InterContinental Doha - The City

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Classic King > Junior Suite

How are the rooms? Dated; the junior suite was spacious enough but the décor is very generic and unimaginative. The new Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn design templates have far more energy and imagination than this purportedly luxury-level hotel.

How is the exec. lounge? N/A

What was good and what was bad?
GOOD

• Location in West Bay is central; a five-minute walk from DECC station with a station entrance next to the Gate Mall on the same side of the street
• Views from the building are quite good
• Beds are comfortable
• Byredo Bal d'Afrique bath amenities are fabulous as always

BAD

• Hotel is dated in design and feel
• Lobby reeks of shisha due to a shisha lounge in the central atrium; this gets worse at night as the door to the lounge is opened in the lobby
• Guests were either hordes of families or very sleazy types/paid company
• Service at the hotel was a one of the worst I have encountered in years:
  • All my interactions with staff were handled with a negative attitude and there is a lack of general interest in providing hospitality
  • The hotel DOES NOT respond to phone calls or emails; attempts to reach the front desk via both methods pre-, during and post-stay were all unanswered or unacknowledged
  • Due to a personal circumstance, I had to check out of the hotel via phone since I was off-site and could not go back to the hotel; since the front desk doesn't answer the phone, it took five different calls to different agents who pick up the general operator line, had them apologize disinterestedly and offer to take my number to a manager to call me directly and of course, nothing happened [had the same offer via my many pre-stay phone calls]. This went on for forty-five minutes, and finally ended with a different agent barely listening to me before hanging the phone up in my face.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return? Absolutely not; Doha has an abundance of hotels so don't waste your time or money on this older property - especially as the service sinks it.