-
Now that I have the (award) flights sorted, it’s time to start booking the incidentals, so where better to ask for the best tips & advice?
We’re going QR in J FCO-DOH-ADL and returning QR in J ADL-DOH but then swapping to BA in J (using up a 2-4-1 just before it expires) DOH-LHR.
I’ll save the subject of Adelaide for a separate post, so this is all about Doha. We’ve never been (& haven’t seen much of the Arabian peninsula generally; mostly Dubai and Abu Dhabi). We only have 2 nights/3 days in each direction so will just need to cover highlights.
Absolutely all tips and tricks are most welcome please, particularly;~ where is a good district to stay for a not too long journey from the airport (mostly in the middle of the night)
~ how is best to do that journey? Uber or expensive pre-booked transfers?
~ with the above in mind, can we reach an area of the city where we can walk out of the hotel & enjoy principal sights as well as find restaurants in the evening?
~ any recommendations for pleasant hotels? Mid-range, no need for beach access, quirky or authentic would be nice.
~ what are the principal sights and are there other less touristy recommendations?
~ is a boat trip a good idea? We like seeing places from the water.
~ finally, what’s not to miss at the famous airport, other than the bear and the gardens?Once again, all contributed wisdom will be very much appreciated. Thank you.
We stayed at the RC Doha, I did a mini trip report from December ’23. I think Rhys did a review of the Sheraton a couple of years ago.
I can’t remember if we got Uber from the airport but we used them on the way back and also to go shopping, cheap and efficient.
We did an evening boat trip which offered stunning views of the Skyline and included an interesting commentary on the city and how fast it’s been developed.
Food in restaurants is fairly pricey and the laws on alcohol are stricter than in Dubai – we only drank in the hotel lounge anyway.
We got the feeling it’s safe to walk around in most of the areas, it was very clean and pristine (and conservative), even more so than Dubai, and everyone we spoke to was helpful and friendly in a very unobtrusive way!
To see more of the natural sights you need to head a few hours out of the city, I’d definitely come that on a future trip.
There are lots of nearby hotels to choose from either downtown or in West Bay. Both are just 15/20 minutes taxi from the airport. Hotels are a bit more expensive in West Bay as its on the coast, but downtown is just a 10/15 mins stroll away where the hotels are half price or less.
I always just jump in a taxi at the airport, they are all metered and very cheap, a taxi to Sheraton Grand Resort in West Bay has never came to more than £12.
As NL says above, if you like a drink stay in a hotel with lounge access.Good info thanks @NorthernLass and @bungalow. I didn’t anticipate eating out to be expensive; do you know if there are “where locals go” sorts of restaurants (i.e. accessible to tourists)?
Evening boat trip sounds right up our street. Book now through vile Tripadvisor type conglomerates or turn up on spec?
Good news on the taxi & transport options and I think we can steel ourselves for a few dry evenings rather than have to be confined to an homogeneous hotel bar.
Sheraton resort must be good enough to lure you back @bungalow?Sheraton Grand Resort Doha is my go to hotel in Qatar – there’s a review on this site somewhere if you search.
The hotel is a Doha classic, out on its own peninsula and the best private beach and grounds in Doha, second to none. However rooms and décor are quite dated, if quirky, but spotlessly clean and the location and service more than make up for that, and the breakfast is superb.
They also have an exec lounge, nothing fancy, plain and simple but would more than cover your food needs every evening. I have never eaten out in Doha, other than the little food outlet caravan with a few tables and chairs just 50 metres from the hotel entrance (which is NOT expensive 🙂
The hotel wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, not one of these brand sparkling new builds, but it is an absolute classic, and IMHO cannot be beaten for a 3 day break.* I’m Marriott Platinum so get a bit of an upgrade and free lounge access which helps.
Although we aren’t beach fans & would want to explore Doha, the Sheraton you describe (and the adjacent food van) actually sound very “us” @bungalow . Thank you for elaborating. I’m Marriott Gold, so I might just squeeze an upgrade, I can’t keep track of each chain’s perks without checking each time!
