Changing hotels in Taif is simplest when you treat the move as a journey in its own right: one booking from the exact hotel you are leaving to the exact hotel you are moving to, with a pickup time that fits both check-out and check-in, and a vehicle big enough for every bag you own. It should not be hidden inside a sightseeing outing, and it should not be left to the day. Once the move is booked, check every later journey, because a pickup booked from your first hotel will not follow you to the second.
This guide is for visitors who split a stay in Taif between two places, most often a city hotel and a mountain resort at Al Hada or Al Shafa, and for families planning that split on behalf of parents or a group. It covers why the move needs its own booking, how to time it, how to set it up, how to choose the vehicle for luggage, when to combine it with a visit, and how to keep the rest of the itinerary pointing at the right hotel.
Why changing hotels in Taif is a journey of its own
In the Jeddah Cabs booking system, a journey has one pickup place, one destination, a pickup date and time in Saudi local time (UTC+3), and a count of passengers and bags. The pickup and destination must be different. That structure is what makes a hotel move clean: Hotel A is the pickup, Hotel B is the destination, and everyone knows where the day ends.
Problems start when the move is described as something else. “An outing to Al Shafa” suggests a return to the hotel you started from. “Collect us after lunch” does not say where to. A driver who expects to bring you back to the city with your suitcases, when your new room is in the mountains, is following the booking, not your intention.
There is a second reason. Only the pickup time can be changed online. The place, destination, passengers and vehicle cannot. So the move needs to be right when you book it, and every later journey needs to start from the hotel you will actually be in.
Common reasons to change hotels in Taif
Taif covers a wide area. Saudipedia’s entry on Taif Governorate puts the city at about 1,800 m above sea level, al-Hada about 20 km to the west and al-Shafa approximately 25 km south-west, at about 2,500 m. Taif Municipality even organises the area into separate sub-municipalities, including al-Hada and al-Shifa, according to Saudipedia’s page on Taif Municipality. So a move “within Taif” can be a short city hop or a proper drive into the mountains.
The moves we see most often:
- City first, mountains second. Arrive from Jeddah into a city hotel, then move up to a resort for the rest of the stay.
- Mountains first, city last. Enjoy a resort, then move to the city for the final night before the journey back to Jeddah.
- Split by purpose. A few nights near Al Shafa for farms and walks, then a few near Al Hada for the escarpment.
- An unplanned change. A hotel moves you to a sister property, or you decide to change after the first night.
If you are still choosing between a city and a mountain base, the Jeddah Cabs guide to where to stay in Taif for mountain day trips may save you a move altogether.
Timing the move around check-out and check-in
The best pickup time is usually shortly after you are ready to leave Hotel A, not a time chosen to suit Hotel B.
Ask both hotels
Check-out and check-in times differ between properties. Ask Hotel A for its check-out time and whether a late check-out is possible. Ask Hotel B for its check-in time and whether an early arrival can be noted on the reservation. Get both answers in writing.
The gap in the middle
If you have to leave Hotel A well before Hotel B’s room is ready, you have three options: arrive early and wait in Hotel B’s lobby, ask Hotel B to hold bags until the room is ready, or fill the gap with a visit. Holding luggage is an arrangement between you and the hotel; it is not something a transport booking includes. A car cannot sit with your cases while you sightsee.
Daylight and weather
Mountain roads are easier in daylight. Saudipedia’s entry on Aqabat al-Kurr, the al-Hada road, notes frequent temporary closures when fog forms and in rain. Even if your move does not use that road, mountain weather can change quickly around Taif. A late-morning or midday move leaves margin for the unexpected.
Taif hotel to hotel taxi: setting up the booking
A Taif hotel to hotel taxi is booked like any other journey, but a few details matter more than usual.
Pickup: the hotel you are leaving
Type Hotel A’s full name and check the result in the route summary. If there is more than one property with a similar name, or the map pin falls on a road rather than the entrance, say so in the booking notes.
Destination: the hotel you are moving to
Do the same for Hotel B. Mountain resorts in particular can have long private roads, separate reception buildings or entrances away from the main road. If Hotel B has described its entrance, copy that into the notes.
