Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud booked out three Maldives resorts, spending US $30 million on a month-long state visit.
Tourists with prior bookings have been informed that their holidays have been cancelled, since al-Saud reserved the islands exclusively for himself, according to the UK’s Daily Mail.
Anantara’s Veli, Naladhu and Dighu resorts will host the heir to the Saudi throne, and his guests, until March 15 – the booking was in effect from February 19. He will be accompanied by a luxury yacht, floating hospital and more than 100 bodyguards, the newspaper added.
The 78-year-old Prince Salman is visiting the archipelago at the invitation of the Maldivian president, Abdulla Yameen, according to the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry.
A series of negative “reviews” were cited from a variety of popular booking websites, which appear to have been removed.
An Antantara spokeswoman told DOTW News: “The wellbeing of our guests is always our primary concern and we are not at liberty to discuss individual reservations or visits to our hotels."
The firm’s cancellation policy declares that the resort chain reserves “the right to cancel or amend bookings if they do not adhere to our terms & conditions,” but there is no mention of last minute bookings by royalty.