Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Doha, Qatar
Feb 22, 2007, 8:46 am
#1
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Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Doha, Qatar
Hi
I need a good but not too expensive hotel in Doha for a board meeting (55 VIPs) next october 3 nights and 2 days of meetings.
Is the Marriott good for situation/service/rooms in Doha ?
Thanks
Hervé
I need a good but not too expensive hotel in Doha for a board meeting (55 VIPs) next october 3 nights and 2 days of meetings.
Is the Marriott good for situation/service/rooms in Doha ?
Thanks
Hervé
Feb 22, 2007, 8:52 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ZRH
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Posts: 3,244
Hm, had a reservation in November there, but the driver never showed up at the airport... When we called the Mariott, they said that they are fully booked. Even though we booked the hotel less than an hour before AT THE AIRPORT ! Bad bad...We had to go to another hotel then. QR was paying the hotel anyway since it was a long layover in DOH.
So sorry, cannot help you with your question.
So sorry, cannot help you with your question.
Feb 22, 2007, 3:32 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2001
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I stay at this property all the time (monthly). It's a nice place. There are two towers and all rooms have been updated. All have decent wired internet and no extra charge for wireless use in the lobby and lounges. The tall tower has the regular rooms and the short tower has the executive level rooms (the whole tower). The exec lounge is very nice if you book executive rooms or have status.
More than half of the rooms have views and they are nice views.
There are nicer properties in Doha but you will probably find their rates to be higher. I think the Marriott is a good compromise as it is a good facility and usually reasonable rates, especially if you make a group deal. Meeting faciltiies are fine. The spa is very good and there is pool and beach swimming. The gym is so-so, but acceptable. Food is very good throughout the hotel.
Like many hotels there the staff can really vary. Some are nice and helpful but there are also major gaps in service.
One drawback is that there is really nothing nearby to walk to. Other hotels on the corniche (Sheraton, Four Seasons) offer much better walking.
The Four Seasons holds the top spot for meetings in Doha, but my guess is you'll pay 50-100% more there considering rooms, meeting rooms, and food.
Book any meeting well in advance for Doha. There are only a few hotels and once they get booked, you are in big trouble.
Feel free to PM me for more info.
Charles
More than half of the rooms have views and they are nice views.
There are nicer properties in Doha but you will probably find their rates to be higher. I think the Marriott is a good compromise as it is a good facility and usually reasonable rates, especially if you make a group deal. Meeting faciltiies are fine. The spa is very good and there is pool and beach swimming. The gym is so-so, but acceptable. Food is very good throughout the hotel.
Like many hotels there the staff can really vary. Some are nice and helpful but there are also major gaps in service.
One drawback is that there is really nothing nearby to walk to. Other hotels on the corniche (Sheraton, Four Seasons) offer much better walking.
The Four Seasons holds the top spot for meetings in Doha, but my guess is you'll pay 50-100% more there considering rooms, meeting rooms, and food.
Book any meeting well in advance for Doha. There are only a few hotels and once they get booked, you are in big trouble.
Feel free to PM me for more info.
Charles
Nov 15, 2007, 11:37 am
#4
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Do all rooms have flat-screen TVs? What are the benefits of executive rooms besides lounge benefits...free wifi in the room?
Feb 25, 2009, 10:03 pm
#5
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Location: SNA
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Anyone been here lately? Husband is debating between staying here or on post (US Army) for a week. His past experiences lead him to believe that the worst Marriott is better than the best government lodging. The reviews on Tripadvisor are dodgy, but I trust you guys more.
Sep 22, 2011, 10:06 am
#6
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Marriott-family hotels in Doha, Qatar
I had a brief stay at each of these properties, which must count as among the more obscure additions to the portfolio. They were originally scheduled to open for the Asian Games (December 2006), and are now in sort of a soft-opening stage.
These are twin towers of about 40 stories (one of which also encompasses a Marriott Executive Apartments) with connected lobbies. The hotels are also connected on the second floor to the City Center Mall in the West Bay area.
Some of the pluses and minuses:
-- The design is pretty ugly. The lobby of the Renaissance is OK; the Courtyard is typical for the brand. However, the rest of the common areas are a cheap, pseudo-Arabic style typical of many of the high-rises in Qatar, with low-quality shiny marble floors, phony wood paneling, and poor fixtures and finishings. The Renaissance rooms are exceedingly underwhelming in my opinion; the Courtyard rooms are more typical of the brand.
