SkiAdcock

"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."

MaxVO

Duh, thanks!
I wonder if they remodeled all 3 to have a consistent decor.

dat4life

I stayed at the Marriott Marquis City Center back in Feburary. Great property with big rooms. I didn't get to use the lounge, but I did have lunch at the restaurant downstairs which is excellent. Service was quite good as well. I did a little write up on my trip report (hosted on FT) .

kiwimagic

Just checked out after a two week stay, I was never there during the three brand days, but now both towers are of similar finishings. As a Platinum was upgraded to a Junior Suite, great views of the city and beyond to the Gulf. Two Executive Lounges one on the 42nd. floor and the other tower on the 8th. Breakfast selection is generally repetitive but speaking to the new head chef a change is coming. Evening lounge has a selection of a soup, 3-4 hot plates, appetizers, cheese etc. which changes daily.
An Olympic size swimming pool is located on the 7th floor between the two towers plenty of seating in the sun or shade.
Best feature of this hotel is the staff represented by 63 different nationalities working in harmony with each other. The executive staff were outstanding,
courteous and friendly which made our stay very memorable.
Not a 5 star Marriott, but a solid 4 star in my opinion.

LRD

I just finished a five-night award stay at the Marquis City Center Doha. Some impressions:

The Room: I was assigned a top-floor (43rd), corner room in the North Tower. This was, by far, the largest hotel room I've ever been assigned, easily surpassing all the suites I've been lucky enough to experience in my 25+ years of serious travel. (I should note that I'm a lowly gold, so no suite upgrade for me, unlike kiwimagic's experience.) The room measured ~14m x 10m at the max points, and about 12m x 6m was floor-to-ceiling windows, with stunning views of the South Tower and the Doha skyline.

Getting a corner room was not surprising; there are only eight rooms on the upper floors of the North Tower, so your odds are pretty good.

Power outlets were difficult to find, and convenient power outlets were even rarer. For example, to charge my laptop while watching TV required me to move one chair against the window, adjacent to a floor outlet. I also used the USB port on the TV to charge my phone - again, as a matter of convenience.

Speaking of TV, there were several English news/movie channels available on a 32" Samsung, so no complaints there. However, the Samsung screen looked as tiny as an early iPod when viewed from the bed ~9m away!

The Lounge: As kiwimagic mentioned, evening service always consisted of one soup/stew/chowder and three other hot dishes (usually fish, chicken and beef and one or two starches). But, the dishes were not just random selections: each night was a different theme - Mexican, South Pacific, Brazilian, etc. And, the staff went the exta mile to make it an experience. For example, on Mexican night, the salad sideboard was cleared-away and replaced with all the fixings for Tex-Mex nachos & queso. And, every condiment (as well as the main dishes) was clearly labeled.

Four brands of beer are offered, but only one each of red/white wine. Liquor was also available.

The staff was terrific, ensuring each guest was well-attended. And punctual - they started taking drink orders right at 1730, notifying each guest of last call at 1925, and had the area cleared of food and drink by 1935.

Breakfast was also varied, different selections each day of my stay. The Marriott Rewards desk, located to the left of the ground-floor check-in, informed me that there is no restaurant breakfast option for elites.

The lounge experience was so pleasant that I did not try any other foof/beverage outlet on the property.

Getting there: Taxis are not expensive, but I decided to take the 777 "limited stop service". The bus departs the airport three times per hour and costs about $3 for two rides. There's a stop at the Center City mall, directly attached to the Marriott by a 2nd floor walkway.

It took just 28 minutes to get to the airport in light early morning traffic. It just can't get any easier or quicker.

The 777 bus is also useful for visiting Souq Waqif or the MIA, just make sure to note on your favorite mapping program where the stops are located near the MIA.

I took the 777 bus four times during my stay; each time I was the only passenger.

If you'd rather walk to the MIA, it's about 4.2mi along the Corniche - a very pleasant walk.

The Mall: the attached mall includes a large Carrefour. This turned out to be a lifesaver for me when I broke the handle on my suitcase and was able to find a replacement there. (This was during an earlier visit, back in the days when the property was a Renaissance.)

mecabq

I have stayed here a few times since my initial report, most recently on a PointSavers award, which made it the same price as the old Marriott close to the airport, and a good value compared to the cash rate.

I don't see the need to add to the reviews here, but I am curious about the rebranding. Marriott Marquis seems like a weak brand to me, and I wonder why they changed, especially in light of kiwimagic's report that they have harmonized the furnishings. This is surprising to me because the previous Courtyard tower was built -- in the room design and layout as well as furnishings -- to look like most other Courtyards. (I am assuming that they didn't redo the bathrooms?)

This must have been a costly effort, which occurred pretty soon (three years or so?) after the hotel's initial opening. Anyone know why? Perhaps they thought that they could get higher rates, at least from the former Courtyard rooms, but given the glut in Doha I am not sure that that would be a great assumption. Maybe there is another Courtyard in the pipeline, which would be a nice addition to the market.