Notes for the driver
Include both hotel names as they appear on your confirmations, a contact number for the lead traveller, the number of large cases and cabin bags, and anything about mobility or help with bags.
Stops
You can add up to 8 stops to a journey, visited in the order you enter them. A short stop for water, a pharmacy or a quick photograph is fine. A long visit with all your luggage in the car is not, as the next sections explain.
Moving between Taif hotels with luggage: choosing the vehicle
A moving day is the one day in Taif when every suitcase travels, and that often means a different vehicle from the one you use for outings. Moving between Taif hotels with luggage is where under-counting bags causes the most trouble.
The search shows only vehicle classes that pass the capacity check for your party and luggage. Typical capacities, shown as a class with an example model “or similar”:
| Vehicle class | Seats | Large bags |
|---|---|---|
| Economy (Toyota Camry class) | 4 | 2 (Camry 3) |
| Business and Executive | 4 | 3 |
| Hyundai Staria (VIP van) | 6 | 2 |
| Premium SUV (Chevrolet Tahoe) | 6 | 4 |
| GMC Yukon XL | 7 | 6 |
| Hyundai H1 (family van or MPV) | 7 | 6 |
| Toyota Hiace | 11 | 10 |
| Toyota Coaster (minibus) | 19 | 11 |
In live checks, 4 adults with 4 large cases were offered only Premium SUV and larger; 5 adults with 5 large cases only seven-seat vehicles and larger. Count what you have now, not what you arrived with: shopping, rose products and gifts add up over a stay. The Jeddah Cabs guide to reading the seats and bags labels in results shows where the numbers appear.
Note the Staria line: six seats but only two large bags. A family of five with five cases may be better served by a seven-seat class with more luggage space.
Moving and visiting on the same day
Many people want to see something on moving day. It can work, but the choice of plan matters.
| Plan | How it is booked | Suits | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight move | One journey, Hotel A to Hotel B | Heavy luggage, older relatives, bad weather | No sightseeing that day |
| Move with a short stop | One journey with a named stop in order | A viewpoint or a shop on the way, a few minutes | All luggage stays in the car during the stop |
| Move, then a visit | One journey to Hotel B, then separate journeys out from Hotel B | Any visit longer than a short pause | Needs Hotel B to take bags or give an early room |
| Visit from Hotel A, then move | Separate outing journeys from Hotel A, back to Hotel A, then the move | A late check-out at Hotel A | Two trips’ worth of driving before the move |
The third row is usually the cleanest. The move ends at Hotel B, the bags go behind reception, and the visit becomes an ordinary outing with nothing valuable in the boot. The Jeddah Cabs guide to giving a Taif outing one anchor place covers planning that outing.
Fixing the bookings that come after the move
This is the step people forget. Changing hotels in Taif affects every journey booked for the days that follow.
Check every later pickup
Go through your account and look at each future journey. Any outing, and above all the final journey to Jeddah Airport, must start from the hotel you will be staying in on that day. A pickup booked from Hotel A will send a driver to Hotel A.
What can and cannot be changed online
Only the time can be changed online, through “Request a new pickup time” on a paid booking, before the pickup time. An approved change carries a £5 rescheduling fee, converted into your booking currency and added to the cash paid to the driver; a rejected request costs nothing.
A different pickup place cannot be changed online. It needs the booking team, or a new booking plus a cancellation request for the old one. Bookings are subject to our cancellation terms (free cancellation with a full refund up to 48 hours before pickup; inside 48 hours the deposit element of the price is kept) if the customer cancels, so the refund depends on when you cancel. If we or the transport partner cancel, or cannot supply the journey, you receive a full refund for the affected journey. The Jeddah Cabs cancellation and refund policy sets out the detail.
The practical lesson: decide the hotel split before you book the journeys that start from each hotel.
The last leg
If your final night moves to the city, or to Jeddah, the return journey changes with it. The Jeddah Cabs guides to the Taif to Jeddah Airport journey and to spending the final night in Jeddah after Taif cover both versions.
When the hotel moves you
Sometimes changing hotels in Taif is not your choice. A hotel may be overbooked and offer a room at a sister property, or a resort may move guests during works. When that happens, treat it as a new destination, not a small change.