-- The food and beverage seems like it will be great. Most of the outlets -- New York Steakhouse and bar, Brasserie Centreville, Ipanema Churrascaria, an Italian place, and Glo lobby bar -- are not open yet, but should be welcome additions to Qatar. Champions Sports Bar, which is open now, will be an excellent addition to the options in the country, though the food was not very good. There is also a 24-hour cafe off of the Courtyard lobby, with light food as well as pastries and coffee, which will fill a needed niche. The minibar prices are also reasonable for this category; e.g., QAR 20 (about USD 5.5) for a 750 mL Evian and QAR 15 for the 330 mL version or can of soda.
-- The outdoor pool (on the seventh floor between the properties) and large gym, sauna, and steam look impressive.
-- A lot of the service is off to a poor start. The internet didn't work for most of my Courtyard stay. For the rest of it, and for the Renaissance, it was painfully slow. The front desk seemed to lack organization, and check-out was a fiasco. There was no complimentary bottled water in the Renaissance room. Of course I chalk some of this up to growing pains -- although I would have thought that they'd bring a strong opening team from Marriott, which didn't seem to be the case -- but some of the other aspects just reflect poor thought, e.g., when removing the key card from the slot by the door, all of the electricity goes off, including the clock radio; the cable television didn't work; water from the shower got all over the floor on the Courtyard side, and the shower on the Renaissance side was incredibly small; and the TV channel list provided on the nightstand bore no resemblance to the actual channels. These were small matters individually, of course, but put together, plus many others, it really left sort of a frustrating taste in my mouth.
There is an executive lounge, though I have dropped to lowly Silver so had no access.
Overall, at around the same prices as the other four- and five-star hotels in Doha (e.g., Sheraton, Four Seasons, W, Movenpick, forthcoming Shangri-La all within nominal walking distance), it is inferior, but the location is great; being connected to the mall makes it among the most convenient options for business travelers in Qatar.
These are twin towers of about 40 stories (one of which also encompasses a Marriott Executive Apartments) with connected lobbies. The hotels are also connected on the second floor to the City Center Mall in the West Bay area.
Some of the pluses and minuses:
-- The design is pretty ugly. The lobby of the Renaissance is OK; the Courtyard is typical for the brand. However, the rest of the common areas are a cheap, pseudo-Arabic style typical of many of the high-rises in Qatar, with low-quality shiny marble floors, phony wood paneling, and poor fixtures and finishings. The Renaissance rooms are exceedingly underwhelming in my opinion; the Courtyard rooms are more typical of the brand.
-- The food and beverage seems like it will be great. Most of the outlets -- New York Steakhouse and bar, Brasserie Centreville, Ipanema Churrascaria, an Italian place, and Glo lobby bar -- are not open yet, but should be welcome additions to Qatar. Champions Sports Bar, which is open now, will be an excellent addition to the options in the country, though the food was not very good. There is also a 24-hour cafe off of the Courtyard lobby, with light food as well as pastries and coffee, which will fill a needed niche. The minibar prices are also reasonable for this category; e.g., QAR 20 (about USD 5.5) for a 750 mL Evian and QAR 15 for the 330 mL version or can of soda.
-- The outdoor pool (on the seventh floor between the properties) and large gym, sauna, and steam look impressive.
-- A lot of the service is off to a poor start. The internet didn't work for most of my Courtyard stay. For the rest of it, and for the Renaissance, it was painfully slow. The front desk seemed to lack organization, and check-out was a fiasco. There was no complimentary bottled water in the Renaissance room. Of course I chalk some of this up to growing pains -- although I would have thought that they'd bring a strong opening team from Marriott, which didn't seem to be the case -- but some of the other aspects just reflect poor thought, e.g., when removing the key card from the slot by the door, all of the electricity goes off, including the clock radio; the cable television didn't work; water from the shower got all over the floor on the Courtyard side, and the shower on the Renaissance side was incredibly small; and the TV channel list provided on the nightstand bore no resemblance to the actual channels. These were small matters individually, of course, but put together, plus many others, it really left sort of a frustrating taste in my mouth.