Very helpful, thanks again.Marriott Gold should get you some sort of an upgrade, probably a room on the side with the best views, but no free breakfast, I guess you’d have to book that with the room, but well worth it.
I think you’ll be happy enough.
Enjoy!I think you’ll be happy enough.
Enjoy!😊
I stayed at the Embassy Suites. (Hilton Gold). Was an extremely nice place, lovely suite. Evening free nibbles and snacks in the restaurant (with soft drinks).
Last Oct Uber was blocked from the airport so you had to use the taxis at double the price but everywhere else Ubers were very cheap to get around and the enbassy was 5-10 mins walk from the souk. 10 mins to/from the airport even in “rush hour”
We’re planning to stay in Doha for a few days each way on our trip to Singapore in January / February next year. When are you planning to visit?
It’s a big birthday / retirement celebration trip so we are pushing the boat out a bit so to speak and are staying at the Mandarin Oriental on the way out and Raffles on the way back. Both hotels were booked with Bon Vivant so will get some extra benefits.
The MO is located in Msheireb which should allow us to walk to the Falcon Souq, Souq Waqif, the Corniche, Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum of Qatar. Being a bit old school I use a guidebook to plan and have the Lonely Planet one for this trip. It has a number of recommendations of places to eat (at all price ranges) so will hope to try some out – hotel lounges have their purpose but we’d rather be out and about.
Raffles is further north up the coast so will give us a chance to relax at the end of our trip and explore the area around the Pearl. The MO should only be about 20 minutes by car from the airport and Raffles around half-an-hour.
We’re still planning so open to further suggestions and would love to get your feedback if you are going before us.
We’ll probably get taxis / Ubers to and from the airport but there is a metro system that links the airport to the city and beyond, 3 lines seem to intersect at Msheireb so will hopefully allow us to explore further, there is also a tram system to the North near The Pearl area.
I would just get a taxi from the airport, they are pretty cheap and direct, leave the metro for getting around after.
On the metro, it’s spotlessly clean, but be aware there are women only carriages! Easy mistake to make until you take a seat onboard then the penny drops lol. Cheap as chips though, but you won’t see many tourists, mainly workers. I used it to travel around all the stadiums pre world cup, and back then you could buy a day pass from the machine for a couple of quid, prob still the same.
Dead easy to navigate too…We’re planning to stay in Doha for a few days each way on our trip to Singapore in January / February next year. When are you planning to visit?
We’re still planning so open to further suggestions and would love to get your feedback if you are going before us.
Far from being any help in advance, it looks like we could almost bump into each other! We arrive in Doha 29th Jan next year. You sound like you have the planning well in hand; I love an old fashioned guide book but only for planning, they’re a pain to carry!
I hope you have a fab celebratory trip, enjoy it all!
On the metro, it’s spotlessly clean, but be aware there are women only carriages! Easy mistake to make until you take a seat onboard then the penny drops lol.
Being of the XX chromosome persuasion myself, I think I’ll ditch the OH and give that a go, just for the experience!
Thanks for the taxi & metro advice, much appreciated:-)
We stayed at the MO for 3 nights on an Amex FHR 3rd night free rate. It’s downtown and located close to the Souq. Really nice area to walk around later at night but can also get pretty busy as there are lots of restaurants and cafes in the vicinity.
We really liked the hotel mostly due to the location. Was upgraded to a suite on arrival which was very nice.
We enjoyed the more laidback kind of vibe here than say somewhere like Dubai. Walking around Katara Village at sunset and Mina District at night constrasted well against the fun amd higher energy souq and downtown Msheireb.
We didn’t have time to get on a Dhow Boat but I think I will when I return to Doha later in the year. Lots of them around the corniche area where the Museum of Islamic Art is which is worth a visit too.
We took a taxi from the airport which is straightforward. Ubers to get around as it’s a small city. Very clean and safe city.
Looking at Hilton or RC when I go back as have a kid and want beach this time around. Would be good to know how you get on.
Theres not really a lot to do in doha other than malls and a couple of museums but for a couple of days its nice to walk around.
