Jacuzzi time
I made my way back to the spa reception and this time, the jacuzzi was ready for me and the receptionist led me through the entrance into the spa area. If I have understood correctly, the layout is divided into 2 down the middle and both sides are mirror images of the other. On the left is the entrance for women and on the right, men. There is a long corridor with tall narrow wooden beams angled so one gets a glimpse of the shallow pool of water dividing the two sides.
Corridor leading to the spa
Past this, one enters a maze of treatment rooms (there were at least 4-6 if I recall), locker, relax area and jacuzzi.
Massage treatment room
Hot sand treatment room
Jacuzzi suite
The jacuzzi room is equipped with a large tub and 2 showers so it’s also possible to be used by couples. Side note: knowing the Middle East and it’s strict laws on homosexuality and culture of separating genders, I wonder how they expect heterosexual couples to share the jacuzzi facilities on the men’s side of the spa. The only couples who can use these together would be same-sex, or they open this up to strangers to share, but then we are entering adult film territory 🤣 (I know foreigners, namely those with spending power, are often exempt from these cultural taboos at hotels but I just found this dichotomy interesting)
Jacuzzi
View of showers from the jacuzzi
Reinforcing the idea of couples utilization were 2 Frette bathrobes hanging on the wall. In the showers were mini bottles of Diptyque shampoo, conditioner and shower gel (which may have found their way with me back home)
Frette bathrobe
Anyway, what sheer luxury to be able to soak in a hot jacuzzi after a long flight! I alternated between the jacuzzi and relax area back and forth, I was the only one in the spa the whole time I was there.
Relax area
Very high ceiling, like in the rest of the lounge
View of waterfall on the wall from the beanbag lounger
Restaurant
Well relaxed and cleansed, I headed to the restaurant for dinner. By this time it was already almost 10pm and the restaurant was nearly empty. I had the choice of seating and decided on a table near the panoramic window. Unfortunately on this evening, there was no plane parked at the gate adjacent to the lounge and it was dark outside anyway.
Nighttime view from restaurant (please excuse the spa slippers in the reflection)
There are no menus at the moment, everything was accessible via the QR code provided at the table.
Wine list
Menu
I order a glass of champagne, tonight it was Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame 2008. A very generous pour from the bartender, however this glass was not among the first few from the bottle, or it had been opened a while ago, it wasn’t as effervescent as I would have liked. (Generous pour was probably to finish off the bottle?)
Veuve Cliquot La Grande Dame 2008
Placing my order, I went for the seafood bisque, sushi platter and then fillet of beef. For dessert I chose the warm chocolate cake and substituted the beetroot sorbet with vanilla ice cream. I might be criticized for being so common in that substitution, but I thought that there was enough beetroot on the side and the peppercorn tuile garnish was exotic enough that it needed to be rounded off with something familiar. To accompany the beef I chose the 2008 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (2ème Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux) and harmonizing with the dessert the Quinta do Vallado Tawny Port. Quite an impressive wine list! So, I can already hear the question on all of your minds, how was the food? It was in general solid but there were also areas to be improved. The seafood bisque was lukewarm when it was served and not really a bisque as I was expecting, more like a minestrone in texture. I had lower expectations for sushi in a lounge in the Middle East and it was fine, the beef was surprisingly good. I know many contrarians on this forum like to criticize the beef fillet but perhaps I was just lucky that evening, it was tender, cooked the way I ordered it, with a nice sauce served on the side. The bread roll, however was awful. It managed to be soft, dense and dry all at the same time. I know different cultures have their own concepts of bread (soft and buttery in Asia, harder and crusty in Germanic countries etc…) and I think I’m quite adept at adjusting my expectations according to the region I’m in, but this was really something…
Seafood bisque
Sushi moriawase
Fillet of beef with Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2008, St. Julien
Warm chocolate cake with Quinta do Vallado Tawny
Another interesting detail, the restaurant started to fill up with a few tables of local Qatari guests while I was eating, and the servers brought out cardamom coffee and dates to serve them. I wasn’t offered this hospitality when I arrived and this meant that I was served my dates and coffee between my sushi and beef…
Arabic hospitality
The chocolate fondant with ice cream was a nice finish to this meal and by now I was ready to call it a night so I headed over to the spa reception again to see if I could get a bedroom.