PaulMCO

I am just back from the Marriott Marquis. Made it to Doha three times on this trip (first time at the Doha Marriott near the airport, then at the Marquis and lastly next door at the new Shangri-la).

Initially though it would be a JW but the branding is confusion. Never heard of a Marriott Marquis.

Arrived with their prearrange hotel car -- it was included in the rate otherwise a taxi is so much cheaper. Left standing at the front desk for 20 minutes. Really bad first impression. Then checkin and room is not ready. Escorted to the lounge and waited for an hour.

Did get an upgrade -- nice suite with ugly carpets and color scheme. Outlets hard to find. None at the desk. All at the TVs. Bed nice and comfortable.

Lounge. Went up early - lucky I did -- Lounge is extremely small -- looks like they took the two corner suites and converted them. Full of USAF and Contractors. Many people came in and then left as no seating. Food is about average. A soup and three hot finger food. The night I was there it was Chinese night and they had a Shrimp Dim Sum and a Duck wrap.
I think the Doha Marriott has a better choice evening food.
Breakfast is a waste. No made to order eggs. Limited selection.

As noted I stayed at the Shangri-la. Was a soft opening -- but really impressed with the exec lounge and the service and food quality.

BostonFlyer1624

Is the Doha Marriott close to the airport? Do they have a free shuttle between them?

Thinking about using this for a 9hr layover (unless you all have better suggestions).

Thanks

LRD

The Marriott is very close to the airport - as the crow flies - but the access road routing makes it a ~15 min trip.

No shuttle is provided by the Marriott (as of my last stay, about 18 months ago).

The city '777' bus runs from the airport, past the Marriott, on its way to the city center. Per the city-transport map, there is a stop near the Marriott going towards the airport (which I took once) but not a scheduled stop near the Marriott from the airport. That said, I can't believe the driver wouldn't drop you off if you let him know.

(See my notes on the '777' bus in my post on the Marquis City Center.)

PaulMCO

No shuttle -- a Taxi runs around 40 QAR (12 USD). They have a private car service you can make an advance reservation for and this runs around 80 or 100 QAR.

Heard some rumors that this hotel will close next year and be torn down to make room for a new Stadium for the World Cup. Also heard that a new JW is planned in 2018.

Doing same thing you plan on doing later this week on my way home. Have a 20 hour layover..

There is an airport hotel within Hammad airport terminal that might be more suitable for a short layover.

azj

Any updates to this original question? I've got a long transit in Doha of just under 24 hours and was comparing the SPG and Marriott properties. The only thing that I can see to tip the scale, is being gold gives me breakfast at the Marriott properties. My plan was to relax, enjoy whatever property I decide on and maybe checkout what Doha has to offer on a short stay.

Dr. HFH

I've stayed at the W and StR. I liked them both.

W was the best W I've stayed in. As noted upthread, no attitude from the staff; they were, without exception, friendly and helpful. Got a PLT upgrade to a huge and beautiful suite. Entry area, office, bed with automatic curtain-type things surrounding it, huge bathroom, huge living room, etc., etc., etc. Slightly odd experience during happy hour; I was charged for a sparkling water. Probably some type of mistake.

StR is less centrally located; however, it's in the middle of a large office/resort/hotel/??? development which was under construction when I was there. I would guess that 1) they've made much progress since my visit, and 2) it's going to be quite nice, from what I saw. No PLT upgrade; however, the room was pretty big, with unusually high ceilings and a large balcony where I ate my room service dinner overlooking the pool and beach area. Architecturally, the hotel is quite grand. The pool and beach areas are magnificent, and face west so the sun sets out over the water. Not much opportunity to experience service as I was there for only around 12 hours. room service dinner was much better than I had expected it to be.

Going back, I'd probably choose StR; although I don't know what prices would be available. I doubt that I'd be willing to pay double what the W charges if that's the going rate at the time; but I might do it on points.

Looking back, I really want to go back to StR on a beach/relax type vacation. It just looks like an incredible place. I'd use SNRs here, too; as I bet that the suites are great. So while I'm dying to spend some time at StR, I'd be perfectly happy to spend a few days at the W again. In both hard and soft products, it's a fine hotel. There are lots of staff hanging around waiting and happy to be of service.

bettertoturnleftthanright

I am also very interested to hear any expert opinions on this (a couple of long layovers in Doha this year myself). Much obliged.

Dr. HFH

I'm not expert enough???

sdsearch

At least for my booking in February (done a few weeks ago), the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel was on "points savers" at only 10000 Marriott Rewards points per night (though not that cheap on cash rates). That equates to 3333 SPG points (at 3:1 ratio). And with Gold or above status (native to Marriott or linked from SPG), you get lounge access.