Ask the hotel for the new property’s full name, address and map location in writing. Then check your bookings. If the move affects a journey you have already booked, such as an outing or the final transfer to Jeddah, the pickup place is now wrong, and that cannot be fixed online. Contact the booking team with the booking reference, the new hotel’s details and the hotel’s written confirmation, and ask what they can do. If a new booking is needed, remember that a customer cancellation of the old one is subject to our cancellation terms (free cancellation with a full refund up to 48 hours before pickup; inside 48 hours the deposit element of the price is kept), so talk to the booking team before cancelling anything.
If the hotel is arranging and paying for your transfer to its other property, that is between you and the hotel. Keep its confirmation with your own bookings so you know who is collecting you and when.
Moving on an arrival or departure day
Some travellers try to fold the move into the long journeys at either end of the stay. That can save a transfer, but only if the plan is settled in advance.
On arrival. If you will spend the first nights at a mountain resort, you may not need a city hotel at all: book the Jeddah Airport journey straight to the resort. If you land late, a first night in the city, or even in Jeddah, can make more sense, with the move up the next day in daylight. The Jeddah Cabs guide to making your first night in Taif the destination works through that choice.
On departure. If your last hotel is in the mountains, the journey to Jeddah Airport simply starts there. There is no need to move to the city first unless you want the final night there. Either way, book the last leg from the hotel you will actually leave from.
A worked example: a two-hotel stay
Sarah Whitfield is taking her father, Graham, who is 78 and walks with a stick, for five nights in Taif in spring. She books two nights at a city hotel and three at a resort near Al Shafa. They have three large cases and two cabin bags.
She books the arrival from Jeddah Airport to the city hotel first. For the move, she asks both hotels for their times: the city hotel’s check-out is at noon, and the resort confirms in writing that it can take their bags from late morning and have the room ready by mid-afternoon.
She books one Taif hotel to hotel journey for eleven in the morning on day three, city hotel to resort, in a Business and Executive class car with room for three large cases. In the notes she writes both hotel names, the resort’s description of its entrance, and “Father walks with a stick; please help with the cases.”
Their outing to a rose farm is booked for day four, from the resort, not the city hotel. The final journey, resort to Jeddah Airport, is booked from the resort too. Before paying, Sarah reads every route summary and checks that each pickup is the right hotel. All the journeys read Confirmed well ahead.
On moving day, they reach the resort before lunch, leave the cases at reception, and rest in the lounge until the room is ready.
Booking rules that apply to a hotel move
The move is an ordinary journey, so the usual rules apply:
- Notice: online bookings need at least 48 hours’ notice before pickup.
- Minimum: each journey has a minimum booking value equivalent to £40, shown as a “Minimum booking amount” line if a fare would be lower. A short city hop may fall under it.
- Payment: Jeddah Cabs may take only a deposit online, with the balance paid in cash to the driver; the checkout shows both amounts.
- Status: payment secures a provisional request. The booking team updates the status within 1 to 12 hours, and the journey is booked only when it reads Confirmed.
- Waiting: each vehicle class has an included waiting allowance, not currently shown on the search results. If check-out might run late, ask the booking team to confirm in writing what is included.
Your hotel move checklist
Before you book the move, check each of these:
- Both hotels’ names exactly as on the confirmations, and each one checked in the route summary.
- Hotel A’s check-out time and Hotel B’s check-in time, confirmed in writing.
- Where your bags will be if Hotel B’s room is not ready, agreed with Hotel B.
- Every large case and cabin bag counted as it is now, and a vehicle class that fits them.
- A pickup time in daylight, with margin for mountain weather.
- Any sightseeing booked as separate journeys from Hotel B, or as a short stop only.
- Every later journey checked so that it starts from the hotel you will be in that day.
- At least 48 hours’ notice, and every booking showing Confirmed.
Changing hotels in Taif is a small journey that holds the rest of the stay together. When you know both hotels and your bag count, use the Jeddah Cabs transfer finder to enter the hotel you are leaving and the one you are moving to, and choose a vehicle that fits everything.