This hotel was chosen as it is close by the airport and is brand new - having only opened in Dec. It has great write ups so I thought I would give it a go, especially since it is a member of Hilton and I get to count it against my stays!
Check in
Check in was quick but a little strange - I am not sure the lady actually listened to me once during our conversation but I ended up with a key to a room - upgraded room so I guess she did her job!
Room
I had booked a basic King Guest room and got the same but with a 'sea view'. The room was really nice but I don't think I got much of an upgrade - I don't mean to sound ungrateful but if you tell me it is an upgrade then it should be - not just on a better side of the hotel!
Lounge
There was no lounge here but I got a 50QAR voucher off food and a free drinks voucher to make up for the lack of lounge - to be fair I had to ask about lounge access - it was not offered but hey ho - you need to be necky to get everything out of these hotels!
I took my vouchers up to the rooftop bar - it was quite stunning as it had some great music on, a wonderful view of the sea and port and sun.
I went to bed pretty early as I had an oh my god start in the morning again - why do I do this to myself?? The room was good but the boy racers with their ferraris and lambos were racing up and down the strip outside my room all night - it was rather annoying to be honest! So I barely slept and was then woken at 0345 by my alarm. Not a great combination but luckily I did not have to chat to anyone for a good few hours!
I was offered the hotel car to the airport for the same price as a taxi due to the hour - I took it but wished I hadn't. Not sure if the guy was drunk, tired or just a really bad driver but we were constantly tooted at, flashed at and he appeared unable to stay in lane for longer than 5 secs- I will be writing to the hotel about him! I also found out the that price would not have beent he same as a taxi at all – so overall I felt completely conned into taking the car and unsafe whilst using it – beware!
The hotel was nice - very modern and central - I would stay here again (but not take the car!). Next stop A380 First Class