There is an executive lounge, though I have dropped to lowly Silver so had no access.
Overall, at around the same prices as the other four- and five-star hotels in Doha (e.g., Sheraton, Four Seasons, W, Movenpick, forthcoming Shangri-La all within nominal walking distance), it is inferior, but the location is great; being connected to the mall makes it among the most convenient options for business travelers in Qatar.
Oct 24, 2011, 4:09 pm
#7
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: SFO
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2 Nights in Doha: Ritz, Marriott, or Renaissance?
Hi all!
Part of my honeymoon in 2012 includes two nights in Doha, Qatar. This is really only a stopover between the Seychelles and the Maldives. We'll be checking in one night, doing a desert safari the next day, and then flying out the following day. I'm not sure which property to choose.
The Ritz looks awesome, and I definitely have a surplus of Marriott points... so that's intriguing. However, since we aren't going to spend too much time there, is it worth it? Should I just stay at the Renaissance or Marriott? I see that they are cat 3 and 4, respectively. I'm sure Marriott will have another Cat4 night Megabonus, which means I could stay there for effectively zero points.
I know nothing about the location of the properties so please chime in. Also, there isn't a thread that compares these three hotels so perhaps we can just use this one as a starting point for that.
Part of my honeymoon in 2012 includes two nights in Doha, Qatar. This is really only a stopover between the Seychelles and the Maldives. We'll be checking in one night, doing a desert safari the next day, and then flying out the following day. I'm not sure which property to choose.
The Ritz looks awesome, and I definitely have a surplus of Marriott points... so that's intriguing. However, since we aren't going to spend too much time there, is it worth it? Should I just stay at the Renaissance or Marriott? I see that they are cat 3 and 4, respectively. I'm sure Marriott will have another Cat4 night Megabonus, which means I could stay there for effectively zero points.
I know nothing about the location of the properties so please chime in. Also, there isn't a thread that compares these three hotels so perhaps we can just use this one as a starting point for that.
Oct 24, 2011, 11:09 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Posts: 5,536
I've stayed at the Ritz. Very nice. Isolated. I'd probably go for the Sharq Village and Spa before the Ritz due to the distance from the airport.
I haven't stayed at any other Marriott location but I'm familiar with the city; I've also stayed at the Four Seasons.
The advantage of the Marriott and Sharq Village is that they are close to the airport. It's been ~3 years since I've been to Doha but the traffic can be terrible at all times of day and night.
What time of day does your flight leave Doha?
Based on your itinerary, I'd go for either Sharq Village (a Ritz property) or the Marriott.
Next on the list, I'd go with the Renaissance, followed by the Courtyard. (They're colocated so I suspect that there isn't much difference between them)
My last choice would be the Ritz due to the distance from the airport; you're not staying long enough to justify that much driving time.
I haven't stayed at any other Marriott location but I'm familiar with the city; I've also stayed at the Four Seasons.
The advantage of the Marriott and Sharq Village is that they are close to the airport. It's been ~3 years since I've been to Doha but the traffic can be terrible at all times of day and night.
What time of day does your flight leave Doha?
Based on your itinerary, I'd go for either Sharq Village (a Ritz property) or the Marriott.
Next on the list, I'd go with the Renaissance, followed by the Courtyard. (They're colocated so I suspect that there isn't much difference between them)
My last choice would be the Ritz due to the distance from the airport; you're not staying long enough to justify that much driving time.
Apr 28, 2012, 2:33 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Posts: 1,937
Which Doha property?
I'm considering a weekend trip to Doha next month, and am wondering which is the best property to stay at. My original thought was the W, but I can't say I'm a fan of the brand in general. There's the St. Regis, but it's quite a bit more. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Apr 28, 2012, 7:50 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
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Posts: 2,498
I'm considering a weekend trip to Doha next month, and am wondering which is the best property to stay at. My original thought was the W, but I can't say I'm a fan of the brand in general. There's the St. Regis, but it's quite a bit more. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Apr 28, 2012, 10:40 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
Personally, I hate the W concept. However, I would seriously consider staying at the W Doha on my next trip. I cannot speak for the rooms, but the common areas and exterior were striking and had a modern but not dysfunctional feel to them. The staff were friendly and didn't seem to have the Witude. Market and Spice Market were both excellent. The food was well prepared, though not quite to the standards of the JG in NY, and the staff was friendly and accommodating, even for a single diner on busy nights. The hotel is in a good location, not far from the diploarea and walking distance from the city's largest mall.
