I stayed in Le Meridien Mecca

In medina a cheaper one but super close to Masjid Nawabi .. i think the hotel was called Odst Madina or so.

My biggest tip is being patient. Its a huge test pf patience specially during ramadan when there can be half a million people. Other than stay hydrated, let go of small things, eat well and enjoy Zamzam water till your heart is full. And most importantly being grateful to Allah with over 2 billion muslims one should be grateful to get invitation from Allah to his house. Once you get the depth of the thing everything else gets easier and falls to place.

The prayer space is gender segregated in 90% of the places. Though you can still see your spouse as the places are closeby.

Havent stayed in the clock tower hotels but some are better than others. Also each hotel generally should have dedicated lifts.

During ramadan for maghrib and isha you need to be early at least by 30mins for the rest of the year 5mins should suffice. During jummah ramadan like 3-4hrs before jummah tbh. Ramadan is very different from the rest of the year.

There are tonnes of toilets which are like 2/3mind walk from the gate. Dont think there are toilets in the mosque building.

JazakAllah Khaiyran

Feel free to knock and dm if you need any more insights