Uber isnt allowed at the airport, the airport taxis cost about twice as much (if that bothers you, get the taxi to a nearby hotel then call an uber from there :]). The old town area has plenty of hotels and is probably amonst the best located area for the ‘main’ things. Its near the airport and from there youre in walking distance to the museum of islamic art, the qatar museum and souq wakif (everyone says to go there.. I dont get why :]) as well as the southern end of the corniche, but they arent beach hotels.
Further north is the city center area with more hotels with beaches, some (regular) malls with food courts and the corniche. The pearl isnt really a tourist area, but you can still walk around it, tho you’ll need to either get a taxi there or use the metro and then get a taxi from the metro as that place is a long walk to anywhere. A couple of metro stops further up, Place Vendome mall is worth a look around for the fountain.
As for the airport, its certainly no Changi. I wouldnt be bothering to spend longer there than necessary unless you have access to lounges that are better than the gold and platinum ones.
Looking at Hilton or RC when I go back as have a kid and want beach this time around. Would be good to know how you get on.
I haven’t stayed at the Hilton, but a few years ago as HH Diamond I took the time to visit it and have a nosey round in case it was better than the Sheraton.
I wasn’t overly impressed, the front door and security was total chaos compared to the Sheraton, I just walked straight in through the melee. There’s then a service desk right after the door, so I approached and explained to the lady behind it that I wasn’t actually staying at the hotel, but was a HH Diamond and would she mind if I had a look around? She just shrugged her shoulders and nodded me deeper into the hotel. I walked straight out the back door to the disappointing beach, it is tiny by comparison to Sheraton, with all of the sunbeds being in the shadow of the hotel in the afternoon.
That was as far as I got, I’d already seen enough and it wasn’t for me.
Any thoughts on the Intercontinental or RC? Especially in light of comments regarding the shade that is created by the buildings in the afternoon?
We’ve recently returned from a couple of stays in Doha which book-ended a trip to Singapore. For the first part of our trip we arrived in Doha about midnight after an uneventful flight with BA from Heathrow in CS paid for with Avios and a 241 voucher. We stayed 4 nights at the Mandarin Oriental booked with Emyr, we booked a deluxe room which was upgraded to a premier room on arrival on a rate that included the 3rd night free. I had emailed the hotel prior to our arrival to warn them of our anticipated arrival time so they knew to expect us in the early hours.
Arrival at Doha was very quick as UK passport holders we didn’t need visas beforehand so went through immigration pretty quickly, priority baggage worked so we were in the arrivals hall in no time. We hadn’t arranged a transfer so found the taxi pick-up which is way over to the left after you exit arrivals. There was no queue and plenty of taxis – they are pretty cheap too at about £10 for our trip to the hotel. These government operated taxis were modern and clean and the ones we used accepted credit cards – they are turquoise in colour.
In February the weather was very pleasant in the 20s although it does get quite cool in the evenings and you will need a fleece. We were woken one morning by a Government blast to mobile phones warning of fog – it made for some nice sunrise photos over the Gulf.
The MO is located in the Msheireb Downtown area which was about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport. It’s a very safe and clean area and we picked the MO as we like to explore cities on foot and this hotel was well located for us. Msheireb Downtown is very modern with a number of shops and restaurants, there are a lot of patisserie shops there including a Harrods Tearoom complete with liveried doorman as the locals seem to enjoy their sweet treats – they always seemed to be busy. The area is quite relaxed during the day and is very popular with the local population later in the evening.
We had breakfast included in our rate which was served in Mosaic Restaurant on the top floor with some outdoor tables overlooking the pedestrian square, they serve a mix of extensive buffet and made to order items – they had a very wide selection of freshly pressed juices. The selection includes Arabic, Indian, Western and Asian dishes. I noted that a number of non-residents seemed to like going there for breakfast / brunch. We had one dinner in Mosaic which was very good and similar to breakfast had a good selection of cuisines. We also had a pizza one evening at the outdoor terrace pool bar, Aqua which is on the roof. With the pool on the roof it probably gets the sun most of the day but I only went there in late afternoon for a swim when there were only a couple of other people there.
