigns, advance bookings, staff training programs, and brand launch events are all scheduled around it. As a result, a delay in the interior fit-out doesn’t just push back a handover date — it triggers a cascade of costs and complications across the entire organization.
Brand standards are mandatory. International hotel brands operate detailed design standards that govern everything from the color temperature of guest room lighting to the minimum thread count of upholstery fabrics. These standards are not suggestions — they are requirements, enforced through brand audits before opening. Consequently, every material specification, every furniture piece, and every installation must be documented and defensible against the brand standard.
Commercial durability is essential. Hotel interiors face punishment that residential spaces never experience. Guest rooms are occupied almost every night. Public areas see thousands of visitors daily. Cleaning regimes involve chemicals and methods that would destroy domestic-grade materials. In addition, everything must continue to look pristine for years — because a luxury hotel that shows its age loses its ability to command premium rates.
Our Hospitality Project Methodology
Over two decades of delivering hotel interior design in Saudi Arabia, we’ve developed a project methodology that addresses every one of these challenges — consistently, reliably, and to the standard that international hospitality brands demand.
Phase 1: Pre-Design & Brand Alignment
Every hospitality project begins with a thorough review of the brand design standards and the operator’s specific brief for the property. This is not a formality — it’s the foundation on which every subsequent decision is built.
Our design team reviews the brand book in detail, identifies all mandatory specifications, and maps them against the architectural drawings to understand where brand requirements and spatial constraints might create tension. Furthermore, we establish which elements of the design are fixed by brand standards and which offer creative latitude — so we know exactly where to focus our design energy.
At the same time, we conduct a detailed site assessment — reviewing the structural drawings, the MEP coordination drawings, and the construction programme to understand the sequence of works and identify any interfaces that could affect the interior fit-out timeline.
The output of this phase is a detailed Pre-Design Report — documenting our understanding of the brief, the brand requirements, the site conditions, and the project constraints. This report is reviewed and approved by the client before any design work begins.
Phase 2: Concept Design & Space Planning
With the brief clearly established, our design team develops the concept — the overarching creative direction that will give the property its identity and atmosphere.
For hospitality projects, concept development is a structured discipline. We develop concepts at two levels simultaneously: the macro level — the overall narrative of the property, expressed through palette, materiality, and spatial character — and the micro level — the specific design solutions for each room type and public area.
Furthermore, concept development in hospitality must always be tested against operational requirements. A beautiful lobby concept that doesn’t allow for efficient luggage flow, or a restaurant design that creates acoustics problems, or a guest room layout that compromises housekeeping efficiency — these are failures regardless of their aesthetic merit. Consequently, our concepts are reviewed against operational criteria from the very beginning, not as an afterthought.
The concept is presented to the client and operator with detailed mood boards, material palettes, 3D visualizations, and a written design narrative. Approval at this stage gates entry to the next phase.
Phase 3: Design Development & Technical Documentation
Once the concept is approved, we move into the most technically intensive phase of the project — developing every design decision into fully coordinated, construction-ready documentation.
This includes detailed drawings for every space type — room type layouts, public area plans, reflected ceiling plans, elevations, section details, and full furniture schedules. Moreover, all drawings are coordinated with the structural and MEP drawings to eliminate conflicts before they reach the site.
For hospitality projects, we also develop a complete FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment) specification — documenting every item in the project with its exact specification, source, lead time, and installation requirements. This schedule becomes the master reference document for procurement, logistics, and installation coordination throughout the project.
Phase 4: Materials Sourcing & Procurement
Here, Saudi Kenz’s unique position in the Saudi market becomes a decisive advantage.
As one of the Kingdom’s largest distributors of premium international wallcoverings and fabrics, we hold stock of materials that other contractors must order weeks or months in advance. When a project requires a specific Nobilis wallcovering or a Clarke & Clarke fabric, we don’t wait for an import — we deliver from our warehouse.
Furthermore, our relationships with international suppliers — built over 22 years of continuous trading — give us access to priority allocation, competitive pricing, and early notification of any supply disruptions that might affect the project timeline. In a large hotel project, where hundreds of material lines must arrive on site in a precisely sequenced order, this supply chain advantage is not marginal — it’s critical.
Custom elements — bespoke furniture, custom joinery, specialty lighting fixtures — are commissioned during this phase, with manufacturing scheduled to align with the installation programme.
Phase 5: Site Execution & Installation
With documentation complete and materials procured, we mobilize our installation teams. For large hospitality projects, this typically involves multiple teams working in parallel across different areas of the property — coordinated by a dedicated Project Manager who maintains the master programme and manages all interfaces between our work and other contractors on site.
Our installation teams cover every discipline in-house:
Wallcovering installation teams handle all wall surfaces — from standard vinyl wallcoverings in guest room corridors to complex hand-finished decorative treatments in feature public areas. Custom furniture and joinery teams install all built-in elements — headboards, wardrobes, reception desks, bar counters, and architectural millwork. Curtains and soft furnishing teams handle all window treatments, bed dressings, and upholstered elements. Architectural lighting teams install all lighting fixtures, commission control systems, and program scenes for each area. Carpet and flooring teams handle all soft and hard floor finishes throughout the property. Finishing teams manage all surface preparation and final decoration works.
Because all of these teams belong to Saudi Kenz — reporting to the same Project Manager, working to the same quality standard, accountable to the same leadership — coordination between disciplines is seamless. As a result, the interfaces that cause most delays and quality problems in multi-contractor projects simply don’t exist.
Phase 6: Quality Assurance & Pre-Opening Inspection
Before any area is handed over, it goes through our internal quality assurance process. Each space is inspected against the approved specification — checking every surface, every fixture, every furniture piece, and every lighting scene against the documented standard.
Snag items are catalogued, assigned, and resolved before the client walkthrough — so the handover inspection is a confirmation of completion, not a discovery of problems. Furthermore, we prepare complete handover documentation for every area — including as-built drawings, material specifications, maintenance guidelines, and supplier contact information.
This documentation is not a bureaucratic formality. In a hotel environment, where maintenance teams need to source replacement materials and service providers need to understand what was installed, comprehensive handover documentation is a genuine operational asset.
What Saudi Kenz Brings to Every Hospitality Project
A single point of accountability: Every discipline, every trade, every material — all under one contract and one leadership. When something needs to be resolved, there is one call to make.
In-house capability across every discipline: We don’t subcontract the difficult parts. Our craftsmen, installers, and specialists are our own people — trained to our standards, managed by our supervisors, and accountable to our quality system.
Material sourcing advantage: Our position as a major distributor of premium international materials gives us supply chain resilience and speed that no purely contracting firm can match.
Saudi market knowledge: 22 years of working exclusively in Saudi Arabia means we understand the regulatory environment, the logistics landscape, and the cultural context that shape every decision on a Saudi hospitality project.
Proven track record: 500+ completed projects. Multiple large-scale hotel fit-outs delivered on time and to brand standard. A reputation that is built on results — not promises.
Starting Your Hospitality Project
If you’re planning a hotel, resort, or large-scale hospitality development in Saudi Arabia, the most important decision you’ll make is choosing your interior fit-out partner. That decision should be made early — before design begins, not after it’s finished.
The earlier Saudi Kenz is involved in your project, the more value we can add — through design input, material specification guidance, procurement planning, and programme coordination that sets the project up for success from day one.
Explore our project portfolio to see our hospitality work, or contact us directly to discuss your project.
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