Openings: Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel, Mecca

Excepting those like, say, Gandhi and Francis of Assisi, many otherwise religiously bound mortals have totally missed the point of that whole “rejection of materialism” thing. And the building of a luxury hotel and shopping complex at that Muslim mecca ... um, well, actually Mecca, only confirms this suspicion. But as if to be a veritable measure of the Almighty, the new majestic Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel, opening this September, will be 76 stories and nearly 1,900 feet tall. It will also feature a 131-foot clock -- a weighty reminder of the fleeting nature of this earthly existence.

Managed by Fairmont, it’s a distinctly luxurious affair. But other than the 11 internationally representative restaurants, it would perhaps be a bit unseemly to go on about plush amenities, as this is not exactly, you know, a spa destination. But if you’re going to make the holy pilgrimage, this is now surely the way to do it in style. Inshallah!