The Sheraton is nice but showing it's age. The staff was generally friendly but fell down in many areas. They gave me a deluxe room on a high floor as an upgrade because the hotel was hosting a number of dignitaries that took the suites. Food was decent, though the smoke got to me after a while. The lounge was a nice place to relax. Overall, it was a decent stay.
The Sheraton is nice but showing it's age. The staff was generally friendly but fell down in many areas. They gave me a deluxe room on a high floor as an upgrade because the hotel was hosting a number of dignitaries that took the suites. Food was decent, though the smoke got to me after a while. The lounge was a nice place to relax. Overall, it was a decent stay.
Jun 24, 2014, 5:27 pm
#13
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,726
Have a 20 hours transit in Doha, wondering if I should use my cat 4 voucher on Marriott or Courtyard? Courtyard has a higher rating on TA and closer to town. I will touch down at 5am and leave at 12 midnight. Any advice? Which hotel would allow an early check in at about 6am? And perhaps allow me to enjoy the breakfast? Hehe
Aug 4, 2014, 11:43 am
#14
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Marriott Marquis City Center Doha, Qatar
Just noticed on Marriott's website that this property opened yesterday.
Doesn't have a Category listed yet.
"The brand has just announced the opening of a new property in Doha’s West Bay district, where three hotels currently known as the Renaissance Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments Doha City Center become one as a new Marriott Hotel opens.
Explore the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel, centrally located in Doha’s Diplomatic area, only 15 minutes from the Doha International Airport. Towering above the West Bay business district, this contemporary hotel's unique location features panoramic views of the Doha’s skyline, Arabian Sea and the Corniche.
Has this listed for the exec lounge:
* Open: Sun-Sat, Open: 0600am - 12am
* Complimentary food:
- Hot buffet breakfast
- midday snack
- afternoon tea
- hors d'oeuvres
- dessert
- late night snack
* Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages
* Honor bar
* Business services, for a fee
* Complimentary pressing
* Two dedicated private lounges located on the 8th floor of the South Tower
with an outdoor terrace and on the 42nd floor of the North Tower with spectacular panoramic views of Doha.
* The lounges also offer complimentary wireless Internet in the lounge, complimentary happy hour from 5:30pm-7:30om daily and 2 hours complimentary use of the private meeting room."
Doesn't have a Category listed yet.
"The brand has just announced the opening of a new property in Doha’s West Bay district, where three hotels currently known as the Renaissance Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments Doha City Center become one as a new Marriott Hotel opens.
Explore the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel, centrally located in Doha’s Diplomatic area, only 15 minutes from the Doha International Airport. Towering above the West Bay business district, this contemporary hotel's unique location features panoramic views of the Doha’s skyline, Arabian Sea and the Corniche.
Has this listed for the exec lounge:
* Open: Sun-Sat, Open: 0600am - 12am
* Complimentary food:
- Hot buffet breakfast
- midday snack
- afternoon tea
- hors d'oeuvres
- dessert
- late night snack
* Complimentary non-alcoholic beverages
* Honor bar
* Business services, for a fee
* Complimentary pressing
* Two dedicated private lounges located on the 8th floor of the South Tower
with an outdoor terrace and on the 42nd floor of the North Tower with spectacular panoramic views of Doha.
* The lounges also offer complimentary wireless Internet in the lounge, complimentary happy hour from 5:30pm-7:30om daily and 2 hours complimentary use of the private meeting room."
Last edited by SkiAdcock; Aug 4, 2014 at 11:48 am
Aug 5, 2014, 1:54 pm
#15
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,472
I think this is the same hotel that used to be the Renaissance.
I made a reservation for the Renaissance awhile ago, and now it's coming as Marriott Marquis (with the same address). People at Marriott were equally confused about this change or whether the hotel is currenly open for business. Any update on its status would be appreciated.
I made a reservation for the Renaissance awhile ago, and now it's coming as Marriott Marquis (with the same address). People at Marriott were equally confused about this change or whether the hotel is currenly open for business. Any update on its status would be appreciated.