During our days there we walked along the Corniche towards West Bay and only got the odd tout for a boat trip. There are places to refresh yourself along the way and also very clean public toilets. We also visited the Museum of Islamic Art and the architecturally stunning National Museum of Qatar both very good and reasonably priced. We also wandered around Souq Waqif with its huge array of shops and where they trade camels, Arabian horses and falcons. One the falcon dealers was explaining to us the Qataris breed falcons for racing and they take pedigree and breeding lines as seriously as horse racing. The big annual race has a first prize of $1m and the guy we spoke to was very proud as one of his birds had won a beauty contest recently so was now worth about $20,000.
For the second part of our Doha exploration arrived from Singapore after a very good daytime flight with Qatar Airways in Q-suite paid for with Avios. On arrival we were able to use the e-Gates having entered Qatar previously via an immigration desk. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable here can advise whether the ability to use the e-Gates is time limited from when you first enter Qatar as I couldn’t see any information. Also on the left side of the immigration hall is an area behind glass doors signed Al Mourjan / Al Maha so I’m not sure of you can go in there to process immigration if you have just got off a Business Class flight.
We stayed at Raffles for 3 nights booked through Emyr with the 3rd night free. The hotel is located to the north in the Lusail district which is mainly residential. I know iconic gets used a lot on here but the hotel is certainly noticeable on the skyline as it is shaped like 2 crossed swords inspired by the Qatar national emblem. The hotel is situated in Katara Towers with the left side being Raffles and the right side being a Fairmont. When entering the lobby you need to take a moment and look up – I won’t spoil the surprise but it’s pretty stunning.
The hotel was fully booked so no upgrade from the Crescent Suite that we booked – we always book the room we want and so any upgrade is a nice bonus treat. The Fairmont seems to be very popular for hosting Indian weddings as they were just dismantling one where they had hosted 900 guests and they had another starting as we were leaving. If you are staying at the Fairmont I’m not sure how much this would impact your stay but on the Raffles side we didn’t notice anything. Our room had wonderful views across the Gulf and towards the Fairmont side but you are not close enough to feel you are being overlooked.
Breakfast is served in L’Artisan which had a good, not extensive buffet which I think was designed to supplement the made to order items rather than be an all things to all people affair – quality was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the shakshuka a couple of times. As an Accor Gold we were offered cocktails in the Acoustic Music Penthouse which had stunning views from the top floor – we didn’t stay there too long as they permitted smoking. We had a meal in L’Artisan one evening and I was hoping for some local dishes but they are catering for locals who want to try Western food so they had lasagne, burgers and even shepherds pie on the menu. The quality was excellent though. We also had a meal at Alba in the hotel which serves Northern Italian Michelin starred cuisine – the food, ambiance and service were wonderful.
The pool at Raffles is really good it overlooks the Gulf and is about 50m long so you can have a good swim. I went at 8am when it opened and had it to myself and also again in late afternoon when it was very quiet – it only get the sun up until about 1pm so if you like laying in the sun then it’s mornings only.
This was a chill-out stay at the end of our trip so we were not looking to do too much. We walked the marina promenade which runs for about 9km along the waterfront, the hotel is also near Place Vendome if you like your high-end shopping. We also had a day at the WTA Qatar Open Tennis which was great.
Our flight back to the UK with BA was about 1.30am, the hotel initially said they couldn’t give us a late check-out and indeed they had no rooms available to book. I managed to book a room at the Fairmont but when I enquired at the front desk about transferring our luggage across they suddenly found they could accommodate our late check out in the same room at price we were happy with.
When leaving Doha if you are travelling BA Business or First don’t go to the BA check-in desks as you can use the Qatar Airways Business check-in located at the right hand end of the terminal.
We were very happy with our 2 stays, despite the lovely hotel we probably wouldn’t go back to the Lusail area again as there is not to much to do outside the hotels although Doha has very extensive metro network which we didn’t need to use. We used Uber once which was really cheap and worked well. We would certainly return to the Msheireb area if we were stopping over in Doha again.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
