Lesson of the day, even if you have diplomatic immunity it would probably be best if you paid your hotel bill before trying to skip out in the middle of the night, especially when that bill is $7.5 million and you can’t exactly “sneak” away with a 60 person entourage.
That was exactly what happened in December at a luxury hotel in Paris when Saudi Princess Maha al-Sudani (ex to Crown Prince Nayef ben Abdel Aziz) tried to leave the Shangri-La without paying her massively huge bill.
The Saudi princess racked up her bill after taking over a 41-room floor at the hotel. Apparently she tried to leave at 3:30am when hotel staff realized she had not paid her bill, eventually police were called as dozens of bags of luggage were loaded in multiple limousines.
Princess Maha al-Sudani does have diplomatic immunity which means she could not be arrested however she paid her hotel bill and went on her way.
When the hotel in question was contacted by the AFP a manager on duty said they had “no problems” with clients, and “no unpaid bills.”
This is not the first time the Saudi princess has been in trouble over financial mistakes, King Abdallah “grounded” her inside one of his palaces for two years after she ran up massive spending bills in 2009. Eventually she was given refuge in a hotel owned by the emir of Qatar.
With billions of dollars at their disposal it is still not clear if $7.5 million is going to land her in hot water with the Saudi King for a second time.
